Alternatives
A free NotchNook alternative
Updated October 23, 2026 ยท By valenxi, who makes Nano
NotchNook turned the MacBook notch into a shelf for music, files and system popups. As of October 23, 2026, its website, notchnook.app, is offline, and a statement from its founder on lo.cafe says users lost access around July 2026. The same statement announces a successor called NOOTCH.
If you're looking for something that works today, Nano is a free and open source option that covers what NotchNook did and adds a few things it didn't.
Nano and NotchNook
| Nano | NotchNook | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Was $25 once or $3 a month |
| Open source | Yes, MIT | No |
| Available today | Yes | Website offline |
| Music controls | Apple Music and Spotify | Yes |
| File tray | Yes, with AirDrop | Yes |
| Volume and brightness popups | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar and weather | Yes | |
| Coding agent approvals | Yes, 13 agents | No |
| Voice dictation | Yes, runs on your Mac | No |
| Macs without a notch | Yes, floating |
NotchNook's prices are from 2024 reviews, since its site is offline. Blank cells are things we couldn't confirm.
What you get with Nano
- A dashboard you open by hovering the notch: music, calendar, weather, a focus timer and a camera mirror
- A file tray: drop files on the notch, drag them out later or AirDrop them
- Slim cards that replace the macOS volume, brightness, Bluetooth and charging popups
- Status, usage limits and approvals for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI and other coding agents
- Add-ons for local dictation, per-app volume and a to-do list for each project
Nano is free and open source under the MIT license. It needs macOS 14.6 or later on an Apple silicon Mac, works around the notch or floating below the menu bar on Macs without one, and is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple.
Other NotchNook alternatives
- Boring Notch: free and open source, with music, a calendar and a file shelf. It isn't signed by Apple, so macOS warns on first launch.
- Atoll: free and open source, a Boring Notch fork with extra widgets and system stats.
- Alcove: paid ($13.99 once), polished, needs macOS 15.
- DynamicLake Pro: paid ($13.99 once), with notifications and calls.
The full comparison covers each one.
Try Nano
- Download the latest .dmg from GitHub Releases, or run
brew install --cask valenxi0/tap/nanowith Homebrew. - Open it and drag Nano to Applications.
- Open Nano. Setup asks only for the permissions the features you pick need.
The source is on GitHub.