NotchDo is a focused Apple Reminders client that expands from the MacBook display notch. It keeps the everyday task loop—capture, review, edit, complete— available without opening a conventional window.
NotchDo uses Apple Reminders directly through EventKit. It has no account, cloud service, analytics pipeline, or separate task database.
- A native, notch-aware panel with fluid hover expansion, keyboard input, and a list-colored open-task indicator
- Global Quick Capture: press Control–Option–R from any app to open a translucent, Spotlight-style reminder panel; customize the shortcut in Settings
- Capture with context: add a title, notes, destination list, and due date; use Today, Tomorrow, Next Week, or the date picker
- Smart scopes: review Today, Overdue, Scheduled, and All Open across your Reminders lists, then edit each reminder in its original list
- Instant search: press Command–F to filter loaded reminder titles in the current list or smart scope; matching ignores case and accents
- Create lists, add reminders, complete with a brief Undo action, and swipe to delete
- Edit title, notes, due date and time, all-day state, priority, and supported recurrence rules inline
- Clear permission, first-list, loading, empty, and read-only states, with operation-specific errors when a change cannot be saved
- Automatic refresh after external Reminders changes and native Launch at Login
Download the universal ZIP from Releases, unzip it, and move NotchDo.app to Applications. Open NotchDo and allow full Reminders access when prompted. The app lives at the notch rather than in the Dock.
Capture from anywhere. Press Control–Option–R to open Quick Capture. Type a title, add optional notes, choose a writable list, and set a date. Press Return or use the submit button to save. Escape dismisses the panel. Open NotchDo Settings to record your preferred global shortcut; if another app already owns it, NotchDo reports the conflict and retains the previous shortcut.
Work from the notch. Move the pointer to the notch to expand your list. Start typing in the bottom composer to add a reminder to the selected list. Click a reminder to edit its details. Escape or an outside click closes the active editor; scrolling keeps it open. Complete a reminder with its check control and use Undo to restore the most recent completion. Repeating reminders ask for confirmation before deletion.
Choose a list or a smart scope. Use the header picker to switch between lists, create a list, or open Today, Overdue, Scheduled, or All Open. Smart scopes gather matching incomplete reminders across lists. The bottom composer is hidden there because there is no single destination; use Quick Capture and choose a list to add a reminder. Read-only lists remain browsable, with changes disabled.
Find a reminder. Press Command–F or use the search button. Results
update as you type without changing EventKit's order. Search matches titles:
for example, cafe also finds café. Use the single close-search button or
Escape to return to the unfiltered view. Search covers the current loaded
list or smart scope, not completed reminders or notes.
Start fresh. If there are no lists, use Create List to make your first one. An empty writable list offers the composer immediately. Empty smart scopes explain that there are no matching reminders.
| Quick Capture | List view | Smart lists |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| Add a reminder from any app, with a list, date, and notes. | Review and add reminders directly at the notch. | View Today, Overdue, Scheduled, or All Open across your lists. |
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later
- A Mac with a display notch for the intended experience
- Xcode with Swift 6.2 or later to build from source
- Full Reminders access
The repository is a native Swift Package Manager project. Its project-local runner builds, bundles, ad-hoc signs, and launches the application:
./script/build_and_run.shAvailable modes:
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
./script/build_and_run.sh |
Build and launch the release configuration |
./script/build_and_run.sh --verify |
Launch and confirm the process is running |
./script/build_and_run.sh --debug |
Build the debug configuration and open LLDB |
./script/build_and_run.sh --logs |
Launch and stream application logs |
./script/build_and_run.sh --telemetry |
Stream logs for the NotchDo subsystem |
Build output is staged at dist/NotchDo.app. Both dist/ and SwiftPM build
artifacts are intentionally excluded from version control.
On first use, NotchDo explains why access is needed before requesting full Reminders permission. macOS retains the decision for subsequent launches.
If permission was denied previously, open:
System Settings → Privacy & Security → Reminders
Reminder content is read from and written to EventKit in place. NotchDo does not copy tasks into another persistence layer and does not transmit reminder data to a server.
Existing EKReminder instances are updated instead of being reconstructed.
This preserves fields that NotchDo does not currently expose for editing.
- EventKit does not expose Apple Reminders' manual sort-position metadata. NotchDo therefore preserves the order returned by EventKit and does not offer a reorder interaction that it cannot sync back to Reminders.
- Features unavailable through the public EventKit API remain owned by Apple Reminders and cannot be edited independently in NotchDo.
Sources/NotchDo/
├── App/ Application entry point
├── Models/ Reminder editing and authorization state
├── Stores/ EventKit-backed reminder state
├── Support/ Formatting, layout, and interaction helpers
├── Views/ SwiftUI surfaces and controls
└── Windowing/ AppKit panel integration
Support/ Bundle metadata and sandbox entitlements
script/ Development and distribution workflows
NotchDo is available under the MIT License.
NotchDo's animatable notch silhouette adapts the path geometry from DynamicNotchKit by Kai Azim, used under the MIT License. NotchDo adds radius validation and integrates the shape into its own layout and animation system. The complete upstream copyright and license text is included in Third-Party Notices.