LocalNotch v0.2.0-beta — Agent Mode

LocalNotch v0.2.0-beta — Agent Mode

The headline of v0.2 is Agent Mode: an opt-in, fully-local autonomous file assistant. Describe a task in plain language and LocalNotch reasons through it step by step — reading your files (PDFs included), searching and organizing them, and even writing new files like summaries or indexes — pausing for your approval before anything destructive. Powered by a separate local reasoning model; everything stays on your Mac.

Highlights

• Agent Mode (beta) — natural-language file tasks: organize, rename, find duplicates, summarize, index. Per-action approval with pause/resume, plus an optional Auto-approve mode for hands-free runs (Settings → Agent, off by default).
• Reads PDFs — extracts text via PDFKit, pages large files, and ranks files by date/size in a single step.
• Clearer approvals — approval requests appear in the response with explicit yes/no, and understand natural replies ("go ahead").
• Screen-edge glow on task start/finish; live action log; Markdown-rendered output.

Known beta limitations

• Multi-step tasks take a few minutes on a local 14B model.
• On large multi-file batches the agent may occasionally miss an item — spot-check its work.
• File-system only (no shell, web, or app control); no undo on agent file operations.

Install

1. Download LocalNotch.zip below, unzip, and move LocalNotch.app to /Applications.
2. Clear the Gatekeeper quarantine (the app is ad-hoc signed, not notarized):

   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/LocalNotch.app

   See the README for the full Gatekeeper steps.

Requires Apple Silicon, macOS 14+, and Ollama 0.4+ running locally.

LocalNotch v0.1.1-beta

What changed

• Fixed persistent Screen Recording permission prompts caused by unstable ad-hoc signing or malformed app installs.
• Hardened the release script so packaged apps must use the stable com.localnotch designated requirement instead of a cdhash-based identity.
• Added quiet screenshot diagnostics at ~/Library/Logs/LocalNotch/screen-capture.log for future ScreenCaptureKit debugging without adding UI.
• Updated README troubleshooting and version metadata for the v0.1.1-beta prerelease.

Validation

• Built with ./scripts/release.sh 0.1.1-beta.
• Verified the packaged app reports Identifier=com.localnotch.
• Verified the designated requirement is identifier "com.localnotch".
• Confirmed capture works on the reporter's macOS 26.3 MacBook Pro.

v0.1.0-beta — Initial public release

LocalNotch v0.1.0-beta

First public release. Beta software — expect rough edges. Apple Silicon only, macOS 14+.

Installation

1. Download LocalNotch.zip and unzip it
2. Drag LocalNotch.app to your Applications folder
3. Do not double-click. Gatekeeper will block it because the app is ad-hoc signed, not notarized:
   • macOS 14 (Sonoma): Right-click → Open → click Open
   • macOS 15 (Sequoia) / macOS 26 (Tahoe): Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → scroll to Security → click Open Anyway
   • Terminal (any version): xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/LocalNotch.app
4. Grant Screen Recording permission when prompted (required for the screenshot/vision feature)
5. Make sure Ollama is installed and running — LocalNotch will detect it on first launch

What's in this release

• Notch panel — hover to expand, move away to collapse; lives entirely in the notch
• Local AI chat — works with any model installed in Ollama
• Vision / screenshot — tap the camera button to capture your screen and ask about it; full-screen apps supported via ScreenCaptureKit
• Live web search — optional Brave Search API integration with a 3-layer classifier (explicit triggers → keyword detection → LLM)
• Guided 6-step onboarding — Ollama check, name, text model, vision model, web search key, done
• Settings — models, web search, personality (name + system prompt), about
• Check for Updates — menu bar sparkle icon → Check for Updates… opens this page when a newer release is available
• Liquid Glass UI — native macOS 26 Tahoe glass; frosted-glass fallback on macOS 14/15
• Weather widget — temperature, feels-like, humidity, condition via wttr.in (Fahrenheit)

Known limitations

• Chat history is not persisted across launches
• Keyboard/click input is unreliable when another app is in a full-screen Space (screenshots still work)
• Screen Recording permission re-prompts monthly on macOS 15+ for non-notarized apps
• Response text is not selectable in this release
• Reasoning tokens suppressed (think: false) — QwQ/DeepSeek-R1 etc. return final answer only
• Weather is Fahrenheit only

Requirements

• macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later
• Apple Silicon (M1 or newer)
• Mac with a physical notch (MacBook Pro 14"/16" 2021+, MacBook Air M2/M3/M4)
• Ollama installed and running