Triple-tap Caps Lock — a session starts. Step away — it pauses. Sit back down — it asks if you're ready to focus.
$14.99 once · Local-only · All major updates free, forever
Everything else is parity with Session, Flow, TomatoBar. These three are the wedge.
The keyboard's most-wasted key claims a new job. No modifier-key gymnastics — just three quick taps and a session starts. Doesn't fight Cursor, VS Code, Xcode, or Chrome DevTools.
Every other Mac focus timer hides in the menu bar corner. Notch sits dead-center, peripheral vision, never covering your work. The black hardware cutout becomes part of the timer.
Walk away from your Mac — Notch pauses itself. Sit back down — it expands the notch and asks if you're ready to focus. The app meets you halfway.
Pomodoro durations, smart check-ins, history, achievements. The basics done right, plus what no one else has.
Your task names ("Reviewing layoffs", "Doctor's appointment") never leave your Mac. The privacy claim isn't marketing — it's a sandbox entitlement. The only network call Notch makes is to Apple's StoreKit for purchases. Optional crash reporting is opt-in and off by default.
No third-party SDKs. No analytics scripts. No "we collect anonymized…" — we collect nothing by default.
Indie Mac craft pricing. No subscription. Your Mac App Store purchase covers every major version, forever.
If yours isn't here, email hello@notch.rocks.
No. One-time purchase, $14.99. Family Sharing is on. Every major version is included for launch buyers, forever.
Notch falls back to a menu bar item. The full app still works — but the notch is the differentiator. We're built for MacBook Pro 14"/16" and the notched MacBook Air. If you have a non-notch Mac, you might prefer something else.
Caps Lock is the most-wasted key on your keyboard. Apple disables it by default in many regions. Triple-tap is a gesture nobody else uses, so it doesn't conflict with Cursor's command palette, VS Code's keyboard shortcuts, Xcode's build hotkey, or Chrome DevTools. Once it's in your fingers, you stop fighting modifier collisions.
The free tier is the trial — and it's a real product, not a teaser. Triple-tap Caps Lock to start, Pause hotkey, halfway + every-15-min check-ins, 3 templates, 7 days of history, overlay nudges, first two productivity levels. All indefinitely. Pro adds Watch Mode (auto-pause when you step away), custom hotkeys, unlimited templates and history, all 10 tiers, and sound themes.
None. Notch is sandboxed. No account, no cloud, no analytics, no telemetry, no third-party SDKs. The only outbound network call is to Apple's StoreKit for purchases. Optional crash reporting is off by default; if you opt in, it sends anonymized stack traces only — never task names or session data.
Refunds are handled through the Mac App Store (Settings → App Store → Purchase History → Report a Problem). Restoring on a new Mac: open Settings → Get Pro → Restore Purchases. Family Sharing covers up to 5 family members on the same iCloud family.
No. Team features force a backend, accounts, and cloud sync — which kills the local-first privacy positioning that's the whole point. If a future version adds collaborative focus, it'll be local-network only (AirDrop / Bonjour) — never a cloud server.
Yes — sessions chain, max single duration is 240 minutes, auto-pause covers meal breaks. We're shipping a "Marathon Mode" in v1.1 with milestone reminders for 12+ hour sprints if hackathon teams adopt it.
Mac App Store. macOS 13+. MacBook with notch recommended.
Coming soon. Email hello@notch.rocks to be notified at launch.