theboredteam/boring.notch

★ 9,075SwiftAudience · generalComplexity · 1/5Setup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((boring.notch))
    What it does
      Media controls
      File shelf
      Calendar events
    Features
      Music playback
      Battery indicator
      Volume overlay
    Installation
      Direct download
      Homebrew
    Planned features
      Bluetooth activity
      Weather widget
      Extension system
    Audience
      MacBook users
      Productivity seekers

mindmap root((boring.notch)) What it does Media controls File shelf Calendar events Features Music playback Battery indicator Volume overlay Installation Direct download Homebrew Planned features Bluetooth activity Weather widget Extension system Audience MacBook users Productivity seekers

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Control music playback and see what is playing without opening any other app, all from the notch area.

USE CASE 2

Drop files into the notch shelf temporarily to make them easy to AirDrop or move between folders.

USE CASE 3

See upcoming calendar events and battery percentage at a glance in the notch without cluttering your menu bar.

Tech stack

SwiftmacOS

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

No Apple Developer certificate yet, macOS will show an unidentified developer warning requiring a one-time terminal command to bypass.

In plain English

Boring Notch is a free Mac app that turns the camera notch at the top of a MacBook display into a useful interactive area. Instead of being a dead zone that just blocks content, the notch expands when you hover over it and reveals controls for whatever is playing on your computer. It was built by an independent team and is written in Swift, Apple's programming language for Mac and iPhone software. The main feature is music and media playback control. You can see what song is playing, pause or skip tracks, and watch a small audio visualizer animation, all without opening a separate app. The notch becomes the place where you manage sound rather than hunting for controls in another window. Beyond music, Boring Notch also adds several other features to that same notch area. It shows calendar events and reminders, displays battery charge level and percentage while your Mac is plugged in, and includes a file shelf where you can temporarily drop files for easy access or AirDrop sharing. It also replaces the default macOS volume and brightness pop-ups with its own versions that appear in the notch instead of center-screen. Installing it is straightforward. You can download the app directly from the project's releases page or install it through Homebrew, a popular tool for adding software to Macs. Because the team does not yet have an Apple Developer account, macOS will initially warn you that the app is from an unidentified developer. The README explains exactly how to bypass that warning with a single terminal command. The project is open source, so anyone can read or contribute to the code. The team has a roadmap of planned features including Bluetooth device live activity, weather integration, a lock screen widget, and an extension system for third-party additions.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

I want to install Boring Notch on my MacBook. Walk me through downloading it from the releases page, bypassing the unidentified developer warning, and getting it running.

Prompt 2

How do I install Boring Notch using Homebrew, and what features are available right after first launch?

Prompt 3

I want to contribute to Boring Notch. Where do I start in the Swift codebase to add a new interactive widget to the notch?

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