Case File / 01Native macOS · Open Source
NotCodeLeave the agent. Keep the signal.
A native menu-bar companion that calls you back when Claude Code, Codex CLI, or Cursor reaches the moment that needs human judgment.
- Role
- Creator · Product · Native macOS
- Platform
- Swift Menu-Bar App + Hook Helper
- Status
- Shipped · Free · MIT
01 / Attention Problem
Async Work, Synchronous Waiting.
Coding agents work asynchronously. The awkward part is the human loop: a permission, a question, or completion can arrive while attention is somewhere else.
Babysitting that loop creates idle time on both sides. Leave too early and the agent waits. Stay at the screen and the promised leverage becomes another thing to watch.
02 / Thesis
Route Attention by Presence.
NotCode starts with the quietest useful behavior: play sound at the keyboard.Phone delivery is optional and only matters while away.
Return when human judgment is needed. Ignore the rest.
Sound when you are near. Minimal status when you are away.
03 / System Anatomy
A Small Route From Hook to Human.
Claude Code uses Notification and Stop hooks. Codex uses its notify integration. Cursor uses stop hooks. A small standalone helper normalizes those signals for the native app.
Local sound is the default. Away-aware WhatsApp status through Kapso is optional, and its payload contains tool, project, and state—not code, prompt, or output.
In prose: each supported coding tool calls a small standalone hook helper. The helper preserves existing handlers and sends tool, project, and state to the native menu-bar app. The app plays sound locally and can route that minimal status through Kapso to WhatsApp while you are away.
04 / Decisions
Three Boundaries Shaped the Build.
The product gets its character from what it refuses to make complicated.
- 01
Native Swift, Not Electron
I chose a native Swift menu-bar app because the product belongs beside macOS system controls. It stays focused on presence, sound, and notification routing without carrying a browser runtime.
- 02
Chain, Never Clobber
The helper adds NotCode to supported agent configuration while preserving existing handlers. A notification tool should not break the automation already in place.
- 03
Send Status, Not Work
The optional remote payload is limited to tool, project, and state. Code, prompts, and output stay out of the WhatsApp message path.
05 / Distribution
Install It. Inspect It. Own the Route.
NotCode ships as a DMG and through a one-command installer. The source is public under the MIT license.
The product claims no accounts and no tracking.
- Install
- DMG or One Command
- Source
- GitHub · MIT
- Account Model
- No Account · No Tracking
06 / Shipped Result
Three Tools, One Native Signal.
The shipped result is a native, open-source macOS app with integrations for Claude Code, Codex CLI, and Cursor.
Two-way WhatsApp session replies are in beta. That is the next edge: moving from status delivery toward carefully bounded remote responses without widening the payload.