Always there. Never in the way.
A lightweight terminal panel that lives at your screen edge.
A 9pt-wide pill that opens on hover, delivers a full terminal, and collapses back without disturbing your flow. Works across all Spaces, fullscreen apps, and Mission Control.
Check out what it can do
Built-in notes
CL Notes is a persistent monospaced notepad built into the panel. Jot down commands, draft code snippets, or keep a running log - all without leaving your terminal.
- Line-number gutter (up to 100 lines)
- Three access modes: inline drawer, popover, or full tab
- Auto-saved on every change
- Full undo support and standard keyboard shortcuts
Command line help
A searchable command reference loaded from Metadata/command-lines.md.
Click any command row to send it directly to the active terminal.
- Inline drawer, popover, or full-tab mode
- Real-time filter as you type
- Resizable drawer (80–384pt range)
- Click-to-send to active terminal
Multitask
Run multiple terminal sessions side by side. Split views let you watch logs, edit configs, and run commands without juggling windows.
- Vertical and horizontal split panes
- Independent shell sessions per pane
- Drag to resize or reorder panes
- Quick-switch between layouts with keyboard shortcuts
Personalize
Make SideNook yours. Choose from built-in themes or design your own color palette - every visual element can be tuned to match your workflow and style.
- Curated light and dark themes
- Custom accent color with live preview
- Adjustable panel opacity and blur
- Font size and typeface picker for the terminal
Status indicator
Know your terminal state at a glance. A subtle indicator shows connection status, running processes, and available updates - without cluttering your screen.
- Live connection status for SSH and local sessions
- Background task activity indicator
- Panel visibility and auto-hide state
- Update available notification
“Seriously, Jacki. What the...! Love to see you grow.”
“Omgggg I love itttttt! Seriously helps me so much when I have a trillion things to do at once.”
“This is exactly what I needed. A terminal that's there when I need it and invisible when I don't. The floating pill is genius.”
“Just a day in and I already find it super super helpful not having to switch apps just to use Claude Code.”
Share your thoughts
Thanks for the feedback! <3
Get SideNook
Clone the repo, build with Swift 6, and run.
git clone https://github.com/torrespoloc/sidenook-app.git
cd sidenook-app
make run How to install
Run git clone https://github.com/torrespoloc/sidenook-app.git
From the repo root, run make run — builds and launches SideNook
macOS asks for Accessibility access — allow it
The floating pill appears on your screen edge. Click and start typing!
Don't be shell-fish, spare a leaf!
SideNook is now open source (MIT licensed) and free for everyone. If it makes your daily workflow easier, consider donating or contributing on GitHub.