Atoll

The MacBook notch, upgraded twice. Atoll is an open-source macOS notch hub that replicates the full NotchNook feature set — and then goes further by putting your live Claude Code and Codex sessions in the notch, Notchi-style: watch agents work, get pinged when they need you, and approve tool permissions without switching to the terminal.

macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon & Intel · Swift/SwiftUI · no sandbox (it can't be — see below)

Install

Grab the latest universal DMG and drag Atoll to Applications:

curl -L -o Atoll.dmg https://github.com/rutmehta/Atoll/releases/download/v0.3.1/Atoll-0.3.1.dmg
open Atoll.dmg

Or build from source: ./scripts/build-app.sh && open dist/Atoll.app

Heads-up: the current release is ad-hoc signed, so macOS shows a one-time Gatekeeper prompt on first launch (see Known limitations). Follow Notarized builds to ship zero-warning installs.

The hook in action

A Claude Code session runs in the notch — watch it work, get pinged when it needs you, and approve a tool permission without leaving the notch:

Screenshots

Home — media, calendar and widgets in the notch:

Agents — live Claude Code / Codex session monitor with state, tool feed and usage:

Permission approval — the red pulse means an agent is waiting; approve right there:

Shelf / tray — drag files, links and text (plus AirDrop) to the notch:

Features

The Nook (NotchNook parity)

• Dynamic notch — invisible at rest, reacts on hover, expands into a widget hub with spring morph animations. Works on notchless/external displays with a virtual notch.
• Tray / Shelf — drag files at the notch (it auto-opens), stash them, Quick Look with Space, multi-select, drag back out anywhere, paste from clipboard, and an AirDrop drop zone for files, text, and links.
• Media player — system-wide now-playing (any app: Music, Spotify, browsers, VLC) with artwork, draggable seek bar, shuffle/repeat, and an animated visualizer; artwork-tinted UI; live activity wings on the closed notch; AppleScript fallback for Spotify/Music.
• Calendar — your day at a glance, swipe between days, pick calendars, click to open.
• Mirror — webcam preview in the notch (built-in, external, Continuity).
• Timers — countdown + stopwatch with a closed-notch live countdown.
• Notes — quick capture notes with autosave.
• To-dos — favorites, complete-with-strikethrough, auto-archive.
• Shortcuts — run your macOS Shortcuts from the notch.
• HUD replacement — volume/brightness keys render as sleek in-notch indicators instead of the system bezel (needs Accessibility; off by default).
• Live activities — battery/charging events, Bluetooth connects, timer countdowns, now-playing, all rendered in the closed notch wings.

Agent sessions (the Notchi part)

• Live session monitor — every Claude Code and Codex session appears in the notch with state (working / running tool / waiting for input / compacting), project name, permission-mode badge, tool activity feed, and last assistant message.
• Remote permission approvals — when an agent asks for permission, the notch pulses red; approve / approve-and-remember / deny right there. AskUserQuestion prompts render with clickable options and free-text answers.
• Attention notifications — sound + notification when a session needs input or finishes, auto-muted when your terminal is already frontmost.
• Jump to terminal — click a session to focus the exact terminal/IDE it's running in (Terminal, iTerm2, Warp, Ghostty, kitty, WezTerm, VS Code, Cursor, Zed, JetBrains, …).
• Usage meters — Claude 5-hour/weekly limit bars and Codex rate-limit windows with reset countdowns.
• Cost dashboard — 30-day per-model spend computed from your local transcripts.

How it works: an opt-in hook install (Settings → Agents → Install hooks) registers a tiny shell hook in ~/.claude/settings.json and ~/.codex/hooks.json that streams session events to a local Unix socket (/tmp/atoll.sock). Transcript tailing fills in the rest. The hook exits instantly when Atoll isn't running — zero overhead. Uninstall removes only Atoll's entries.

Build & run

./scripts/build-app.sh          # → dist/Atoll.app
open dist/Atoll.app

Requires Xcode (or CLT) with Swift 6 toolchain. The app is ad-hoc signed; permissions (Calendar, Camera, Accessibility, Notifications, Automation) are requested on first use of each feature.

Why no sandbox / App Store?

Same reason as every notch hub: reading system-wide now-playing uses the mediaremote-adapter technique (a perl-spawned bridge to MediaRemote), HUD replacement uses a CGEvent tap, and brightness uses a private framework. All of that is incompatible with sandboxing.

Architecture

Sources/Atoll/
  App/        entry point, app delegate, status item, settings window
  Core/       notch geometry, NSPanel host, view model, settings store
  UI/         notch shape, root/open/closed views, settings root
  Features/   Media · Shelf · CalendarWidget · Mirror · Timers · Notes · Todos ·
              ShortcutsRunner · HUD · SystemEvents · Agents · AgentsUI
docs/         DESIGN.md (module contract) + research notes

Design notes and the full research corpus (NotchNook feature census, Notchi architecture, boring.notch techniques, macOS API recipes) live in docs/.

Credits & prior art

• NotchNook by lo.cafe — the feature blueprint.
• Notchi — the agent-session-in-the-notch concept.
• boring.notch — proven implementation techniques for notch windows, media, and HUDs.
• mediaremote-adapter (+ the ejbills Swift package fork) — now-playing access on modern macOS.

Atoll is a clean-room reimplementation informed by public documentation and open-source references; it bundles no NotchNook assets or code.

Known limitations

Honest caveats so you're not surprised:

• Not notarized (yet). Released DMGs are ad-hoc signed, so a fresh Mac shows a Gatekeeper warning on first launch (Open Anyway) until a Developer ID certificate is set up. scripts/make-app.sh → scripts/notarize.sh documents the one-time Apple setup; Notarized builds turns that into one command. Until then, expect the quarantine prompt.
• No sandbox, no App Store. System-wide now-playing, the HUD event tap and brightness need capabilities the sandbox forbids (see Why no sandbox / App Store?).
• Agent hooks are opt-in. Sessions only show up in the notch after you install the hooks in Settings → Agents → Install hooks, and only while Atoll is running. It tracks Claude Code and Codex sessions that emit hook events — non-interactive or print-mode runs may not appear.
• One-time permissions per feature. Calendar, Camera, Accessibility, Notifications and Automation are each requested on first use; everything is off until then.
• Notch geometry varies by display. A real notch is cleanest; notchless and external displays use a virtual notch whose look can differ across panels.

Notarized builds (distribute without Gatekeeper warnings)

One-time setup:

1. Developer ID Application certificate — requires a paid Apple Developer membership; only the Account Holder can create this cert type. Easiest path: Xcode → Settings → Accounts → your team → Manage Certificates → + → Developer ID Application (or developer.apple.com → Certificates).

2. App-specific password for notarytool: create one at account.apple.com → Sign-In and Security → App-Specific Passwords, then store it:

   xcrun notarytool store-credentials atoll-notary \
     --apple-id you@example.com --team-id YOURTEAMID --password <app-specific-pw>

Then every release is one command:

./scripts/notarize.sh    # build universal → sign (hardened runtime) → notarize → staple → DMG

The output DMG installs on any Mac with no quarantine friction. Unsigned local builds remain ./scripts/build-app.sh; un-notarized DMGs ./scripts/package-dmg.sh.

License

MIT