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Notchest

A top-notch chest of tools living in your MacBook's notch.

English · العربية

01Get started

Notchest is at 0.5 with no signed release yet, so you build it from source. It takes about a minute.

$ git clone https://github.com/H0777/Notchest.git
$ cd Notchest
$ ./build.sh     #→ dist/Notchest.app
$ ./check.sh     #→ 34 automated checks

Open dist/Notchest.app once. The island appears around the notch on the display you choose. Click it to open the chest of tools. Requirements: macOS 13+ (Apple Silicon), Xcode 26 or Command Line Tools with the macOS 26 SDK to build.

First launch on macOS. This development release uses ad-hoc signing and has not yet been Developer-ID signed or notarized by Apple. Download the DMG or ZIP from the official release and move Notchest into Applications. If you trust the source, try opening it once, then go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Security → Open Anyway beside Notchest and confirm Open. If the button is missing, try opening the app again. Apple’s instructions.

02Everyday tools

Focus timer & stopwatch

Timed focus sessions with live progress right on the island.

  1. Open the island and choose the focus tool.
  2. Pick a duration and start; collapse the island and keep working.
  3. Progress and completion stay visible on the notch.

Notes

A scratchpad that survives restarts.

  1. Open the notes tool and type.
  2. Text is saved locally and restored on the next launch.

Clipboard history (opt-in)

Recent text clips, kept in memory for this session.

  1. Enable clipboard history in settings.
  2. Copy as usual; recent clips appear in the tool.
  3. Items marked private by the system are filtered out.

File shelf

Keep files and folders at hand without cluttering the desktop.

  1. Drag files onto the shelf area of the island.
  2. References are kept locally; moving or deleting a file is respected.

03Developer space

Embedded terminal

A real interactive terminal (SwiftTerm) inside the island.

  1. Open the Developer tab and choose Terminal.
  2. Type commands; the session survives navigation between tabs.

Command runner

Non-interactive zsh commands with output capture and stop control.

  1. Choose a working folder.
  2. Type a command and press Run; use Stop to interrupt it.

Code transforms

JSON, encodings, hashes, and time — one click each.

  1. Paste input, then press JSON, Minify, Base64, URL, SHA-256, UUID, Epoch, or Regex.
  2. Use the swap button to feed the result back as input.

Git & GitHub pull requests

Repository status for any folder, plus PRs via GitHub CLI.

  1. For PRs, install GitHub CLI: brew install gh then gh auth login.
  2. Choose your project folder in the Git tab.
  3. Refresh to see branch, changes and commits; switch to GitHub PR for pull requests.
Without gh installed and signed in, the panel says so instead of failing silently.

Snippets

Commands and templates you keep retyping.

  1. Add a snippet with a name and body.
  2. Click it any time to copy it to the clipboard.

Activity API (opt-in)

Let your scripts post build and task progress to the island.

  1. Enable the activity API in settings; a rotating access token is created.
  2. POST events to the local endpoint from your scripts or hooks.
  3. Progress and completion appear as island activity.
The API is local-only and stays off until you turn it on.

04AI usage, without the spyware

Local usage scan

Tokens from Codex and Claude CLI logs already on your machine.

  1. Use the Codex or Claude CLI as usual; nothing to configure.
  2. Open the AI usage tab — tokens today, this week, cache reuse, and weekly bars.
  3. If your logs live elsewhere, point the tool at that folder.

Live Codex limits

Current account rate-limit windows, on demand.

  1. Install the Codex CLI and sign in.
  2. Press “Live account limits” in the AI usage tab.
  3. Windows, reset times, and the fetch time appear in their own panel — independent from local logs.
Conversation text and credentials are never extracted. Local tokens are not a bill.

05Daily utilities

Weather

Current conditions (Open-Meteo).

  1. Open the weather tool and search for your city.
  2. The last update time is always shown; retry on network errors.

Translation

Apple's on-device translation, macOS 15+.

  1. Open the translate tool on macOS 15 or later.
  2. Download a language pair when macOS asks.
  3. On macOS 13–14 the tool explains that the system does not support it.

Stocks

Quotes via Alpha Vantage with your own key.

  1. Create a free Alpha Vantage key and paste it in the stocks tool; it is stored in Keychain.
  2. Add symbols and refresh; the quote date is shown.
  3. Alerts compare the price when you refresh — quotes may be last-close, not real-time.

Music & lyrics

Controls, artwork, and lyrics for Apple Music or Spotify.

  1. Start Apple Music or Spotify and play something.
  2. Allow automation when macOS asks; controls and artwork appear.
  3. Request lyrics (LRCLIB) — synced when available, textual otherwise.

06Monitoring — all opt-in

Each monitor asks for its macOS permission and stays off until you enable it.

Downloads & drives

  1. Enable download watching to get a “new file” notice for your Downloads folder.
  2. Removable drives appear and disappear as you connect them.

Camera mirror

  1. Open the camera tool and grant camera access.
  2. It uses the camera only while the mirror is open.

Calendar & reminders

  1. Connect the calendar to see upcoming events.
  2. Reminders are created only when you submit one.

Caps Lock

  1. Enable it in settings; the island reflects the key state.

07Settings

Island

  1. Size: smallest, default, and largest supported scales.
  2. Motion: on/off with duration control; Reduce Motion is always respected.
  3. Display: pick which screen carries the island.

Appearance & language

  1. Accent colors, including the saved custom choice.
  2. Language: English default, full Arabic with right-to-left layout.
  3. Liquid Glass on macOS 26+, system-material fallback earlier.

Startup

  1. Toggle “launch at login”; it uses the standard macOS login-item mechanism.