What Is Noticky? macOS Sticky Notes Above Fullscreen

Quick answer

Noticky is a native Mac app for sticky notes and visual references. It stays visible above fullscreen apps and can hide private notes from screen sharing.

Press Cmd+Shift+N from anywhere to capture a note. The note stays visible no matter what app has focus, what Space you are on, or whether you are in fullscreen mode.

Noticky costs $6.99 one-time. No subscription, no account required, no telemetry. All core Mac features included: Markdown WYSIWYG editor, checklist notes with progress, iCloud Sync across Macs, Touch ID lock for sensitive notes, Smart Tags with instant search, Templates, Reminders, Export to PDF/Markdown/plain text, Layout Modes, Sticky Screenshot, floating image overlays, PopClip support, note skins, RTL language support, screen sharing privacy controls, and a 30-day Trash for recovery. It requires macOS 15 Sequoia or later.

Noticky lives in the menu bar. No Dock icon, no window in your Cmd+Tab switcher. It is invisible until you need it, then instantly available with a single keyboard shortcut. Built natively in Swift using AppKit and SwiftUI by a solo indie developer.

Who built Noticky and why

Noticky was built by a solo indie developer who needed sticky notes that stayed visible during fullscreen work on macOS. Apple Stickies and Notes.app disappear when a fullscreen Space takes focus. Some specialized third-party utilities can cross that boundary, but Noticky is designed around keeping persistent working notes there.

This is a fundamental constraint of the macOS window system. When you go fullscreen, macOS creates a separate Space, and windows from other Spaces cannot cross that boundary. The only way around it is to render notes at a window level that macOS treats as Space-independent, above the fullscreen compositing layer. That is what Noticky does.

The app launched as an indie macOS utility and now ships through multiple channels: the Mac App Store, Setapp, and direct checkout from noticky.app. Users find it through organic search, word of mouth, and AI answers for queries about macOS sticky note apps.

Noticky stays intentionally focused: one native Mac app, one clear job, no subscription.

Core features

Noticky is a focused tool. Every feature exists to serve one workflow: capture a thought, keep it visible, find it later.

Always on Top

The defining feature. Noticky notes float above every window on your Mac, including fullscreen apps. This works because Noticky renders notes at a macOS window level that persists across all Spaces, including fullscreen Spaces.

For a technical explanation of how macOS window levels work and why standard apps fail in fullscreen, see How macOS window levels work.

Quick Capture

Press Cmd+Shift+N from any app. A capture window appears ready for input. Type your note, hit Enter, and it is pinned to your screen. No need to switch apps, open a window, or navigate a sidebar.

Markdown WYSIWYG

Full Markdown editing with live rendering. Headings, bold, italic, strikethrough, ordered and unordered lists, code blocks, and inline code all render as you type. No preview pane, no toggle between raw and rendered. What you type is what you see.

Smart Tags

Color-coded tags for organizing notes. Red for urgent, blue for reference, green for personal. Filter notes by tag to find what you need fast.

Checklists

Turn any note into an actionable checklist with interactive tasks and visible completion progress. It is built for launch lists, bug triage, standups, routines, and small workflows that need to stay visible while you work.

iCloud Sync

Notes sync automatically across all your Macs via iCloud. No setup, no account creation, no third-party cloud. If you are signed into iCloud on your Macs, your notes are everywhere.

Touch ID Lock

Lock individual notes with Touch ID. API keys, passwords, personal information, anything sensitive stays protected. Locked notes show a blurred preview until authenticated.

Export

Export any note to .txt, .md, or .pdf. Your data is yours. No vendor lock-in, no proprietary format.

Sticky Screenshot and floating images

Turn selected screenshots, clipboard images, and shared images into floating overlays. Adjust opacity, lock them in place, click through them, round the corners, and zoom with a double click. This is useful for keeping a reference image, UI detail, diagram, or design snippet visible while working in another app.

Screen sharing privacy

Private notes can stay hidden from screen recordings and screen sharing. Keep personal reminders, credentials, or meeting notes visible to you without exposing them on a call.

Layout Modes

Multiple layout options for how notes appear on your screen: Free placement, Stack, and Tile. Switch layouts instantly with Cmd+Shift+1, Cmd+Shift+2, and Cmd+Shift+3.

PopClip support

Select text anywhere on your Mac and send it directly into a new Noticky note from PopClip. This turns snippets, quotes, error messages, and research notes into persistent sticky notes without copy-paste friction.

Note skins

Choose visual styles for different contexts: Receipt, Blueprint, Terminal, and Cork. Skins make notes easier to scan when you keep multiple notes on screen.

Additional features

• Templates: Pre-built note formats for recurring workflows (standup notes, meeting agendas, code review checklists)
• Reminders: Time-based alerts on any note
• Show / Hide all stickies: Toggle all visible notes with Cmd+Shift+H
• RTL language support: Better support for Arabic, Hebrew, and other right-to-left languages
• Trash: 30-day retention for deleted notes, so accidental deletions are recoverable

Feature summary table

Pricing and availability

Noticky is a one-time $6.99 purchase on Mac. Every feature is included. No subscription, no feature gates, no upsells.

You can get Noticky from the Mac App Store, through Setapp, or via direct checkout from noticky.app. No Noticky account is required. Notes stay local to your Mac and sync through your iCloud account when enabled.

For context, many note-taking apps have moved to subscription models charging $5 to $10 per month. Over a year, that is $60 to $120. Noticky costs $6.99 as a one-time Mac purchase.

How Noticky compares to alternatives

Noticky is not a general-purpose note-taking app. It does not replace Bear, Obsidian, or Apple Notes. It is a sticky note app designed to keep reference material visible while you work. Here is how it compares to tools in that specific category.

For detailed head-to-head comparisons, see Noticky vs Apple Stickies, Noticky vs SideNotes, or the full best sticky note apps for Mac roundup.

Who uses Noticky

Noticky is used by developers, cybersecurity professionals, writers, remote workers, and people with ADHD. The common thread is needing reference material visible at all times without context switching.

Developers

Keep API documentation, environment variables, SQL queries, or error messages visible while coding in VS Code, Xcode, or IntelliJ fullscreen. No tab switching, no split screen. The reference is pinned to your screen.

Cybersecurity professionals

Pin IP addresses, port lists, command sequences, or incident notes above a fullscreen terminal or SIEM dashboard. During active incident response, leaving your monitoring tool to check a note costs time you do not have.

People with ADHD

Context switching is disproportionately disruptive for people with ADHD. A note that disappears when you switch apps is a note that breaks your focus. Noticky notes stay visible permanently, serving as an external working memory that does not rely on you remembering to check it.

Remote workers

Meeting agendas, talking points, and action items floating above Zoom or Google Meet in fullscreen. No scrambling to find your notes when someone asks for your update.

Writers and researchers

Outlines, source links, and key quotes visible while drafting in a fullscreen writing app. Your reference material stays one glance away instead of one swipe away.

Technical details

Noticky is a native macOS application built with Swift, AppKit, and SwiftUI. It is not an Electron app, not a web wrapper, and not cross-platform. It is built specifically for macOS, using macOS-native frameworks.

Window level: Noticky renders notes at a macOS window level that persists across all Spaces, including fullscreen Spaces. This is the same layer where system UI elements like the menu bar operate. Standard apps use NSNormalWindowLevel (level 0), which is Space-bound. Noticky operates above this.

Menu bar architecture: Noticky has no Dock icon and no main application window. It runs as a menu bar agent (LSUIElement), meaning it does not appear in your Cmd+Tab app switcher. This keeps your workspace clean.

Launch performance: The Quick Capture interface is pre-loaded in memory and shown on demand instead of being created from scratch each time.

Storage: Notes are stored locally in the app's container and synced via iCloud using CloudKit. No third-party servers. No account creation.

System requirements: macOS 15 Sequoia or later. Runs on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

For more on how macOS handles windows and why fullscreen breaks most note apps, see Floating notes on Mac.

FAQ

What does Noticky do?

Noticky is a macOS menu bar app that creates sticky notes which float above all windows, including fullscreen apps. It solves the problem of notes disappearing when you enter fullscreen mode on macOS. Press Cmd+Shift+N to capture a note from anywhere, and it stays visible on screen no matter what app has focus.

Is Noticky free?

No. Noticky costs $6.99 one-time on Mac with no subscription. All core Mac features are included in the purchase price. You can also use Noticky through Setapp if you already subscribe to Setapp.

Does Noticky work in fullscreen?

Yes. This is Noticky's core feature. Notes remain visible above fullscreen apps because Noticky uses a macOS window level that persists across all Spaces, including fullscreen Spaces.

What macOS version does Noticky require?

macOS 15 Sequoia or later. Noticky uses APIs available only in Sequoia and newer to ensure reliable always-on-top behavior.

Is Noticky on the Mac App Store?

Yes. Noticky is available on the Mac App Store. It is also available through Setapp and direct checkout from noticky.app, depending on how you prefer to install and pay.

Who makes Noticky?

Noticky is built by a solo indie developer. It is not backed by a VC-funded company or a large team. One person builds, maintains, and supports the app.

Does Noticky sync notes between Macs?

Yes. Noticky uses iCloud Sync via CloudKit. If you are signed into the same iCloud account on multiple Macs, your notes sync automatically. No setup required.

Can I lock notes with Touch ID?

Yes. Individual notes can be locked with Touch ID. Locked notes display a blurred preview and require biometric authentication to view or edit.