Fifteen seconds back, not a whole episode
Media keys built for songs are wrong for a podcast: next track throws away the episode you were 40 minutes into. Notchy notices long-form audio and swaps the transport for ±15s and a speed chip.
It knows an episode from a song
Three ways in: a known long-form app, a source that reports it has no next or previous at all, or simply something longer than 20 minutes. Any of those and the buttons become ±15 seconds.
The apps people actually use
Apple Podcasts, Apple Books, Audible, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Castro and Snipd are recognised outright, so they never have to earn it on duration.
Skip by seeking, not by asking
A skip moves the scrubber optimistically instead of waiting for the next stream tick, so the bar responds on the click. Live streams with no duration fall back to the system's own ±15s commands. Playback speed rides alongside it, 1× to 2×.
In the same place as everything else
Artwork, a real scrubber and the transport live on the now-playing card, on the lock screen, and on the closed pill while the notch stays shut.
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
- Privacy Indicator — pill when any app's camera or mic goes live
- 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
Podcast controls on Mac — FAQ
How do I skip 15 seconds in a podcast on a Mac?
When Notchy sees long-form audio, the previous and next buttons on the notch become back 15 and forward 15. Tapping them seeks the player directly, so the scrubber moves the instant you click.
Which podcast apps are supported?
Apple Podcasts, Apple Books, Audible, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Castro and Snipd are recognised by name. Anything else with an episode longer than 20 minutes, or that reports it has no next track, gets the same controls.
Can I change the playback speed?
Yes — a chip offers 1×, 1.2×, 1.5×, 1.75× and 2× wherever the player, or a browser tab, can actually take it.
What if I want normal next and previous back?
Turn long-form controls off in Settings and the transport stays previous/next for everything.
Does it work with podcasts playing in a browser?
Yes. A browser tab reports its media to the system, and the speed chip reaches it through the browser's own automation bridge.
Does it work on the lock screen?
Yes — the lock-screen player carries the same transport and a draggable progress bar.