How to get a Dynamic Island on your Mac

Does the Mac have a Dynamic Island?

No. Apple introduced the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro on September 7, 2022, and macOS doesn’t have one. MacBooks with a notch leave a black space around the camera in the menu bar, and a notch app draws its own island there: a black shape that grows to show a download, what’s playing, a timer, a notification or a file you dropped, then shrinks back.

Atoll, the most-starred open-source Dynamic Island here, has 5,034 stars on GitHub, and DynamicNotch 601 (GitHub, October 23, 2026). Of the 8 apps here, 6 work on a Mac without a notch.

How do they compare?

Lynx Notch is the only app here that is part of a download manager, so it starts downloads as well as showing them. That download manager is a native SwiftUI Mac app with its own download engine; it downloads Google Drive files and videos, lets you pick exactly the files you need from a large Drive folder, and its Clip Download takes just the part you need from a long video. On macOS 26 or later Lynx Notch is drawn in Liquid Glass. Droppy and DynamicLake also offer a Liquid Glass look.

Why is Lynx Notch the best for most people?

Slowrox, part of Lynx Download Manager · lynxdownloadmanager.com/notch

Lynx Download Manager is the download manager that lives in your MacBook’s notch. Lynx Notch is its notch view, and it is the best overall notch app because it is the only one here built into a download manager, a native SwiftUI Mac app with its own download engine that also downloads Google Drive files, videos and clips, and it handles the day’s small jobs too. Copy a link anywhere and the notch offers Download, Download MP3 or Download Clip, or Download Later to pick a time (MP3, clips and Download Later are Pro). Running downloads sit beside the camera with pause and resume. Drop files on the Shelf and each one gets the action it most likely needs, such as Copy Text for a screenshot of text, Lift Subject for a photo or Zip for a folder, plus AirDrop and Send to Phone. Clipboard history, music with timed lyrics and modules such as Calendar, Timer, Notes and Clock live there too. Claude Code and Codex permission requests open in the notch so you can answer them without switching windows. Open on Last Action takes you straight to the page you need, and the notch stays quiet during calls, screen sharing and slideshows. On macOS 26 or later it is drawn in Liquid Glass.

In the notch: Live downloads · Copied links · Download Later (Pro) · Smart Shelf · Send to Phone · Clipboard history · Music with lyrics · Claude Code and Codex requests · Calendar, Timer, Notes and Clock.

What makes it smart: each file on the Shelf gets the action it most likely needs, such as Copy Text for a screenshot of text or Lift Subject for a photo. Open on Last Action opens the island on the page you just used, and it stays quiet during calls, screen sharing and slideshows. Moments show AirPods and their battery, the microphone and camera, Caps Lock, drives and downloads, and with Pro it can replace the volume and brightness pop-ups.

Pick it if you want downloads, copied links, your files, clipboard and music in one place, with Claude Code and Codex requests answered there too. More on Lynx Notch.

Lynx Notch comes with Lynx Download Manager, which needs Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later. On Lynx Basic the Shelf holds 3 files and clipboard history keeps the last 5 text copies for a day; Pro, and the 14-day trial, include all of it. It doesn’t show other apps’ notifications or CPU and memory stats, so people who want those should look at Alcove, Notchy or Atoll.

What are the other options?

2. NotchNook

lo.cafe · lo.cafe/notchnook

A long-standing notch app: music controls, your calendar, notes, tasks, timers and a file tray that open from the notch, with lots of options. It works with or without a notch, including on external displays.

Keep in mind: Needs macOS 14.6 or later. NotchNook Pro needs Apple silicon; NotchNook Classic also runs on Intel.

Pick it if you have an Intel Mac, or want NotchNook’s many layout options.

Lynx Notch and NotchNook, side by side

3. Alcove

Alcove · tryalcove.com

Alcove brings iPhone-style Dynamic Island moments to the Mac: notifications and live activities that grow out of the notch with fluid transitions, swipe gestures, customizable volume and brightness pop-ups, and widgets on the lock screen. Its developer describes it as a fast native app.

Keep in mind: Needs macOS 15 or later. Its page lists no music controls, file tray or calendar.

Pick it if you want notifications and live activities in the notch.

Lynx Notch and Alcove, side by side

4. Droppy

getdroppy.app · getdroppy.app

A Dynamic Island for the Mac that its developer calls native to macOS. It adds a file tray with zip and convert, Droppy Cloud sharing with links that expire after three days, clipboard history with an iPhone companion, a download progress ring beside the notch, Now Playing with a Floating Player, a calendar, a Pomodoro timer, live activities and 41 free extensions. It comes in Liquid Glass, Dynamic Glass or Black, and works with or without a notch.

Keep in mind: Needs macOS 14 or later. It shows download progress from other apps; it isn’t a download manager itself.

Pick it if you want extensions and expiring Droppy Cloud links for sharing files.

5. DynamicLake

DynamicLake · dynamiclake.com

A Dynamic Island inspired by Apple’s, drawn in Liquid Glass, with an option for external displays. It adds plugins and a plugin market, a compact miniLake view, music (DynaMusix), a schedule glance (DynaGlance), a timer, drag and drop, an audio and video converter, calls, AirDrop, battery alerts, and calendar and meeting alerts. Its page announces DynamicLake 2 (checked November 7, 2026).

Keep in mind: Its page doesn’t state the macOS it needs or list a file shelf.

Pick it if you want a Liquid Glass island you can extend with plugins.

6. Atoll

Ebullioscopic, open source · getatoll.app

An open-source (GPL-3.0) Dynamic Island for the MacBook notch, with about 5,034 stars on GitHub. Its live activities cover media, Focus, screen recording, privacy indicators, battery and, still in testing, downloads. It also shows CPU, GPU, memory, network and disk use, and adds timers, clipboard history, a color picker and lock screen widgets.

Keep in mind: Needs macOS 14 or later and a MacBook with a notch. Its downloads live activity is still marked as in testing.

Pick it if you want an open-source Dynamic Island with system stats, and you have a MacBook with a notch.

7. DynamicNotch

jackson-storm, open source · github.com/jackson-storm/DynamicNotch

An open-source (GPL-3.0) app that lists true-to-life replication of the iPhone Dynamic Island’s motion: spring animations, morphing shapes and swipe gestures. Its live activities cover Now Playing, download progress, AirDrop, timers, screen recording, Focus and Personal Hotspot, with pop-ups for battery, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and VPN. On Macs without a notch it floats as a capsule.

Keep in mind: Needs macOS 14.6 or later. If macOS blocks the first launch, you allow it in System Settings › Privacy & Security.

Pick it if you want open-source, iPhone-like motion and live activities, on any Mac.

8. Notchy

notchy.dev · notchy.dev

A Dynamic Island for the Mac: Now Playing, notifications, live activities, volume and brightness pop-ups, timers, clipboard history, a command palette, lock screen widgets, download alerts and AI-usage meters. On Macs without a notch it floats the same island as a pill. It runs on macOS 13 Ventura or later.

Keep in mind: It isn’t open source.

Pick it if you want a Dynamic Island on an older macOS, or on a Mac without a notch.

Which one should you pick?

Lynx Notch fits most people. Pick another app only for something narrower:

• Downloads, copied links, your files, clipboard and music, plus Claude Code and Codex requests: Lynx Notch.
• Notifications and live activities: Alcove.
• Extensions and Droppy Cloud links: Droppy. Plugins in Liquid Glass: DynamicLake.
• An Intel Mac: NotchNook Classic.
• Open source: Atoll for system stats, DynamicNotch for iPhone-style animation.
• An older macOS: Notchy, which runs on macOS 13.

Does it work on a Mac without a notch?

A MacBook Air or MacBook Pro without a notch, an iMac, a Mac mini or an external display can still have an island. Lynx Notch, NotchNook, Droppy, DynamicNotch and Notchy all show it there, and DynamicLake offers it on external displays. Atoll needs a MacBook with a notch, and Alcove’s site doesn’t say.

What permissions do these apps need?

An island that shows volume and brightness changes or reacts to your music often needs permissions in System Settings › Privacy & Security. DynamicNotch, for example, lists Accessibility for its pop-ups, Bluetooth for accessories and Screen Recording for its audio visualizer. Grant only what the features you use need.

Apps that aren’t notarized by Apple also need Open Anyway in the same place the first time; DynamicNotch’s README says so. Download each app only from its developer’s site, GitHub page or the Mac App Store. Lynx is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens like any other app.

Want more than an island, such as a hidden notch or nicer volume pop-ups? See all 13 apps in the best notch apps for Mac.

How the apps were compared