Your MacBook notch
just got smarter

NotchWise surfaces flashcards in the macOS notch for ambient spaced repetition. Review cards without leaving your workflow.

Download Free

Free to start · Pro £14.99 one-time

NotchWise app icon
See it in action
See It In Action

The review loop, visualised

Three states. Eight seconds. Back to work.

1. Hover
Pharmacology
What is the mechanism of action of metformin?
Space to flip
2. Flip
Pharmacology
Activates AMP-kinase. Decreases hepatic glucose production. Increases insulin sensitivity.
1-4 to rate
3. Rate
Pharmacology
Activates AMP-kinase. Decreases hepatic glucose production. Increases insulin sensitivity.
Again Hard Good Easy

Click to step through the flow

Compatible with your existing tools

Anki .apkg import
AnKing Full deck support
FSRS Modern scheduling
SM-2 Classic algorithm
CSV Bulk import
How it works

You won't notice it's happening

Morning

Import your Anki deck or create a few cards. Takes two minutes.

Mid-morning

You're working. The notch subtly shows "12 due". You hover, review three cards in 15 seconds, and get back to what you were doing.

Afternoon

Between tasks, the notch nudges again. Five more cards. You barely noticed.

End of day

You've reviewed 30 cards. It never felt like studying.

Features

What it does

Simple tools for reviewing flashcards without switching apps.

Anki Compatible

Import .apkg decks, SM-2 & FSRS algorithms, AnkiConnect sync. Your Anki decks work as-is. Nothing to reconfigure.

Context Aware

Auto-switches deck based on your frontmost app. Xcode open? Swift cards. Browser on MDN? JavaScript cards.

Invisible When Needed

Hides during screen sharing, Focus modes, and presentations. Your flashcards stay private automatically.

Smart Creation

Drag text from any app into the notch. On-device AI suggests front/back pairs and cloze deletions.

Keyboard & Remote

Space to flip, 1-4 to rate, S to skip, Z to snooze. Bluetooth presentation remotes fully supported.

Track Progress

Retention rates, streaks, due forecasts, and a calendar heatmap. See your learning at a glance.

Works Everywhere

MacBook Pro, Air, Neo, iMac, Mac Mini. Notch Macs use the hardware notch; others get a floating widget.

Pomodoro Built In

Cards surface during break intervals. Study when your brain is ready to rest, not when you're deep in flow.

Privacy

Your data never leaves your Mac

NotchWise runs entirely on your machine. No accounts, no cloud, no tracking. Your flashcards, review history, and study patterns belong to you.

💻
100% local storage

All card data, scheduling, and review history stored in a local database on your Mac. Nothing is transmitted.

🚫
No analytics or telemetry

No usage tracking, no crash reporting, no third-party SDKs. We have no servers to send data to.

🔒
No account required

No sign-up, no email, no personal information collected. Download and use. That's it.

🧠
On-device AI

Card generation uses Apple's built-in NaturalLanguage framework. Your text never leaves the device.

Read the full privacy policy.

Pricing

Pricing

Free
£0
Free
  • 1 deck, up to 50 cards
  • SM-2 scheduling
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Screen-share invisibility
  • .apkg and CSV import
Download Free

Available on the Mac App Store

Pro
£14.99
One-time
  • Unlimited decks & cards
  • FSRS algorithm
  • AnkiConnect & iCloud sync
  • Context-aware deck routing
  • AI card generation
  • Statistics dashboard
  • Pomodoro integration
  • MCP server
Get NotchWise on the App Store

No subscriptions. No recurring fees. One purchase, lifetime updates. 30-day money-back guarantee.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

No. NotchWise works on every Mac running macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later. On notch MacBooks, cards anchor to the hardware notch. On iMacs, Mac Minis, and older MacBooks, a virtual notch appears at the top-centre of your screen. Same experience, same workflow.
NotchWise is a companion, not a replacement. It imports your Anki decks (.apkg), syncs with AnkiConnect, and uses the same SM-2 algorithm (plus FSRS). Use Anki to create and organise decks. Use NotchWise to review them passively throughout your day without ever opening Anki.
Yes, completely. All cards, scheduling, and review history are stored locally in a SQLite database. No internet connection is needed for reviews. The only features that require connectivity are AnkiConnect sync and optional AI card suggestions.
No. NotchWise does not collect, transmit, or store any personal data on external servers. Your flashcards, review history, and preferences stay on your Mac. There are no analytics, no tracking cookies, and no telemetry. See our Privacy Policy for details.
NotchWise supports two algorithms: SM-2 (the classic SuperMemo algorithm, used by Anki) and FSRS (Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler, a modern alternative with better retention modelling). You can switch between them in Settings. Both are fully offline.
ABS Astreon, developer of NotchWise

Built by a solo developer

I'm ABS Astreon, an indie developer based in London. I built NotchWise because I kept skipping my Anki reviews. The notch was right there, doing nothing, so I put it to work.

40 features, 781 tests, and a lot of App Store rejections later, here we are. Read the full story.