A NotchNook alternative for developers
NotchNook made the MacBook notch useful for widgets, music and files. If you are a developer, the notch can also show what your projects are doing. Here is how to choose a replacement, depending on what you used NotchNook for.
Last updated:
THE SWITCH, AT A GLANCE
From NotchNook to MakerNotch
- STAYS THE SAME
It lives in the notch
Hover or click to open the panel. Also on Macs without a notch.
- YOU LOSE
Shelf and AirDrop
File shelf, AirDrop and calendar widget. Music controls stay, as an option.
- YOU GAIN
Your projects
Pull requests, CI, deployments, revenue and issues per project.
Used NotchNook mostly for files and AirDrop? Boring Notch is the closer replacement.
Looking for different features or fixing an error?
If you arrived for “NotchNook not working” or a network error, this guide is not a technical fix. Start with NotchNook’s support. We could not verify its official page in this review; that does not confirm a general outage or that sales have stopped.
If you want a different use for the notch, choose by task. MakerNotch fits project status checks, but it does not replace a file shelf or calendar widget.
Pick the replacement by what you used NotchNook for
| You used NotchNook for | Look at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Music, file shelf, calendar | Boring Notch | Free and open source (GPL-3.0), with media controls, a file shelf with AirDrop, calendar and HUD replacement |
| The Dynamic Island look | Alcove | Built around fluid animations, live activities and Lock Screen widgets; check its current price and licence terms |
| Glancing at your projects while you code | MakerNotch | CI, deployments, revenue and issues per project, from 11 integrations |
We make MakerNotch. Details about other apps come from their publishers, checked on 14 October 2026. For a wider list, including MacNotch and Notch Buddy, see the best Mac notch apps for developers.
What MakerNotch does differently
MakerNotch is not a widget shelf. It turns the notch into a status panel for the products you maintain:
- Create a project for each product and connect the services it uses: GitHub or GitLab, Vercel or Cloudflare Pages, Stripe or Polar, Linear, Sentry, Supabase, DataFast and Resend.
- Hover the notch to see that project’s pull requests, CI, deployments, revenue and issues.
- Switch projects from the panel. Each project keeps its own keys, so you do not sign in and out of dashboards.
- Keep working. Collapsed, the notch shows a status dot and a short headline when something changes, such as a failing CI run.
It also includes notes and links per project, a focus timer and 12 developer utilities (JSON, JWT, Base64 and more), all running on your Mac.
What you lose if you move from NotchNook
Be clear about the trade-off. MakerNotch has no file shelf, no AirDrop drop zone and no calendar widget. It does include optional now-playing controls for Spotify and Apple Music. If the shelf and AirDrop were the reason you used NotchNook, Boring Notch is the closer replacement, See the MakerNotch demo if you also need project status.
Privacy and licence
- Provider keys are verified before they are stored, and kept in the macOS Keychain.
- Your Mac talks to each provider directly. Provider requests go directly from your Mac; licence activation uses Polar. See the privacy details.
- Status views are read-only. The one exception is creating an empty GitHub repository when you ask for it.
- One payment, US$9, no subscription. One Mac at a time; release the licence to move it to another Mac.
MakerNotch needs macOS 14 or later, runs on Apple silicon and Intel, and works on Macs without a notch. Watch the app tour with sample projects, or read how it handles multiple projects.