PRNotch

Product Introduction

1. Definition: PRNotch is a native macOS menu bar application (0.7 MB) that integrates directly with the GitHub API to display a live, interactive dashboard of pull requests within a panel that appears under the MacBook Pro's notch or in the traditional menu bar.
2. Core Value Proposition: It exists to eliminate the constant context-switching and manual tab-checking required to monitor GitHub pull request review queues, CI/CD pipeline status, and team activity, centralizing this critical development workflow data into a glanceable, always-accessible macOS-native interface.

Main Features

1. Notch/Menu Bar Dashboard: The core interface is a compact panel that displays three categorized, real-time lists: "Needs your review," "Your pull requests," and "Org pull requests." Each row shows the PR title, repository, branch, age, and key status badges. It functions as a zero-configuration, persistent heads-up display for GitHub activity.
2. Real-time CI/CD & Review Status Integration: Each pull request row visually encodes its state using color-coded dots and badges. A green/red/spinning dot indicates the latest commit's CI check status (passed, failed, running). Text badges instantly show "Draft," "Ready" (mergeable), approval count (✓), or "±" for changes requested, providing at-a-glance workflow awareness.
3. Contextual, Non-Intrusive Alerts: The app surfaces seven specific, high-priority events (e.g., "Checks failed," new review requests) as temporary toast notifications that appear from the notch area for six seconds each. This system is designed to interrupt only for actionable items, with global toggles to disable alerts or sounds, respecting user focus.
4. Native macOS Integration & Privacy: As a notarized native app, it requires no runtime environments, launches instantly, and supports system behaviors like "Open at Login." It makes a single outbound API call to api.github.com, stores the GitHub token locally in the system keychain, and explicitly collects zero telemetry or analytics data.

Problems Solved

1. Pain Point: The inefficient and disruptive workflow of repeatedly switching browser tabs or email notifications to check for new GitHub pull requests requiring review, monitor CI build results, or track team progress.
2. Target Audience: Software engineers, engineering managers, and open-source maintainers who use GitHub for code collaboration and are frequently involved in code review processes on macOS, particularly those using Apple Silicon MacBook Pros with the notch.
3. Use Cases: A developer in deep work can instantly assess their review queue with a keystroke (⌘⇧P). A tech lead can monitor overall team PR and CI health without leaving their IDE. An on-call engineer can be alerted immediately to a broken main branch CI build via a notch alert.

Unique Advantages

1. Differentiation: Unlike GitHub's web interface, email notifications, or Slack integrations, PRNotch provides a persistent, dedicated, and spatially efficient layer on the native OS. Unlike other dashboard tools, it is hyper-specialized for the PR/CI workflow, costs a single one-time fee, and is architected for extreme privacy with no backend services.
2. Key Innovation: Its leverage of the MacBook Pro's physical notch as a dynamic, contextual anchor point for both a persistent dashboard and transient alerts creates a uniquely integrated and glanceable user experience that is impossible with traditional window-based applications.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How does PRNotch access my GitHub data? PRNotch uses a standard GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT) for authentication. You can provide a token from the gh CLI, a GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable, or paste one manually. The token is stored securely in your Mac's local keychain and is only used to make read-only API calls directly to api.github.com.
2. Does PRNotch work on Macs without a notch? Yes. On Macs without a notch (or with older macOS versions), PRNotch falls back seamlessly to a standard menu bar icon. Clicking the icon opens the same feature-complete dashboard panel, ensuring full functionality across supported Mac hardware.
3. What GitHub events trigger the notch alerts? Alerts are triggered for seven specific, high-signal events: new pull requests requiring your review, submitted reviews, approval of your PRs, requests for changes to your PRs, CI check failures, CI check successes after a failure, and PR merges. This focuses interruptions on actionable items.
4. Is there a subscription fee for PRNotch? No. PRNotch is sold for a single, one-time payment of $1 (USD). This purchase grants a perpetual license for all current features and future updates with no subscription or recurring charges.
5. What are the system requirements for PRNotch? PRNotch requires a Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 chip or later) running macOS 14 Sonoma or a later version. You must also have a GitHub account to generate the necessary access token for the application to fetch your pull request data.