Dynamic Ledge
Your MacBook's notch, put to work. Like the Dynamic Island on iPhone, but for your MacBook's notch. When something's going on, the notch stretches out and shows it: music, timers, calls, your next event. When nothing is, it tucks back in. Called Dynamic Notch until 1.4.0.
Free. Download · Mac, v1.4.2. Buy Dynamic Ledge
What it does
Music from any app, with lyrics
Music, podcasts and video, with the album art and play, pause and skip, and the line being sung for songs with timed lyrics. Swipe sideways to skip songs. Choose which apps show up, so videos in your browser stay out.
Timers, Pomodoro and a stopwatch
5, 10 and 15 minute timers, any length you like, 25 minute focus sessions with breaks, and a stopwatch, next to the camera.
Calls and your calendar
FaceTime, Zoom, Meet, Teams and any app using the mic, with a mute button, and a hang up button for Zoom, Teams, Webex and WhatsApp. Your next event, with a heads up 5 minutes before.
A Home that puts live things first
Click the notch, or rest your pointer on it, for Home: up to three sections side by side, with a call or music first, each with its own buttons, then timers and your Shortcuts. Beside it sit up to three shortcuts of your own.
Everything in one grid
Now Playing, Timer, Stopwatch, Calendar, Reminders, Clipboard, Files, Scratchpad, Camera Mirror, Keep Awake and Stats, each with a ⌃⌥ keyboard shortcut. Search and pin your clips, and pin files in the Tray.
Elongated layout
Home stretches across the top of the screen in one long row: music you can scrub, a camera mirror, your week with one click Join for calls, notes, a wheel timer and a to-do list.
Stats and alerts
Memory and CPU beside the camera when nothing else is on, plus disk and network. Volume, brightness, charging, low battery, and how far along your downloads are.
A Glass look
Pick Glass for a smoked glass notch that eases into frosted glass along the bottom edge, with softer, springier motion and a slider for how dark it stays. Black stays the default.
Allow or Deny from the notch
Switch on Claude Code, Codex, Copilot CLI, Antigravity or Cursor, and when one wants to run a command or change a file, the notch shows what it wants with Allow and Deny.
Free software
No account, and nothing about what you do is tracked. Signed updates, checked before they install. Licensed under the GNU GPL, version 3 or later, with all the code on GitHub.
What you need
- A Mac with macOS 14 (Sonoma) or newer
- Best on a MacBook with a notch. Other screens get a notch of their own at the top, which shows when there's something going on
- Allowing it once in Privacy & Security, since it isn't registered with Apple yet
Setup takes about 2 minutes.
Good to know
- It asks for the camera only when you open Mirror, and your calendar or reminders only when you connect them. Nothing is recorded or sent anywhere.
- Clipboard history is never saved to disk, except clips you pin, and passwords from password managers are skipped.
- Once a day it sends one anonymous count (a random, hashed ID with the app and macOS versions) so we know how many Macs use it. Nothing about you or what you do is sent.
- Lyrics come from lrclib.net, which is sent only the song's name, artist, album and length. Turn them off in Settings, Activities.
- Music uses a hidden part of macOS. If Apple removes it in an update, music stops showing but everything else keeps working.
- Install with Homebrew: brew install --cask shandilyaswagat/tap/dynamic-ledge
New in 1.4.2 (31 October 2026)
Glass, download progress and Allow or Deny.
Questions
I installed it and nothing's showing up.
That's on purpose. It stays hidden until there's something to show, like music or a timer. Hover over the notch and it puffs out a little; click it to open it.
Why does my Mac warn me when I open it?
It isn't registered with Apple yet. Open it once, then in System Settings, Privacy & Security, click Open Anyway. You only do this once.
My Mac doesn't have a notch. Does it work?
Yes. Screens without a notch get one of their own at the top centre. It stays out of sight until something's going on, or until you rest your pointer on its spot.
Why the new name?
Dynamic Notch is now Dynamic Ledge. It's the same app. Updating keeps all your settings, and the app renames itself in your Applications folder the first time it opens. With Homebrew, existing installs move across on their own.
Is it safe?
All the code is public on GitHub under the GNU GPL. The app doesn't collect anything about you. It goes online only for a daily check for a new version, which you can turn off, one anonymous count a day (a random, hashed ID with the app and macOS versions), and, with Lyrics on, to look up the song that's playing on lrclib.net (just its name, artist, album and length).
Can I stop videos from showing up?
Yes. In Settings, Activities, set Show music from to Only these apps and tick just your music app, like Spotify. YouTube and other websites play through your browser, so leave the browser unticked.
How do I update it?
It updates itself. When a new version is out, an Update button appears when you open the notch, and each update is checked before it installs. Your settings and permissions are kept. With Homebrew, brew upgrade --cask dynamic-ledge works too.
How do I remove it?
Quit it from the capsule icon in the menu bar, then drag it from Applications to the Trash.