NotchNook for macOS

Description

Pull down for Live Activities

The HUD panel doesn't just show media playback. It surfaces Live Activities, so timers, delivery tracking or a sports score sit a swipe away. Keeps secondary info visible without pinning it to the Dock.

Check a file's audio loudness before export

Widgets inside NotchNook include a compact audio monitor. Drag a file onto the notch zone to get a true-peak reading before you commit to rendering, useful when you are juggling a mix without opening a full analyser.

Hide the menubar clock for good

Set the tray widget to show a custom date and time format, then strip the standard clock from the menubar entirely. One less thing competing for your peripheral vision on a tight laptop screen.

Strip the tray to only what you use

Right after install, open NotchNook’s preferences and disable anything you will not actually use. The default tray shows a calendar, music widget and a couple of Live Activity placeholders. If you never track deliveries or you already use a menu-bar calendar, turn those off. A lean tray responds faster.

Set the "hide menubar clock" toggle, then pick a date format from the tray widget. I use HH:mm EEE d MMM because it saves a glance at the calendar. Next, open the file shelf settings and point it at three folders you dip into every day. The shelf only shows the last ten items, so do not stuff it with archives.

Spend five minutes learning the hover zone sensitivity slider. Too twitchy and the panel drops every time your cursor drifts near the notch. Too slow and you will be waiting. Start at the default, use it for half a day, then nudge it.

One DJ’s evening: keeping a set steady while taking requests

A DJ playing a five-hour bar set runs Traktor on the main display, with NotchNook tucked in the notch of a 14-inch MacBook Pro. The file shelf holds a folder of request tracks pulled from a portable drive. When someone shouts a tune, they drag the file from the shelf straight into a deck. No Finder window, no overlapping windows.

The audio monitor widget shows true-peak levels during a quick level check on the cue channel. They flick the tray open, glance at the reading, and adjust trim without opening a loudness meter plug-in. The clock widget is set to show remaining time until last orders. The notch becomes a tiny broadcast panel that never obscures the waveforms.

Fitting into the rest of macOS

NotchNook plays nicely with Shortcuts. You can trigger a tray toggle via a shortcut that also switches Focus modes. I have one that turns the tray off when DaVinci Resolve launches and brings it back when I quit. The tray widgets draw from system frameworks for calendar and media, so they respect the same permissions as Notification Centre and Control Centre.

Live Activities pipe through from iOS apps that use the ActivityKit bridge. If you track a food order in the Deliveries app on your phone, it appears in the tray without pairing steps. Media controls latch onto Now Playing from Music, Spotify, or any web player that populates the Control Centre widget. It is not a separate audio engine, just a well-positioned remote.

Workflow: preparing a mix reference with the file shelf and audio monitor

1. Drop a folder called "Ref Tracks" onto the file shelf in NotchNook preferences.
2. Open your DAW and set the master output to your interface, with a send to a bus feeding the monitor widget.
3. Pull down the tray. Drag a reference WAV from the shelf onto the notch zone.
4. The audio monitor widget wakes up and shows a true-peak reading. Play the loudest section of the ref track.
5. Note the peak level, then switch back to your mix. Match the perceived loudness without pulling up a standalone meter plug-in.
6. Stash the widget into compact mode with a swipe so it sits behind your arrange window.
7. Repeat for two more ref tracks, each time dragging from the shelf. No Finder, no Dock clicks, no extra window management.

It is a small loop, but it keeps your head in the arrangement instead of bouncing between utilities. That is the whole point of the notch zone: stuff that used to be a separate app or a menu-bar icon gets one consistent tap target.

Requirements

• macOS 14.6 or later
• Apple silicon or Intel Mac