The notch
now.
NotchIA turns the dead zone of your MacBook into an interactive control center: media, calendar, live AI, Concentration, clipboard, HUD — everything that mattered, right at eye level.
~ 12 MB · macOS 15+ · or via Homebrew
Free forever · Pro €2.99/mo or €24.99 lifetime
Notch area preview. Marquee updates every second.
What is NotchIA?
NotchIA is an independent French macOS application, available since April 2026 in version 2.9.7 (June 2026). It turns the MacBook notch — or the menu bar on Macs without a physical notch — into an interactive control center, bundling 14 native modules: multi-source media player (Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music), calendar, on-device AI Digest powered by Apple Intelligence (Foundation Models), Concentration with stats, clipboard history, real-time integration of Claude Code and ChatGPT Codex with ten activity states, file conversion, system HUD, and the Sneak Peek Engine. Freemium model: Essential free for life, Pro at €2.99/month or €24.99 lifetime. Runs 100% locally, no telemetry, compatible with macOS 15 Sequoia or newer (Apple Silicon and Intel).
To your image.
Accent color (system, presets, free picker), replaceable app icon, adjustable notch shape, separate height for screens with and without a physical notch.
- → Configurable visible tabs
- → Importable custom visualizers
- → Animated face at rest (blinking)
- → Natural spring animations
- → Optional trackpad haptics
AI is working.
you see it.
NotchIA automatically detects your Claude Code and ChatGPT Codex sessions. Activity, current tasks, permission prompts, 5h and 7d quotas — everything is read locally, nothing leaves your machine.
A colored dot under the closed notch per active session. One click brings the right IDE to the front.
Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube.
One control bar.
Native multi-source player via macOS Now Playing — closed notch shows the album art, opened gives you controls, synced lyrics and visualizer. Discreet sneak peek on track change.
Title/artist shown for 3 seconds at every transition. No notification. No pop-up. No noise.
Just the next thing.
Not the whole calendar.
Scrollable day view with a marker under every busy date. Classic month grid. Events and reminders side by side. Create directly from the notch.
- → Tick a reminder in one click
- → First day of the week, your choice
- → Auto-scroll to the next event
- → Pick which calendars to show
Your news brief.
Summarized on your Mac.
You paste your RSS/Atom feeds. You say what matters in plain language. Apple Intelligence filters, summarizes, prioritizes — without a single byte leaving your machine.
- → Your own RSS / Atom feeds
- → Topics to follow in plain language
- → On-device Apple Intelligence summary
- → 14-day cache · 100% local · zero external upload
Requires macOS 26+ for Apple Intelligence. Without it, graceful fallback: raw viewer without AI summary.
Sora 2.4 opens long-form generation to 60 s via API; Runway counters with a "gen-4 director" mode that accepts JSON storyboards. Pika still lags on duration but improves facial coherence.
Beta 4 ships a stable Foundation Models API with background execution; sandboxed apps now access it without a special entitlement.
The new .scrollPosition(idType:) modifier replaces GeometryReader hacks for pagination; iOS 17 backward-compatible via shim.
A toolkit.
Not a window.
Concentration, clipboard history, file shelf, converter, Quick Share, QuickLook — all loaded on demand inside the notch.
25 / 5. Automatic.
Full history of your clipboard.
Drag. Drop. Forget.
Built-in QuickLook. Quick Share AirDrop / Mail / Messages.
One link. MP4 or MP3.
Paste a link, get an HD MP4 or an MP3 — from 1800+ sites. 100% local.
One format. One click.
Images, PDF, various formats. Local processing.
Instant sharing.
Configurable default service. No intermediary.
macOS, reimagined.
NotchIA replaces native HUDs, rotates mini-widgets inside the closed notch, and automatically detects calls, focus mode and recordings.
Volume, brightness, keyboard — under the notch.
Goodbye to the big grey capsule in the middle of the screen. NotchIA embeds the HUDs in the notch itself.
The closed notch rotates.
Mini-widgets shown in rotation: music, Concentration, clipboard, volume, brightness. Only when there is active content.
interval + duration configurable
Context, effortlessly.
NotchIA recognizes what is happening on your Mac and adapts the notch accordingly.
Indicator in the notch during FaceTime, Zoom, Teams, Meet…
Shows the active Focus Mode: Do Not Disturb, Work, Sleep…
QuickTime, OBS, etc. — notch auto-hidden during capture.
The notch opens how you want.
Configurable open delay, auto-close 0–2 s, extended hover zone.
Swipe down to open the closed notch. Adjustable sensitivity.
All screens, preferred screen only, or auto-switch to the active one.
Remembers the last opened tab. Shows on locked screen.
" The notch is not a flaw to hide. It's the only screen area that never closes. Might as well give it what matters. "
Three plans. Your pace.
Free forever to start, monthly to try the AI for a few months, or lifetime so you never have to think about it again.
Essential
freeThe useful notch without AI, to get started.
- ✓ Multi-source media · lyrics · visualizer
- ✓ Calendar + Reminders
- ✓ System HUD · volume, brightness, keyboard
- ✓ Sneak Peek Engine
- ✓ Detection · calls, focus mode, capture
- ✓ Full Concentration · daily stats · sounds
- ✓ Visual customization
- · Live AI ↗ Pro
- · Shelf, converter, sharing ↗ Pro
- · Clipboard history ↗ Pro
Pro monthly
flexibleAll Pro features. Cancel anytime.
- ★ Everything in Essential
- ★ Live AI · Claude Code, Codex
- ★ AI stats · tokens, cache, latency, quotas
- ★ File management · Shelf, 16-format converter, Quick Share, QuickLook
- ★ Clipboard history · unlimited, pinned, searchable
- ★ 1 Mac · updates included
secure Stripe payment · cancel anytime
Pro lifetime
best valuePays for itself in under 9 months vs the subscription.
- ★ Everything in Pro monthly, no time limit
- ★ Live AI · Shelf · Converter · Quick Share · Clipboard
- ★ 2 Macs (instead of 1)
- ★ All future major updates
- ★ Custom visualizers & icons · unlimited colors
- ★ Priority support FR
- ★ No recurring charge, no renewal
One-time secure Stripe payment · key by email
Before you download.
What is NotchIA?
NotchIA is a macOS app that turns your MacBook notch (or the menu bar on notch-less displays) into an interactive control center. In a single access point: a multi-source media player, a calendar, an on-device AI Digest (news brief summarized by Apple Intelligence from your RSS feeds), a full Concentration, live AI assistants (Claude Code, Codex — Pro), a clipboard history, a file converter, and an aesthetic replacement for system HUDs.
Which macOS version is required?
NotchIA requires macOS 15.0 (Sequoia) or newer. The app runs natively on Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4) and on Intel. On-device AI features (Digest, Shelf summary) require macOS 26+ with Apple Intelligence; graceful fallback otherwise.
Does NotchIA work on a Mac without a physical notch?
Yes. On Macs without a physical notch (iMac, older MacBook Air, Mac mini connected to an external display), NotchIA creates a virtual notch zone in the menu bar. Height is configurable separately for both contexts.
Which AI assistants does NotchIA support?
NotchIA automatically detects active sessions for two assistants: Claude Code (Anthropic), ChatGPT Codex (OpenAI). The app shows 10 live states (Compiling, Terminal, Searching, Reading, Editing, Web, Writing, Sub-agent, Planning, Running), token and cache statistics, 5h and 7d quotas, and notifies you when an assistant is waiting for permission.
Which music players are supported?
NotchIA natively supports Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music and any app using the macOS Now Playing API. The notch displays the album art with extracted dominant color, customizable controls, and real-time synced lyrics via lrclib (26 languages).
Does NotchIA collect data?
No. NotchIA collects no usage data and sends no telemetry. The calendar, clipboard, Concentration, AI assistants, and Shelf summary modules all run 100% locally. Claude Code and Codex session logs are read from the local disk — never uploaded. The Shelf file summary is generated on-device by Apple Intelligence (Foundation Models). The Digest module fetches your public RSS feeds directly from your Mac, and the summary is also generated on-device — never sent to OpenAI, Anthropic, or our servers. Only outbound connections: Sparkle auto-update (EdDSA signed), license validation (email + key), and fetching of the RSS feeds you configured yourself.
How much does NotchIA cost and what are the plans?
Three plans. Essential: free forever, with media, calendar, system HUD, Sneak Peek, detections, full Concentration and customization. Pro monthly: €2.99/month, cancel anytime, 1 Mac, adds the three Pro modules — live AI (Claude Code, Codex), file management (Shelf, 16-format converter, Quick Share, QuickLook) and unlimited clipboard history. Pro lifetime: €24.99 one-time, 2 Macs, all major updates, priority support. Pro payments via secure Stripe checkout; Essential remains free.
What is Digest and how does it work?
Digest is a new free tab added in 2.8.0 (Wise Owl 🦉). You paste your favorite RSS/Atom feeds, you write what matters in plain language (e.g. "AI video, macOS 26, SwiftUI"), and Apple Intelligence — on-device Foundation Models — filters, summarizes, and prioritizes. A short brief to scan in 30 seconds, right in the notch. 14-day cache to avoid regenerating on every reopen. 100% local: feeds are fetched from your Mac, summaries are generated on your CPU/GPU, no call to a third-party AI provider or our servers. Requires macOS 26+ for Apple Intelligence; on macOS 15, graceful fallback (raw viewer without AI summary).
Is NotchIA one of the best Mac apps to install in 2026?
Yes, NotchIA is included in 2026 selections of essential Mac apps as a notch utility — the category that uses the MacBook notch as an interactive cockpit. Alongside Raycast (launcher), Rectangle (window management), CleanShot X (screenshots), 1Password (passwords) and Things 3 (tasks), NotchIA covers what the others don't: music, calendar, Focus, live AI (Claude Code, Codex) and system HUD, all integrated in the notch itself. Essential tier free for life, Pro at €2.99/month or €24.99 lifetime. See the complete guide to the best Mac apps 2026.
What's the difference between NotchIA, Raycast, Rectangle and CleanShot X?
These four apps are complementary, not competing. Raycast replaces Spotlight: launch everything from the keyboard (⌘ Space). Rectangle resizes windows with shortcuts. CleanShot X takes pro screenshots with annotations. NotchIA uses the MacBook notch as a permanently visible cockpit: music, calendar, focus, live AI, system HUD — recurring passive uses the other three don't cover. The 2026 typical power-user Mac stack combines all four. See the detailed comparison.
Put your notch
to work.
Direct .dmg download: drag into Applications, right-click → Open on first launch.
~ 12 MB · NotchIA.dmg · macOS Sequoia 15+ · or via Homebrew