One file. One long drag.

Moving a file on a Mac is
one long, unbroken gesture.

Mouse down on the file, hold the whole way across, mouse up on the target. Everything awkward about it comes from that one rule.

  1. 01

    Both ends, on screen at once

    The file and its destination both have to be visible before you even start. On a laptop, that means arranging windows first — every single time.

  2. 02

    You can't pause

    Once you click and hold, you're committed. There's no picking a file up now and dropping it in a minute.

  3. 03

    Switching context fights you

    To reach another app, another Space, or a full-screen window, you hover the Dock, trigger Mission Control, or nudge a screen edge — all while holding the mouse down.

  4. 04

    It's strictly one-to-one

    One source, one destination, one trip. You can't gather files from a few different places and deliver them together.

  5. 05

    It's fragile and tiring

    A long trackpad drag across a big display is easy to fumble. Let go early or hit the wrong target, and you're back to square one.

Meet NotchShelf

Set it down.
Grab it wherever.

A shelf that lives under your notch. Drop a file there, go find where it belongs — another app, another Space, a full-screen window — then drag it back out when you're ready.

Download for macOS How it works
Free & open source macOS 14+ Apple Silicon

What it does

Small app. Genuinely handy.

Everything happens in the strip under your notch. No window to manage, no Dock icon in the way.

Peek without opening

Single-click any file to open it in Quick Look. Arrow keys flip through everything on the shelf, so you can find the right one in seconds.

Drop files in

Drag from Finder onto the shelf. They park as thumbnails.

Drag out anywhere

Pull a thumbnail into Mail, Slack, Finder — the real file goes with it.

Hover to expand

A quiet pill until you reach for it, then it fans out your files.

Sticks around

Your shelf survives quitting, restarting, even a reboot.

Totally private

No network, no accounts, no telemetry. It stays on your Mac.

How it works

Three moves, that's it.

1

Drop

Drag any file from Finder onto the shelf under the notch.

2

Park

It waits there as a thumbnail. Click to preview, anytime.

3

Grab

Drag it out into whatever app needs it. Done.

Privacy

Yours, and only yours.

  • No network access. NotchShelf never phones home.
  • No accounts, no tracking. Nothing to sign up for, no analytics.
  • Files stay put. It references your files in place — it doesn't upload or copy them anywhere.
  • Open source. Read every line before you run it.

FAQ

Good questions.

Do I need a Mac with a notch?
Nope. On notched MacBooks the shelf hangs from the notch. On Macs without one, it pins neatly to the top-center of your screen instead.
Which macOS versions are supported?
macOS 14 (Sonoma) and later, on Apple Silicon.
Is it really free?
Yes — free and open source. You can download the app or build it yourself from the source.
Why does macOS warn me the first time I open it?
The current build isn't notarized by Apple, so Gatekeeper shows a warning on first launch. Open it once via System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway, or run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/NotchShelf.app. After that it opens normally.
Does it move or copy my files?
Neither. The shelf points to your files where they already live. When you drag one out, that's when a copy is made — into wherever you drop it.
Where does the shelf live, and does it survive a restart?
The list of parked files is saved locally in your Application Support folder, as bookmarks — so it comes back after you quit, relaunch, or reboot, even if you've moved the files since.
Can I launch it automatically at login?
Yes — there's a Launch at Login toggle in the menu-bar menu.

Get NotchShelf

Put that empty strip to work.

Free, private, and out of your way until you need it.

Download for macOS How it works