NotchNook

A macOS utility that transforms your MacBook's notch into a powerful, glanceable command center.

What is NotchNook?

NotchNook is a floating panel that lives behind your MacBook's notch. Hover over the notch area and it expands into a compact hub packed with useful tools — no need to open full apps for quick tasks.

Features

Media Controls — See what's playing on Spotify, Apple Music, or browser tabs (YouTube). Skip, pause, and control playback without switching apps. Album artwork, track info, and progress bar at a glance.

Focus Timer — Built-in Pomodoro-style timer with configurable focus and break durations. A live compact indicator stays visible in the collapsed notch while the timer runs.

Clipboard History — Automatically captures copied text with pinning, search, and one-click copy-back. Multi-line text is preserved. History persists across sessions. Section header for quick identification.

File Shelf — Drag and drop files onto the panel for quick access. Supports multi-file selection and drag-out to other apps using a native AppKit drag system.

Mini Calendar — Shows upcoming Reminders for the next 3 days, integrated via EventKit.

System Metrics — Glanceable CPU, RAM, GPU, battery, and weather indicators. Displayed in a dedicated metrics row below the notch to avoid being hidden by the physical notch cutout. Can be toggled on/off entirely from Settings.

Profiles — Switch between Work, Gaming, and Meeting presets to show only the modules you need. Optional auto-switching based on active app.

Design

The UI follows Apple Human Interface Guidelines with:

• Material vibrancy — .ultraThinMaterial panel background for system-integrated blur
• Continuous squircle corners — 24pt panel, 12pt widget cards, 8pt buttons (.continuous style); card radius is concentric with panel (outer 24pt - 12pt padding = 12pt inner)
• 8-point grid spacing — all padding and margins on Apple's standard grid
• Notch-aware header layout — action buttons on left, settings on right, nothing in the center where the notch blocks visibility. Metrics appear in a second row below the notch
• Box-style widget cards — each widget is a distinct card with subtle border and background separation
• Compact form factor — 380px wide panel optimized for glanceability
• HIG typography — minimum 10pt text, semantic sizing, SF system font
• Proper touch targets — minimum 28pt for small controls (clipboard, file shelf); larger for primary actions

Requirements

• macOS 14+ (Sonoma)
• MacBook with notch display (also works on notchless screens as a top-bar panel)
• Swift 6.2

Build & Run

swift build
swift run

One dependency: Sparkle 2.x for auto-updates. Otherwise only Apple frameworks (AppKit, SwiftUI, Combine, EventKit, IOKit).

How It Works

• The panel stays hidden behind the physical notch in its collapsed state
• Hovering over the notch activation zone expands the panel
• The panel automatically pins to the built-in MacBook display, even with external monitors connected
• Moving the mouse away collapses it back behind the notch

Settings

Accessible via the gear icon in the panel header:

• Profiles — Work, Gaming, Meeting presets with one-click switching
• Quick Actions — Toggle Now Playing, Mute Button, File Paste
• System Status — Master toggle for system metrics, plus individual toggles for Battery, CPU, RAM, GPU, and Weather
• Panels — Toggle File Shelf, Clipboard History, Mini Calendar, Focus Timer with configurable durations

Permissions

NotchNook may request the following permissions:

• Accessibility — for media key simulation
• Automation — for controlling Spotify, Music, and reading browser tabs
• Reminders — for the mini calendar feature

Auto-Updates

NotchNook includes built-in auto-updates powered by Sparkle. Users are notified of new versions directly in the app and can update with one click.

• Check manually — Menu bar icon > "Check for Updates..."
• Automatic checks — Sparkle checks the appcast feed on launch

See UPDATE_GUIDE.md for how to publish a new release.

Distribution

make dmg                              # Build ad-hoc signed DMG
make dmg SIGNING_IDENTITY="Dev ID..." # Distribution signed DMG
make release SPARKLE_ED_KEY="..."     # Full release: DMG + GitHub Release + appcast update
make generate-keys                    # One-time: generate Sparkle EdDSA signing keys
make clean                            # Remove build artifacts

Project Structure

Package.swift                          # Swift Package Manager config (+ Sparkle dep)
Sources/notchnook/notchnook.swift      # Main application source (monolithic)
appcast.xml                            # Sparkle update feed (auto-updated by release script)
Makefile                               # Build pipeline (dmg, release, generate-keys)
VERSION                                # Semver version (single source of truth)
UPDATE_GUIDE.md                        # Step-by-step release instructions
dist/
  Info.plist                           # App bundle metadata (SUFeedURL, SUPublicEDKey)
  NotchNook.entitlements               # Entitlements (apple-events, network client)
  PkgInfo                              # Bundle marker
scripts/
  create-icns.sh                       # App icon generator
  create-dmg.sh                        # DMG creator
  release.sh                           # Full release automation (GitHub Release + appcast)
index.html + styles.css                # Landing page (not part of the app)
design/                                # Design reference images
.claude/agents/                        # Claude Code agent configurations
.agents/skills/apple-hig-designer/     # Apple HIG design skill reference

Development Tools

• ui-smoothness-tuner agent — Automated UI performance reviewer with Apple HIG knowledge. Reviews animations, transitions, spacing, and visual polish against Apple guidelines.
• Apple HIG Designer skill — Reference for Apple Human Interface Guidelines (typography, colors, spacing, components, accessibility).

License

All rights reserved.