Blog

Notes from the edge.

Guides to getting more out of your Mac, the story of SideDock, and what’s new. Short, useful, and only when there’s something worth saying.

SideDock vs Droppy vs Dockset: which one belongs on your Mac?

Droppy does the notch, Dockset does a widget dock, SideDock does both and more. Here’s how they compare on features, price and licenses.

Menu bar icons hiding behind the notch? Here’s how to get them back

On a MacBook with a notch, menu bar icons that don’t fit simply vanish. What macOS 27 does about it, the fixes that work on macOS 26, and how to need fewer icons.

SideDock vs DynamicLake: an island in the notch, or every edge

DynamicLake brings a Dynamic Island to the Mac’s notch, with music, your schedule, files and notifications. SideDock adds docks, widgets and Pip. An honest comparison.

How to keep your Mac awake (and let it sleep again)

Stop your Mac sleeping during a long download, render or presentation: the settings, the caffeinate command, the closed-lid rules, and a one-click way.

SideDock vs Boring Notch: free and open, or the whole edge

Boring Notch is a free, open-source notch app with music, a file shelf and its own volume pop-up. SideDock is paid and does a lot more. When each one makes sense.

How to switch your Mac’s sound output in one click

Speakers, AirPods, a display: the quickest ways to switch where your Mac’s sound goes, from Control Center to keyboard shortcuts and a one-click tile.

SideDock vs Alcove: a polished notch, or the whole edge

Alcove is a polished notch app with live activities, its own volume pop-up and Lock Screen widgets. SideDock adds docks, widgets and Pip. An honest comparison.

How to free up memory on a Mac (and when not to bother)

Is your Mac really short of memory? How to read Activity Monitor’s memory pressure, what swap and cached files mean, and the steps that actually help.

SideDock vs iStat Menus: stats in the menu bar, or at the edge

iStat Menus is the standard for Mac system stats in the menu bar. SideDock keeps your Mac’s vitals in docks and the notch, among much else. Which one fits you?

Clipboard history on a Mac: the built-in one, and when you want more

macOS now keeps a clipboard history in Spotlight. How to open it, how long it keeps things, how to turn it off, and when a clipboard you can see is handier.

SideDock vs Raycast: different jobs, and why they get along

Raycast is a keyboard launcher; SideDock fills the edges of your Mac with docks, a live notch and Pip. Where they overlap, where they don’t, and why many people use both.

Mac Dock tricks: size, auto-hide, spacers and more

Make the macOS Dock smaller, hide it faster, group apps with spacers and keep it tidy, with the settings and the Terminal tricks that still work.

The notch apps for Mac in 2026, and which one to pick

SideDock, Droppy, Alcove, DynamicLake, Boring Notch, Atoll, MediaMate and NotchDrop: what each does with your MacBook’s notch, what it costs, and who it’s for.

How to share your Wi-Fi password from a Mac with a QR code

Friends over and nobody remembers the Wi-Fi password? Share it from your Mac with a QR code, with a tap nearby, or by copying it.

Set up Focus on your Mac so it actually helps

Focus can silence the right notifications at the right time, if you set it up. Allowed people and apps, schedules, filters, and switching it on fast.

Everything your MacBook’s notch can show you

Music, meetings, downloads, coding agents, your earbuds’ battery and more: a field guide to the live activities SideDock puts around your camera.

12 SideDock widgets worth a hover

More than fifty widgets come with SideDock. These twelve earn their spot at the edge of the screen fastest.

Let Pip write it. You press send.

Ask Pip to email, text, invite or call someone, and it prepares a card you can check and change. Nothing goes out until you press the button.

Keep an eye on Claude Code, Codex and Cursor from your notch

Run coding agents without babysitting a terminal: their progress sits in the notch, and a click opens the whole session.

A developer’s dock: servers, containers, Git and pull requests

Local servers, Docker, Git, pull requests, coding agents and your AI limits, one push of the pointer away. How developers set up SideDock.

How to check your Mac’s CPU, memory and battery at a glance

Activity Monitor tells you everything, if you remember to open it. Here’s how to keep your Mac’s vitals one hover away instead.

Your music and videos, right from the notch

Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and Netflix in your notch: see what’s playing, pause it from anywhere, and ask Pip to play something new.

How to organize apps and folders without a cluttered Dock

The macOS Dock fills up fast. Here’s how to give your apps, folders and widgets room at every edge of the screen instead.

Deep work on a Mac: a timer, a nudge, and a companion that hushes

A Pomodoro timer in your dock, a nudge to take breaks, and notices that wait while you focus. How to set up SideDock for focused work.

Pay once: why SideDock has no subscription

SideDock costs one payment and stays yours. Here’s why we chose that, and what you get for it.

Talk to your Mac, and hear it talk back

Pip Live lets you talk to Pip out loud: it listens, answers in a voice, and lets you cut in. Here’s how it works and what it needs.

How to make your MacBook’s notch actually useful

The notch on a MacBook is a black bar most apps work around. Here’s how to turn it into the most useful spot on your screen.

What SideDock can see on your Mac, and what it never does

SideDock works with your calendar, your music and your files, so it’s fair to ask what it sees. Here’s exactly what it reads, why, and where it stays.

Why we built SideDock

Too many menu bar apps, widgets nobody looks at, and four edges of the screen doing nothing. So we built one app for all of it.

New Mac? Bring your docks, widgets and Pip along

Moving SideDock to a new Mac: export your setup as one file, move your license, and add back what lives in the Keychain.

Meet Pip, the companion that lives in your notch

Pip tells you what matters, keeps quiet when it should, and does things on your Mac when you ask, using the AI you already have.