Best MacBook Notch Apps in 2026

The MacBook notch was controversial when Apple introduced it. Then developers turned it into a feature. Here are the best apps that live in your notch.

NotchNook

$25 lifetime / $3 monthly — lo.cafe/notchnook

The original notch app. Media controls, AirDrop shelf, calendar, mirror, clipboard. The Swiss Army knife of notch apps. Premium feel, lots of features.

BoringNotch

Free, open source — theboring.name

Started as a "boring" alternative to NotchNook. Now playing music, HUD replacement, shelf, and more. Free and open source with 4K+ GitHub stars.

NotchFlow

$20 lifetime — notchflow.app

Pomodoro timer and focus tool in the notch. Clean design, minimal approach. Focus sessions expand from the notch.

WalkOS

$5 one-time — walkos.aishashok.com

A walking reminder that lives in your notch. Dot-matrix character counts down to your next walk and gets sad if you don't move. One-tap logging, work hours, pause for meetings. The only notch app focused on getting you to walk.

Alcove

$14 one-time — tryalcove.com

Utility hub in the notch. Charging status, calendar events, now playing. Clean, minimal, focused.

Which one should you get?

It depends on what you want from your notch:

Everything: NotchNook — most features, highest polish

Free: BoringNotch — open source, community-driven

Focus timer: NotchFlow — pomodoro in the notch

Walk reminders: WalkOS — the only notch app that nags you to walk

Utility hub: Alcove — clean and minimal

Can you use multiple notch apps?

Not really. They all draw in the same notch area, so they'll overlap. Pick one. Or use WalkOS alongside another app — you can hide the notch widget and just use the menu bar icon.

Want to build your own?

WalkOS is built on NotchKit — an open-source agent skill for building macOS notch apps. Install it and tell your AI coding agent what to build:

npx skills add aishwaryaashok14/notch-kit

A walking reminder that lives in your MacBook notch. $5 once.

Download WalkOS for Mac