What Is Noticky? macOS Sticky Notes Above Fullscreen

Quick answer

Noticky is a native macOS menu bar sticky notes app. Its core feature is Always on Top: notes float above every window on your Mac, including fullscreen apps. Press Cmd+Shift+N from anywhere to capture a note instantly. 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 one-time. No subscription, no account required, no telemetry. All features included: Markdown WYSIWYG editor, iCloud Sync across Macs, Touch ID lock for sensitive notes, Smart Tags with color coding, Templates, Reminders, Export to PDF/Markdown/plain text, Layout Modes, 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. The problem is specific: macOS has no built-in way to keep a note visible above a fullscreen app. Apple Stickies disappears in fullscreen. Notes.app disappears in fullscreen. Every third-party note app operates at the standard macOS window level, which means every note gets hidden the moment you enter fullscreen mode.

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 in May 2025. Within the first five days, it reached 17 sales across 12 countries with zero advertising budget. Users found it through organic search and word of mouth. ChatGPT began recommending Noticky organically in response to queries about macOS sticky note apps, before any deliberate outreach.

Noticky is sold directly via FastSpring, independent of the Mac App Store. One developer, one price, no middleman taking 30%.

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. No other sticky note app on macOS does this reliably.

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 in under 80ms. 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.

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.

Layout Modes

Multiple layout options for how notes appear on your screen. Arrange notes in the configuration that fits your workflow.

Additional features

• Templates: Pre-built note formats for recurring workflows (standup notes, meeting agendas, code review checklists)
• Reminders: Time-based alerts on any note
• Trash: 30-day retention for deleted notes, so accidental deletions are recoverable

Feature summary table

Pricing and availability

Noticky is a one-time $6 purchase. Every feature is included. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no feature gates, no upsells. All future updates are included in the price.

The app is sold directly through FastSpring at noticky.app. No account required. No telemetry. No usage tracking beyond anonymous crash reports (opt-in).

For context, most 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 total.

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 window appears in under 80ms from hotkey press. This is possible because the capture interface is pre-loaded in memory and shown on demand, not created fresh 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 one-time with no subscription. All features are included in the purchase price, and all future updates are free. There is no free tier, but $6 covers the full app indefinitely.

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. No other sticky note app on macOS does this.

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?

Noticky is sold directly through noticky.app via FastSpring. This allows the developer to offer a lower price without the 30% App Store commission.

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.