New in 1.0.172
A Free Homebrew GUI in the Notch
Search every Homebrew cask and formula with its description, see what you have and what's out of date, and install, upgrade or uninstall with a click. Notchy drives the brew you already have — no second copy, no terminal.
Search with descriptions
Type a name and Notchy runs brew search --desc, so you see what each package is before you install it. Casks and formulae with the same name show as separate rows.
Outdated means everything
The outdated list includes casks that update themselves, so apps like browsers show up when Homebrew is behind. Upgrade one, or all of them at once.
Runs that can't hang
Every run is non-interactive. A cask that wants a password or a confirmation fails with brew's own message instead of waiting forever for a terminal that isn't there.
Your brew, found directly
Notchy looks in the standard Homebrew locations for Apple silicon and Intel instead of running your shell config. It never installs or bundles Homebrew itself.
Everything Notchy does, for free
- Fluid Dynamic Island animations on the Mac notch
- Command palette (⌃⌥K) — every action one keystroke away
- Knock — double-tap a modifier key to open the notch
- AI usage tracker (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot)
- Detach any tab into a menu-bar popover
- Now Playing music controls (Apple Music & Spotify)
- Time-synced karaoke lyrics under the notch
- Mac clipboard history shelf (password-manager safe)
- Searchable clipboard — filter by text, file name, or OCR'd words
- On-device OCR — copy a screenshot, get its text (Apple Vision)
- Window snapping — drag a window to the notch to tile it
- App Launcher — pin apps to the notch, open with one tap
- Text snippets — TextExpander-style pastes from the ⌘K palette
- One-tap screen capture to clipboard + shelf
- Color eyedropper — sample any pixel, hex auto-copied
- System-wide mic mute for every meeting app at once
- Keystroke HUD for demos & screencasts (secure-input safe)
- Keyboard cleaning lock with countdown island (⌘⎋ unlocks)
- Menu-bar icon hiding — Bartender-style separator & chevron
- Live CPU / memory / network stats flyout
- Open GitHub PR count in the notch (Keychain-stored token)
- iPhone-style call island — Answer/Decline FaceTime on the notch
- Notch Terminal — real VT100/xterm shell in a PTY, its own tab
- Camera Guard — alert (or block) when any app opens your camera
- Caps Lock HUD — brief island on every toggle
- Full Charge island with adjustable threshold + low-battery sound
- Alt HUD styles — edge-pinned bar or circular gauge off the notch
- Audio-reactive Now Playing visualizer (real FFT of system audio)
- Custom closed-notch idle animation — drop in your own Lottie JSON
- Drag-and-drop file drop shelf — persists across relaunches
- Zip & unzip files right from the shelf
- Image converter (HEIC, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, PDF) + video → GIF
- Run Apple Shortcuts with one tap
- Screenshots auto-staged on the shelf, ready to drag
- Download finished alerts with Reveal in Finder
- USB drive mount island with one-tap Eject
- Apple Reminders quick capture & due list
- macOS Pomodoro notch timer & stopwatch — streaks + 7-day chart
- Resizable expanded panel (width & height, live preview)
- System HUDs (volume, brightness, battery)
- Audio output switcher (speakers, AirPods, monitor)
- AirPods connection manager & battery
- Magic Mouse, Keyboard & Trackpad battery + low-battery alerts
- Quick notes & Calendar widgets
- Camera Mirror (check your appearance)
- Keep Awake (caffeine toggle)
- Teleprompter (Cuely) for Zoom calls
- Focus-aware alerts & native haptic feedback
- Lock screen widgets & hide-the-notch mode
- 133 languages, fully localized
- Native SwiftUI, tuned for Apple Silicon
Homebrew GUI — FAQ
Is there a free GUI for Homebrew on Mac?
Yes. Notchy's Packages tab, new in 1.0.172, searches, installs, upgrades and uninstalls Homebrew casks and formulae for free. Applite is another free option focused on casks; Cork is open source and sold for 25€.
Do I need Homebrew installed first?
Yes. Notchy uses your existing Homebrew and never installs its own. If brew isn't found, the tab points you to brew.sh; Applite is the option if you want an app that brings its own Homebrew.
Can Notchy manage taps and brew services?
No. It covers search, install, upgrade and uninstall. For taps, services and cache cleanup, Cork is the more complete Homebrew front end.
What happens if a cask needs my password?
The run fails with Homebrew's own message instead of hanging, because Notchy runs brew non-interactively. Run that one cask in Terminal.
Does it show App Store and other app updates too?
Yes — the same tab lists App Store and Sparkle-based app updates beside Homebrew's. See the Mac app updater page for how that works.
Is it free?
Yes. Notchy has no trial, licence key, subscription or in-app purchase.