NotchTerminal

NotchTerminal is a macOS app that puts a terminal workflow in the notch area.

Screenshots

It combines:

• A top notch overlay (real notch and no-notch screens)
• Floating terminal windows
• Quick terminal actions (restore/minimize/close)
• Advanced Metal-based visual effects (Aurora background, CRT filter, Fake Notch glow)

What It Does

Notch Overlay

• Expands on hover
• Works on multi-display setups
• Shows minimized terminal chips
• Opens quick actions:
  • New
  • Reorg
  • Bulk (Restore All, Minimize All, Close All, Close All on This Display)
  • Settings

Terminal Windows

• Open/close/minimize/maximize
• Compact mode
• Always-on-top toggle
• Dock-to-notch behavior when dragged near the notch
• Drag and drop folders/files into terminal (inserts escaped path)

Terminal Actions

• Context menu includes:
  • Copy
  • Paste
  • Select All
  • Clear Buffer
  • Search (sends Ctrl+R)
  • Close (sends exit)
• Keyboard shortcuts:
  • ⌘C, ⌘V, ⌘A
  • ⌘K clear
  • ⌘F search
  • ⌘W close session
  • ⌘+ / ⌘- font size

Open Ports Panel

• Lists listening TCP ports
• Search/filter by dev/all
• Kill process by PID from the UI

Session + Persistence

• Stores terminal sessions via SwiftData
• Restores sessions on launch (work in progress)

NotchAgent (Experimental)

• Scheduled AI cronjobs that run prompts on a timer or via macOS launchd
• Two execution modes:
  • App Timer: runs while NotchTerminal is open
  • Machine Daemon: runs via native macOS launchd, even when the app is closed
• User-friendly interval picker (1min–daily) or advanced custom cron expression
• Results displayed in the Notch overlay (if app is open) and/or macOS Notification Center
• Supports OpenAI, OpenRouter (free), and custom API endpoints

Requirements

• macOS 14+
• Xcode 16+ (for development)

Runtime note:

• The app defaults to /bin/zsh, which is available on a clean macOS install.

Build and Run

1. Open NotchTerminal.xcodeproj
2. Select scheme NotchTerminal
3. Build and run

Local Code Signing for Contributors

This repository does not commit a personal Apple DEVELOPMENT_TEAM.

If you need local signing to run or archive the app:

1. Copy Config/Signing.local.example.xcconfig to Config/Signing.local.xcconfig
2. Replace YOURTEAMID with your own Apple Developer team ID
3. Keep Config/Signing.local.xcconfig local only

The shared Config/Signing.xcconfig includes that file optionally, so collaborators can sign locally without rewriting shared project settings.

Settings Overview

• General
  • Language: system default or manual override (en, es, fr, ja)
  • Haptics
  • Dock icon toggle
  • Show Experimental tab
  • Hover/open behavior and delay
  • Keep open while typing
  • Chip close button on hover
  • Close confirmation behavior
  • Close action mode (Close window only / Terminate process and close)
  • Quit app action
• Notch
  • Per-display notch enable/disable
  • Per-display X/Y offset and width adjustment
  • Per-display custom Aurora background override
• Appearance
  • Content padding
  • Default terminal width/height
  • Global Aurora background and theme
• About
• Experimental
  • Hidden by default behind Show Experimental tab
  • Drag to Notch and docking sensitivity
  • Startup Orb and its offset tuning
  • Project Status Card (contextual details like Folder Name and Git Status in the Notch)
  • Fake Notch Glow and theme
  • CRT Filter
  • Hit-test debug overlay
  • Extra notch geometry offsets for physical-notch displays
• NotchAgent
  • Experimental tab for scheduled AI background tasks
  • Global AI provider configuration (OpenAI / OpenRouter / Custom)
  • Cronjob list with enable/disable, test, edit, and delete
  • Per-job execution mode (App Timer or Machine Daemon)
  • Interval picker or advanced cron expression

Project Structure

• NotchTerminal/App app lifecycle
• NotchTerminal/Features/Notch overlay + notch UI
• NotchTerminal/Features/Windows floating window manager + terminal integration
• NotchTerminal/Features/Persistence SwiftData models
• NotchTerminal/Rendering/Metal Metal shaders/renderers
• NotchTerminal/Settings settings screens
• NotchTerminal/Services helpers/services
• NotchTerminal/Assets.xcassets icons/images

Documentation

• Main docs index: docs/README.md
• Quality and testing: docs/quality/
• Localization docs: docs/localization/

Credits

See NotchTerminal/Resources/THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

Main attributions:

• SwiftTerm (terminal emulation, MIT)
• Port-Killer inspiration for open-port workflow (MIT)

Brand marks/logos used in UI belong to their respective owners and are used for identification only.

Support

If you want to support development:

• Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/marcoastorj

License

MIT. See LICENSE.