# ctrlhq: the offline productivity app in your Mac's notch > ctrlhq is the all-in-one app that lives in your MacBook's notch. Tasks, timers, focus sessions, screen time and AI usage limits stay one hover away, so you stay on track all day. It also records your screen, takes meeting notes on-device, cleans your disk and runs a teleprompter under your camera. Native, lightweight (about 12 MB), offline, no account, no cloud. Pay once. - Website: https://ctrlhq.app/ - Download: https://ctrlhq.app/download - Price: $19 USD, one-time purchase (launch price; regular price $49). No subscription. Lifetime updates. - No free trial: every feature for one price, with a 14-day money-back guarantee. No account. - Current version: 0.1.0 - Size: native Swift app, about 12 MB download, no background daemons - Requirements: macOS 26 Tahoe or later, Apple silicon or Intel. Works on Macs with or without a notch. - Licensing: one license covers 1 Mac. - Support: hello@ctrlhq.app ## The problem ctrlhq solves Productivity apps usually fail for the same reason: people stop opening them. After a week or two the to-do list, timer or focus app ends up behind other windows, and the day runs on memory and guesswork again. ctrlhq fixes this by living in the MacBook notch at the top of the screen. It can't be closed or buried. The next task and running timer are always visible in the notch, and hovering the notch opens tasks, stats, focus, clipboard and the rest. That makes staying on track a habit instead of a chore. ## Who it's for People who do their work on a Mac and want to stay on top of it: freelancers billing by the hour, developers, designers, writers, students and anyone who wants an honest record of their day. ctrlhq is deliberately personal and laptop-only: - No mobile app - No web dashboard - No account or sign-up - No cloud sync - No team features - No subscription - No telemetry or analytics ## How time tracking works 1. **Capture a task from anywhere.** Press ⌘⇧Space in any app and type, e.g. `Fix checkout bug #work !!! @tomorrow`. `#tag` sets the category, `!`/`!!`/`!!!` set priority, a day in plain words plans it (`tomorrow`, `fri`, `next week`, `30th sept`, `oct 1`, `in 3 days`, or the same with `@`), `3pm` or `at 15:30` sets a due time and `~45m` an estimate. The same field does sums (`128*1.18`), time zones (`3pm PST in IST`) and unit conversions, fills a password (`pw github`), sets a reminder (`remind 20m stretch`), runs commands (`>`), opens apps by name, finds files in plain English with or without the `f` prefix (`images on desktop`, `pdfs from last week`, `videos over 500mb`, `docs containing invoice`) or with filters (`f in:downloads .pdf`, `f kind:image modified:week`, `f "words inside"`; `f ?` shows a guide), through Spotlight's existing index, and pastes from your clipboard history (⌘1–⌘9). 2. **Start the timer with one click** on a task in the notch, or with ⌥⌘T from any app. The running time shows in the notch all day. Switching tasks moves the timer with you. 3. **Stay honest with idle detection.** When you step away and come back, ctrlhq asks whether to keep the idle time, remove it, or remove it and stop the timer. It can also stop the timer automatically after a set time away. 4. **Review your time.** The time report shows tracked time by category and task for today, 7 or 30 days, plus a timeline of the day. Time worked between 1am and 5am is counted separately as "Batman hours". 5. **Export.** Export everything as JSON or CSV for invoices, timesheets or spreadsheets. Other tracking features: task categories with colours, priorities, due dates, comments on tasks, "start last task automatically" at launch, and a built-in Pomodoro focus mode (default 25 minutes focus, 5 minutes break) that tracks your top task and calls the break. ## Everything else in the notch The expanded notch has a side rail of tools, grouped by purpose. - **Screen recording:** record a whole display or one window with a draggable, resizable camera bubble, microphone and system audio, an optional 3-2-1 countdown, and pause/resume. Controls hang under the notch while recording. The .mp4 is saved to Movies › ctrlhq, copied to the clipboard and put on the Shelf (⌃⌥R). - **Meeting notes:** when a Meet, Zoom or Teams call starts, ctrlhq offers to take notes. Speech is transcribed on-device (your mic is "You", the Mac's audio is "Them"), with optional live captions under the notch. Pick a default transcription language or change it per meeting; mixed-language models (e.g. Indian languages + English) handle calls that switch languages, and missing languages are a one-time download from Apple. When it ends you get a transcript, a summary and action items (via on-device Apple Intelligence) that can be sent to Today (⌃⌥M). - **Teleprompter:** a script scrolls under the camera so you can read while keeping eye contact. Adjustable scroll speed and text size, pause/restart, scrub by scrolling, and the notch can be resized by dragging its corners. The notch stays open while it rolls. - **AI usage:** Claude Code and Codex plan limits side by side (5-hour window, weekly cap, reset times, plan), read from the CLIs' existing sign-ins on the Mac. Remembers the last limits for every account you switch between, and can put an alert on the notch sign when a limit resets. - **App Lock:** keep chosen apps (e.g. Messages, Photos, banking) hidden until you unlock them with Touch ID or your Mac password. They lock again after you've been away from them for a set time, when they quit, or when the Mac sleeps. - **Screen time:** time spent per app today and over the last 7 days, plus battery charge, health and cycle count. Counted locally. - **Clipboard history:** searchable history of copied text and images (⌘⇧V). Keep 10 to 100 items. - **Shelf:** drop files on the notch to park them, drag them back out later, or AirDrop them. Images can be converted (WebP, AVIF, HEIC, JPEG, PNG, TIFF) and compressed right on the shelf, with a live size estimate. - **Scratchpad:** a rich-text notepad that saves automatically. - **Notch sign:** a scrolling dot-matrix LED message under the notch, such as "ON AIR" or "In a meeting". - **Reminders:** your own reminders (once, daily, weekdays, or every N minutes at the Mac) plus health presets such as water, walks, resting your eyes, posture, stretching and breathing. Intervals count only time actually spent at the Mac; stepping away for 5+ minutes counts as a walk. - **Keep awake:** stop the Mac from sleeping (⌃⌥K). - **Displays:** one tab for your screens. A brightness slider for every connected screen. The built-in panel and Apple displays use the native backlight; other monitors are controlled over DDC/CI (brightness, contrast, speaker volume and mute), with software dimming when a monitor or adapter doesn't support DDC. Optionally, brightness keys adjust the display under the pointer and volume keys reach a monitor's speakers. - **Calendar:** today's events beside your tasks (read-only). - **Now playing:** Apple Music and Spotify in the notch: large artwork, play/pause, skip, a seek bar and player volume, with synced lyrics (from LRCLIB) that highlight line by line. Click a line to jump to it, or keep the current line under the closed notch. Opening the notch while music plays lands on Now Playing. - **Nook the cat:** a small animated companion who sleeps when idle, types while your timer runs, walks during breaks, celebrates finished tasks, and can be picked up and dropped anywhere. Five coats: tabby, silver, snow, midnight, siamese. ## Keyboard shortcuts (rebindable) | Action | Shortcut | |---|---| | Power tool (tasks, answers, reminders, passwords, apps, files, clipboard) | ⌘⇧Space | | Start / stop timer | ⌥⌘T | | Record screen | ⌃⌥R | | Transcribe a meeting | ⌃⌥M | | Clipboard history | ⌘⇧V | | Keep awake | ⌃⌥K | | Close the notch | Esc | ## Privacy Tasks, time entries, notes, clipboard history and app usage are stored on the Mac (tracking data in a single JSON file). Screen recordings are saved to Movies › ctrlhq; meeting audio is transcribed and summarised on-device. Nothing about your work is uploaded. Network requests: update checks (a Sparkle appcast at https://ctrlhq.app/appcast.xml), license activation, album artwork lookups for the now-playing card, lyrics lookups on LRCLIB (song title, artist, album and length, only while lyrics are on screen), and, only if you use it, AI usage, which asks Anthropic or OpenAI directly for your plan limits. Permissions are all optional and requested during onboarding (and listed in Settings): Calendar, Microphone, Camera, Screen Recording, Accessibility (pasting, password fill and monitor brightness keys) and Automation (Music/Spotify). ## Updates ctrlhq updates itself using Sparkle. It checks once a day, and every release is signed with EdDSA and notarized by Apple. Users can turn automatic checks or automatic installs off in Settings. Release notes: https://ctrlhq.app/changelog. ## Pricing $19 once (launch price, regular $49). Includes every feature, lifetime updates, and use on 1 Mac. Refunds within 14 days. Buy: https://ctrlhq.app/#pricing ## FAQ ### Why put it in the notch? Productivity apps fail the same way: after a week you stop opening them. ctrlhq is never closed or buried behind windows. Your next task and the running timer sit in the notch, and everything else opens when you hover it, so using it becomes a habit. ### What if I forget to stop the timer? ctrlhq notices when you step away. When you come back it asks whether to keep the idle time, remove it, or remove it and stop. You can also set it to stop the timer on its own after a set idle time. ### Is there a mobile app or a web dashboard? No, on purpose. ctrlhq tracks the work you do on your laptop, on your laptop. There's no account, no sync and no dashboard to log into. ### Where is my data stored? Tasks, time and settings live in one JSON file on your Mac. Export it as JSON or CSV whenever you like, for invoices, timesheets or your own spreadsheets. Screen recordings are saved to Movies › ctrlhq and meeting transcripts stay in ctrlhq's folder. ctrlhq never uploads any of it. ### Are meeting notes really private? Yes. Speech is transcribed with Apple's on-device speech engine, and summaries use Apple Intelligence on your Mac, so audio and transcripts never leave it. ctrlhq only offers to take notes; it never starts on its own, and nothing is recorded until you say so. ctrlhq also hides itself from screen sharing, so nobody on the call sees your transcript. ### What permissions does ctrlhq need? Only the ones for features you use, and onboarding walks you through them: Calendar for today's events, Microphone and Camera for recordings and meeting notes, Screen Recording to capture your screen and the other side of a call, and Automation to control Music or Spotify. Skip any of them; you can turn them on later in Settings. ### How does AI usage work? If Claude Code or the Codex CLI is installed, ctrlhq shows your plan limits: the 5-hour window, the weekly cap and when each resets. It reads the sign-in those tools already keep on your Mac (Claude Code's needs your OK in Keychain first) and asks Anthropic or OpenAI directly. Nothing goes through our servers, and ctrlhq never changes those sign-ins. If you switch between accounts, ctrlhq keeps each one's last limits on your Mac and can show a notch alert when a limit resets. ### Is there a free trial? No. Instead, every purchase comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee. Use ctrlhq for two weeks, and if it hasn't earned its place in your notch, email hello@ctrlhq.app for a full refund. No questions asked. ### Is it really a one-time payment? Yes. You pay $19 once and ctrlhq is yours. No subscription. Lifetime updates. $19 is the launch price; it goes up to $49 after launch, and buying now locks in every future update. ### Will it slow my Mac down? No. ctrlhq is a native Swift app, not a web page in a wrapper, and the download is about 12 MB. It's one app instead of the separate cleaner, clipboard manager, display tool, recorder and time tracker you'd otherwise keep running, and it has no background daemons or helper processes besides its updater. ### How do updates work? ctrlhq checks for updates once a day and can install them quietly in the background. Every update is signed, and you can turn automatic installs off in Settings. ### Does it work without a notch? Yes. On an external display or an older Mac, ctrlhq draws its own notch at the top of your main screen. It hides while an app is fullscreen. ### How many Macs can I use it on? One Mac at a time. To move ctrlhq to a new Mac, deactivate it in Settings on the old one, then enter your key on the new one. Lost or wiped the old Mac? Email hello@ctrlhq.app and we'll move it for you. Reinstalling on the same Mac doesn't use a seat. ### What do I need to run it? macOS 26 Tahoe or later, on Apple silicon or Intel. ### Can I get a refund? If ctrlhq isn't for you, email hello@ctrlhq.app within 14 days for a full refund.