Early access
Softset Notch
Use the space around the MacBook notch.
A small, interactive space at the top of your screen for what's playing, files in transit, your clipboard, timers, your next meeting, and your Mac's CPU, memory, and battery. Works on MacBooks with a notch and on other displays.
In development. Early access builds go to people on the list first.
The problem
The area around the notch goes unused.
It sits at the top centre of the screen and mostly hides menu bar icons. Meanwhile the things you check all day, like what's playing, how long until your next meeting, or whether a build finished, are spread across separate apps and windows.
Softset Notch demo
Hover over the notch to open it. A preview with example content.
Hover over the notch to see it all, then move away to close it.
Hover over the notch and it opens into a small panel; move away and it tucks back in. Drop a file on it to hold onto it, check your next event, or pause the music without leaving what you're doing.
Version 1 modules
Now Playing
Track, artwork, play and pause, skip, a timeline, and volume, for Music and Spotify.
Shelf
Drag files onto the notch to hold them for a while, then drag them out into Finder, Mail, Messages, Slack, Figma, or a browser upload field.
Clipboard
Recent copies, searchable, with pins. Skips passwords and apps you exclude.
Timers
Countdown, stopwatch, and Pomodoro, with a compact countdown that stays visible in the notch.
Calendar
Your next event, how long until it starts, and a compact agenda for the day.
System
CPU, memory, battery, and network, plus a warning when your Mac is running hot. It uses the same engine as Softset Pulse.
Alerts
Event banners
The notch briefly expands for a finished timer, a low battery, headphones connecting, a finished download, or a finished task.
Developer status
Local dev servers at a glance, and a one-line hook so Claude Code, Codex, or any terminal command can tell the notch when it's done.
New sales
Optionally connect a read-only Stripe key and see each sale arrive without opening a dashboard. The key stays in your Mac's Keychain.
Any Mac, any display
Macs without a notch
A simulated notch appears at the top of displays that don't have one.
Choose the display
Put Softset Notch on the built-in screen, the main display, or the display you're using.
Mirror
A quick look at yourself through the camera before a call. Nothing is recorded or saved.
Charging and AirDrop
A banner with the charge level when you plug in, and AirDrop for files on the shelf.
Privacy
What stays on your Mac
- Clipboard history, shelf files, timers, and calendar data stay on your Mac.
- Calendar access is read-only and used only to show your upcoming events.
- The camera is used only while the Mirror tab is open, and the picture is never recorded or saved.
- The optional Stripe connection uses a restricted, read-only key stored in your Keychain, and talks only to Stripe.
Softset trust card
What Softset Notch does with your Mac
- Internet required
- For license activation and a daily update check, and to reach Stripe only if you connect it.
- Account required
- No Softset account. Stripe is optional and uses your own read-only key.
- Usage analytics
- None.
- Data that leaves your Mac
- Your license key and an anonymous device ID when activating. If you connect Stripe, requests go straight from your Mac to Stripe.
- Permissions
- Calendars: Optional. To show your next event and today's agenda. Read-only.
- Automation (Music, Spotify): Optional. To show and control what's playing in those apps.
- Accessibility: Optional. Only to paste a clipboard item straight into the app you're using; without it, Notch copies and you press ⌘V.
- Bluetooth: Optional. Only for the banner when headphones or other devices connect.
- Camera: Optional. Only for the Mirror tab, while it's open.
- Runs in the background
- Yes. It lives at the top of your screen and listens for the events you turn on.
- Apple notarized
- No public build yet. Releases are signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple before they're published.
- Architecture
- Planned: Apple silicon and Intel (universal).
- Minimum macOS
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Tested on macOS 27 Golden Gate on Apple silicon.
More detail in the privacy policy. The Mac apps contain no analytics or tracking code.
- Requirements
- A Mac running macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
- Works on MacBooks with a notch and, with a simulated notch, on any other Mac or display.
- macOS
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later
- Price
- Early access. A one-time purchase; the price will be announced at launch.
- Changelog
- No public release yet. Softset Notch changelog
Questions about Softset Notch
Do I need a MacBook with a notch?
No. On Macs and displays without a notch, Softset Notch shows a simulated one at the top centre of the screen, and you choose which display it lives on.
Which music apps does Now Playing support?
Apple Music and Spotify, through their scripting support, which macOS asks you to allow once. Softset Notch doesn't use private system interfaces for playback, so browser audio isn't shown.
How does it know when Claude Code or a build finishes?
Add one line to your hook or script that opens a softset-notch:// link, for example open -g "softset-notch://event?title=Build%20finished", and the notch shows a banner. Softset Notch doesn't read your terminal.
Is connecting Stripe safe?
Softset Notch asks for a restricted, read-only Stripe key, stores it in your Mac's Keychain, and only reads recent charges to show new sales. It can't refund, charge, or change anything, and nothing goes through Softset.
When can I get it?
Softset Notch is in development. Join early access and we'll email you when the first build is ready. Pricing will be announced at launch and, like every Softset app, it's a one-time purchase.
Get Softset Notch early
In development. Early access builds go to people on the list first.
