Notchcode

An ambient monitor for Claude Code and OpenAI Codex that lives in your MacBook's notch — now on Windows too, as a top-center status pill.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/004bf888-17de-4540-927e-38600448f776

🟢 Actively maintained

v1.0.0 launched June 2026 with both macOS and Windows builds; v1.1.0 added Codex CLI support. Issues and PRs are reviewed.

Features

Notch UI — at rest the overlay matches the hardware cutout exactly; it expands only when a session is live
Live session monitoring — track multiple Claude Code sessions in real-time via hooks, with a file-watcher fallback
Codex support — monitors OpenAI Codex CLI sessions through the same pipeline; mixed sessions sit side by side, badged CC/CD so you always know which agent is which
Jump to terminal — when Claude is waiting on a permission prompt, one tap on the notch focuses the right terminal
Session drill-down — tap a session to see its conversation history, live-tailed as it streams
Usage tracking — exact local token counts with a weekly budget and a quiet "brake" warning before you hit it
Session lifecycle — end sessions gracefully from the notch; crashed sessions are detected automatically
Auto hook setup — additive, idempotent installer that never touches other tools' hooks
Works on non-notch Macs — renders a virtual notch at menubar center on Airs, minis, and external displays
Windows support — a borderless, always-on-top status pill at the top-center of your primary monitor (Tauri 2)

Requirements

macOS 13+, or Windows 10 (1809+) / Windows 11
Claude Code and/or Codex CLI

Install

macOS

Download the latest signed & notarized DMG from Releases, or build from source:

git clone https://github.com/billxby/notchcode.git
open notchcode/mac/Notchcode/Notchcode.xcodeproj   # Xcode 16+, then ⌘R

On first launch, Notchcode offers to install its Claude Code hooks for you. Prefer to do it manually?

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/billxby/notchcode/main/mac/Notchcode/Notchcode/Resources/install-hooks.sh | bash            # Claude Code
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/billxby/notchcode/main/mac/Notchcode/Notchcode/Resources/install-hooks.sh | bash -s codex   # Codex

Windows

Download the latest installer (Notchcode_x64-setup.exe) from Releases — per-user install, no admin rights required. SmartScreen may warn on first launch while the app builds reputation: More info → Run anyway.

Or build from source:

git clone https://github.com/billxby/notchcode.git
cd notchcode/windows/app
npm install
npm run tauri dev

See windows/README.md for development details, packaging, and uninstall notes.

How It Works

Notchcode watches the session files your agents already write — ~/.claude/projects/ for Claude Code, ~/.codex/sessions/ for Codex (under %USERPROFILE% on Windows) — and listens for hook events on a local loopback server (127.0.0.1:9876). Hooks give sub-second updates; the file watcher keeps everything working even without them.

Hooks are fire-and-forget: if Notchcode isn't running, they time out in under a second and the agent never notices.

Privacy

Everything stays on your machine. No analytics, no telemetry, no network calls beyond loopback.

Roadmap

✅ Windows support — shipped in v1.0.0 (Tauri 2 + React/TS + Rust, notch-style top bar)
✅ Codex CLI support — shipped in v1.1.0, on both platforms
Themes & customization — accent colors and prebuilt themes, community PR-driven
Quality of life — session history search, markdown export, configurable auto-expand rules
Multi-monitor & power user — choose your notch's display, keyboard shortcuts
Homebrew Cask

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Open an issue or a PR — see CONTRIBUTING.md for setup and ground rules.

Credits

The notch overlay geometry is vendored from DynamicNotchKit by MrKai77 — see CREDITS.md.

License

MIT