Questions? Answers.

NotchStar is a native Mac app that turns the area around the MacBook notch into a small control center. Hover or click the notch and you get clipboard history, a file shelf with AirDrop, now playing, calendar and reminders, timers, a teleprompter, a camera mirror, system stats and quick notes.

NotchStar needs macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later and runs on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs. Macs with a notch show it in the notch. Other Macs get a small floating pill at the top centre of the screen.

Yes. On a Mac with no notch, such as an iMac, Mac mini or an external display, NotchStar draws a small floating pill at the top centre of the screen and expands from there.

NotchStar costs $4 once, with no subscription. Every install includes 7 days free, and one license works on up to 3 of your Macs.

Yes. Every install includes 7 days with every tool unlocked. After that NotchStar asks for a license key to keep the notch open. It never touches your data.

Not by default. There is no account, and the app measures nothing unless you choose to share anonymous version info (the version, your macOS version and your chip, once a day, with a random ID). Clipboard history stays in memory on your Mac and is cleared when you quit, and the app skips copies that password managers mark as concealed. See the privacy policy for details.

Only what a tool needs, and only when you open that tool: Calendars and Reminders for the Calendar tab, Camera for Mirror, and Automation if it needs to control Music or Spotify as a fallback. You can change these any time in System Settings.

It listens to the macOS Now Playing service through an open source adapter, so it works with Music, Spotify and other apps that report there. If that route is unavailable it falls back to AppleScript for Music and Spotify. Our guide explains the tradeoffs.

It is built to be light. It is a native menu bar app with no Dock icon, and most tools only sample data while they are on screen. The clipboard watcher and timers keep working when the notch is closed.

A Windows version is planned after the Mac release. It has no date and it would be a separate app built for Windows, not a port of the Mac code.

It is smaller on purpose. NotchStar offers ten tools built to feel native to macOS, with accessibility support, for a single $4 payment. Some other apps do more, and our comparison pages say where.

Version 1.0 is signed but not yet notarized by Apple, so macOS asks you to confirm the first launch. The install page shows the two clicks it takes. Notarization is planned once our Apple Developer enrolment is complete.