Driftpad

Notes that know when to leave.

Driftpad puts a floating note one click away in your Mac's menu bar. Jot something down and forget about it: the note fades away on its own. Pin the ones worth keeping.

Download for Mac View on GitHub

Free and open source. Needs macOS 14 or later, on Apple Silicon or Intel.

This note is live. Type in it, pin it, drag it, or leave it alone and watch it go. The menu bar icon above makes a new one. In the demo, notes last 20 seconds instead of 2 minutes.

A note's short, useful life.

Most sticky notes pile up until you clean them out. Driftpad notes tidy up after themselves.

  1. It appears

    One click on the menu bar icon opens a note right below it, ready to type. It starts one line tall and grows as you write.

  2. It floats

    The note stays above every app, on every desktop, even over full-screen windows. Drag it wherever it's handy.

  3. It fades

    Left alone for 2 seconds, it turns see-through so it never blocks your work. Hover or click to bring it back. The countdown pauses while you hover or type.

  4. It leaves, or stays

    When its time is up, anywhere from 1 minute to 1 hour, it disappears. Pin a note and it stays until you unpin it.

  • Liquid GlassSeven colors or any custom color, with adjustable tint.
  • No permissionsNo account, no internet access, no tracking.
  • Every MacmacOS 14 or later, on Apple Silicon and Intel.
  • Open sourceFree under the MIT license. Read every line on GitHub.

Up and running in a minute.

Download for Mac

  1. Download the DMG

    Get the latest version from the GitHub releases page.

  2. Drag Driftpad into Applications

    Open the DMG and drop the app onto the Applications folder.

  3. Allow it on first launch

    macOS will say it can't verify the app. Click Done, then open System Settings, go to Privacy & Security, and click Open Anyway. You only do this once.