Using Cupola without a notch or on an external display
Updated October 20, 2026
Cupola's name comes from the MacBook notch, but you don't need a physical notch to use it.
Macs without a notch
On Macs without a notch, a MacBook without one, a Mac mini, Mac Studio, Mac Pro or iMac, Cupola shows a small pill at the top of the screen instead. Clicking or hovering it opens the exact same panel you'd get from a real notch: the same five tabs (Calendar, Reminders, Notes, Clipboard and Focus), the same behavior, just anchored to a pill instead of the notch cutout.
External displays
The same applies to any display that doesn't have a notch, including external monitors plugged into a MacBook that does have one. Cupola doesn't need the notch specifically: it needs somewhere to anchor the pill or panel, and it uses a pill wherever there's no notch to use instead.
Everything else works the same
Whether Cupola is anchored to a real notch or a pill, every feature is identical: reading and editing your Calendar, Reminders and Notes, the clipboard history, Focus mode, and the full main window reachable from either. There's nothing to configure: Cupola detects whether a notch is available and picks the right presentation on its own.
If you're not sure whether your specific Mac has one, check System Settings › Displays, or just install Cupola and open it; it'll be obvious which one you get. See Installing Cupola to get started.
Give your notch something to do.
Try Cupola free for 7 days, then pay once ($20) to keep it.