Zubarh: MacBook Notch App for Claude Code, Music & More

Claude Code, in the notch.

The notch tells you when Claude is working, waiting for you and done. Answer its permission requests and questions without switching to the terminal, and see your plan's limits on Home.

Status: “Working”, “waiting for you” and “done”, with the icon of the app you run Claude in. While it works you also see the current step (“Writing tests · 3/7”), long commands with a timer and how many subagents are running.
Permissions: When it asks to run a command or touch a file, you see what it wants to do and answer from the notch.
Questions: Multiple-choice questions come one at a time; when you're done, all the answers go to Claude together.
Summary: When Claude finishes: the first sentence of its reply, how many files changed (+48 −12) and, in the terminal, how full the context is. Long commands end with ✓ or ✗ and the exit code.
Limits: How much of your 5-hour and weekly limits you've used and when they reset. The notch warns you at 80% and 95%, and tells you when a limit resets.

Claude limits card: 5-hour limit at 38 percent, weekly at 61 percent — The limits card on Home. The rings turn yellow at 75% and red at 90%.

~/.claude/settings.jsonadded by Zubarh

{
  "hooks": {
    "UserPromptSubmit":   [ … "dbx claude working" ],
    "PostToolUse":        [ … "dbx claude working" ],
    "PostToolUseFailure": [ … "dbx claude working" ],
    "SubagentStart":      [ … "dbx claude working" ],
    "SubagentStop":       [ … "dbx claude working" ],
    "PreCompact":         [ … "dbx claude working" ],
    "PostCompact":        [ … "dbx claude working" ],
    "Notification":       [ … "dbx claude waiting" ],
    "Stop":               [ … "dbx claude done" ],
    "SessionEnd":         [ … "dbx claude end" ],
    "PermissionRequest":  [ … "dbx claude-permission" ],
    "PreToolUse": [
      { "matcher": "Bash", … "dbx claude working" },
      { "matcher": "AskUserQuestion",
        … "dbx claude-question" } ]
  },
  "statusLine": { "command": "dbx statusline en" }
}

status line Opus 5.5 · 5h 38% · 7d 61%

Turn the integration on in Settings › Developer, where you can also turn off the running-command, command-finished and “Response ready” alerts one by one; your previous file is kept as settings.json.dynamicbox-backup. Turning it off removes only the lines Zubarh added; your own hooks and status line are left alone. Limits come from what Claude Code already passes to its status line; your account, Keychain and session keys are never touched. File edits and task lists pass through a temporary file that Zubarh deletes as soon as it reads it; nothing leaves your Mac.

A day in the notch

The notch changes on its own. When something happens, it grows down and the text drops below the camera; when it's done, it shrinks back to either side of the camera. Here's an ordinary Tuesday.

8:52 AM

AirPods in

When they connect, you see the device and its battery level. Same for keyboards, mice and game controllers.
9:10 AM

Song changed

The notch grows for a few seconds to show the song title and artwork, then steps aside. Works with Spotify, Music and anything playing in your browser. Swipe left or right with two fingers on the notch to change songs.
10:40 AM

Claude Code asked for permission

See the command without switching to the terminal, and choose “Allow” or “Deny” right in the notch. If you don't answer within 6 minutes, the prompt opens in the terminal as usual.
11:05 AM

Claude asked a question

The options and their descriptions appear in the notch. Click one, or type your own answer. Long questions get a taller box.
1:05 PM

A FaceTime call

The caller's name with Decline and Accept. For FaceTime, phone and WhatsApp calls.
2:20 PM

A message arrived

The notification appears in a box tinted with the app's color; click it to open the chat. If you like, the macOS banner never shows up, and the notification still lands in Notification Center.
3:30 PM

Files on the shelf

Drag a file to the notch and it lands on the shelf. Screenshots are added automatically. The shelf copies text from images, reads QR codes, removes backgrounds, shrinks images and makes PDFs.
4:45 PM

A window snapped into place

While dragging a window, move the pointer to the notch and drop it on one of the half, third, quarter or full-screen cards.
5:20 PM

An app is working your Mac hard

When an app hogs the CPU in the background for minutes, you hear about it, and choose “Quit” or “Ignore” before the fans spin up.
6:00 PM

Time's up

The timer keeps running in the closed notch and tells you when it's done. That's a wrap.

A terminal in the notch

A real shell, one shortcut away from anywhere. The notch grows down the screen; close it and your sessions and running commands keep going.

Terminal in the notch: zsh, claude and npm tabs with build and git push output

Shortcuts

Open or close from anywhere: ⌃ ⌥ T
New tab, close tab: ⌘ T · ⌘ W
Switch tabs: ⌘ 1…6
Select the command you typed: ⌘ A

The dbx command

dbx run npm run buildShows in the notch while it runs, then ✓ or ✗.
dbx notify "Backup done"A notification in the notch.
dbx progress 0.4 "Upload"A progress bar that closes at 1.

Good to know

Up to 6 tabs. Each tab is named after the program running in it: zsh, claude, npm.
A tab with a running program doesn't close on the first press; press again to confirm.
Turn on the Terminal tab in Settings › Developer, where you also pick its height and font size.
Press the mic in the top bar and speak: the text is typed into the terminal, for example into Claude's prompt, and you press Enter.

Hover, and it opens.

Move the pointer to the notch and it opens; move away and it closes. Tabs on the left; the sound mixer, voice notes, mirror and battery in the bar on the right.

Home: music, calendar, weather and Claude limits

Cards in their own colors: music player, calendar, weather, Claude limits, pinned items, timer and menu bar icons. You choose which ones show and in what order, and the layout can change with the app in front. The menu bar card shows the icons hiding behind the notch.

Settings › Home

Set up your way

Open it from the capsule icon in the menu bar. Grouped sections and search on the left; on the right, every setting comes with a live preview of how it looks in the notch. It follows your light or dark appearance, and every change shows up in the notch right away.

Settings, General: language, how the notch opens, behavior and tabs

Language, whether the notch opens on hover or on click, swipe gestures, hiding in full screen, haptics, opening at login and which tabs show.

Settings, Developer: Claude Code and ChatGPT integration

Claude Code and ChatGPT (Codex) integration: status, permission requests, questions and limits, each with how it looks in the notch. Plus the dbx command and the notch terminal.

Everything else

Volume, brightness, charging and download indicators appear in the notch instead of macOS's own. The rest is below.

Per-app volume: Spotify at 30%, Zoom at 100%. Switch between speakers and AirPods in one click.
Menu bar icons: Icons hidden behind the notch show up in the notch; click one to open its menu.
Meeting mode: See which app is using the mic or camera and for how long. Mute the whole system's mic in one click.
Keep awake: 15 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours or indefinitely. Turns on by itself during downloads, terminal commands and Claude sessions.
Downloads: Download progress shows in the closed notch; finished files can drop onto the shelf.
Mirror: A quick look through the front camera before a video call.
On every display: On an external display, Mac mini or iMac, a virtual notch appears in the middle of the menu bar. It hides while you watch videos or play games.
Face unlock Experimental: When your Mac is locked and the screen wakes, look at the camera and blink. Mac cameras don't measure depth, so it isn't as secure as Touch ID; it's off by default.

Privacy and permissions

Notifications, clipboard history, the shelf, your face data and your password stay on this Mac.

The internet is used only for weather (Open-Meteo), the icons of sites you pin (Google), update checks and license checks (Lemon Squeezy); see the Privacy Policy. Setup explains each permission separately; skip the ones you don't want and those features stay off.

Permission	When it's requested	What for
Accessibility	At the Notifications step in setup	Reading notification and call banners, menu bar icons, window snapping, typing your password on the lock screen
System Audio Recording	The first time you turn an app's volume down	Per-app volume (nothing is recorded)
Bluetooth	At the Bluetooth step in setup	Telling you when a device connects
Camera	The first time you press Mirror or “Set up my face”	Mirror, face unlock
Location	When you choose “Use my location” for weather	Weather (not needed if you pick a city)
Calendar	When you press “Allow calendar access”	Events
Desktop folder	On your first screenshot	Adding screenshots to the shelf
Microphone and speech recognition	Your first voice note	Voice notes (on device)
Controlling Notes	The first time you save a voice note to Notes	Creating the note

Free for 7 days, then Premium

Everything is on during the trial, no card needed. If you like it, subscribe monthly or pay once and keep it forever.

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Taxes are calculated at checkout based on your country. Payments are handled by Lemon Squeezy, our Merchant of Record; your license key arrives by email and goes into Zubarh › Settings › Premium. You can get a refund within 14 days of buying.

Install

Zubarh is notarized by Apple. Download it, drag it to Applications and open it: no approvals in System Settings, no Terminal commands.

Download the DMG

Zubarh-1.0.5.dmg, 10 MB. One file for both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
Open the DMG and drag Zubarh to the folder

In the window that opens, drag Zubarh onto the Applications folder next to it.
Open the app

Open Zubarh from Applications. As with any app downloaded from the internet, macOS asks once whether you're sure you want to open it; choose “Open”. The app doesn't appear in the Dock; reach Settings from the capsule icon in the menu bar.
The rest happens in the notch

The notch widens a little and writes “hello” by hand. Choose “Get started” and 15 steps play out inside the notch, each with a small animation of the feature and live permission status. Skip any step with “Skip for now”; you can run setup again later from Settings › About.

Release notes

Zubarh is updated often; here's what changed in each version.

1.0.5

November 3, 2026

Tidier Home cards. Margins around the cards are now even at every notch size, album art fills its card, and when you choose only a few cards they share the full width.
Shortcuts work in text fields. ⌘V, ⌘C, ⌘X and ⌘A now work in Zubarh's text fields, including the license key field.

1.0.4

November 2, 2026

Choose which Claude Code alerts you get. Settings › Developer now has separate switches for showing running commands, alerting when a command finishes and the “Response ready” card. All three are on by default.

1.0.3

November 1, 2026

Volume and brightness only in the notch. macOS's own indicator no longer appears at the same time, and a new glowing bar fills from the label to the edge as the notch opens.
Claude Code: see the current step and progress (“Writing tests · 3/7”), long commands with a timer and their result, and running subagents. When Claude is done, the notch shows the first sentence of its reply, the files it changed (+48 −12) and how full the context is.
Warnings for the weekly limit and for context compaction, and a heads-up when a limit resets.
Music “On the sides”: the notch stays closed and shows the title and artist beside the camera, with a progress line along its bottom edge. It replaces “Hidden”.
Dictate in the terminal: the mic types what you say into the notch terminal; ⌘A selects the line you typed, including dictated or pasted text.
Settings previews look right with any wallpaper, and the song title options show the real notch.

1.0.2

November 1, 2026

Redesigned Settings. Clean line icons and a live preview of how each setting looks in the notch: Home, the open notch size, music, notifications, indicators and Claude Code.
Drag to reorder Home cards and pinned apps; options are now visual cards.
Shelf: new screenshots and downloads appear first.
The update and trial reminder titles no longer slide under the camera.

1.0.1

October 30, 2026

Incoming calls work again on macOS 27. iPhone and FaceTime calls show in the notch with “Decline” and “Accept”, even when the same person calls again right away.
With “Notch only”, the call appears only in the notch and stays there until it ends.
Caller photos. If you allow Contacts access, the caller's photo appears in the notch, just like on the Mac's own call banner.

1.0.0

October 30, 2026

Zubarh is here. Your MacBook's notch becomes a live area like the Dynamic Island: notifications, calls, music, calendar, timers and more.
See Claude Code and ChatGPT (Codex) at work in the notch, and answer their permission requests right there.
Shelf, clipboard history, a built-in terminal, window snapping and a notification sound.
Try every feature free for 7 days, no card required.

FAQ

Does it work on a Mac without a notch, or on an external display?

Yes. On an external display, a Mac mini, an iMac or a MacBook with its lid closed, a virtual notch appears in the middle of the menu bar. Choose which display it appears on in Settings › Appearance.

Why isn't it on the App Store?

App Store apps have to run in a sandbox. Zubarh's most-used features need to step outside it: reading notifications and incoming calls, seeing what's playing, a terminal in the notch. So it's distributed directly from here.

Does it send my notifications or clipboard anywhere?

No. Notifications, clipboard history, the shelf, your face data and your password stay on this Mac. The internet is used only for weather, the icons of sites you pin, update checks and license checks. See the Privacy Policy.

I don't use Claude Code. Is it still useful?

Yes. The Claude Code part is optional. Skip the “For developers” step in setup and no settings file is touched.

Why don't Claude limits update in VS Code?

Limits come from Claude Code's status line in the terminal, and the VS Code extension doesn't run status lines. The card updates as you use claude in a terminal. Requires a Pro or Max plan.

Which Macs does it run on?

macOS 14 Sonoma or later. One file runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

What happens when the trial ends?

Everything is on for 7 days and no card is needed. When the trial ends, Zubarh locks: opening the notch shows only the Premium panel, and your settings and data stay as they are. The moment you enter your license, everything picks up where you left off.

Can I move my license to another Mac?

Yes. On the old Mac choose “Remove from this Mac” in Settings › Premium, then enter the key on the new Mac. You can use it on as many Macs at once as your plan includes.

How do I cancel my subscription?

In Settings › Premium › “Orders & subscription”, or with the link in your purchase email. If you cancel, Premium stays on until the end of the period you paid for.

Can I get a refund?

Yes. Write to gezersuumur@gmail.com within 14 days of buying and we'll refund you in full. See the Refund Policy.

What are the known limitations?

Notifications, incoming calls, menu bar icons, window snapping and face unlock need Accessibility access.
Face unlock is experimental and isn't as secure as Touch ID.
Claude limits update only on a Pro or Max plan and while claude runs in a terminal.

How do I uninstall it?

If you turned on the Claude Code integration, turn it off first in Settings › Developer; that removes Zubarh's hooks and status line. Then quit from the capsule icon in the menu bar and move the app to the Trash.

Your notch, put to work.

Claude Code, in the notch.

A day in the notch

AirPods in

Song changed

Claude Code asked for permission

Claude asked a question

A FaceTime call

A message arrived

Files on the shelf

A window snapped into place

An app is working your Mac hard

Time's up