How Grinote works

macOS 14+ · Works on your Mac · Offline after install

What is Grinote?

Grinote is a native macOS app that lives around the notch. It shows coding-agent status at a glance, lets you approve tools without opening Cursor or Claude Code, and keeps a private clipboard shelf one hover away.

After you buy and activate a license ($29, one-time), the app runs on your Mac. Clipboard content stays on your machine.

What do the beaver states mean?

A quiet beaver sits in the compact notch chrome:

Ready — brown and still. Nothing is running.
Working — it chews while an agent is busy.
Your turn — turns green when the task is done.

Hover the notch to expand the shelf.

How do agent approvals work?

The Agent tab lists local sessions in one compact list — project, current activity, and status. When the list grows, it scrolls inside the same surface.

When an agent needs permission, Grinote shows an approval card in the notch with Deny, Allow (once), and Always (for that tool in that project) — so you can answer without leaving flow.

Each session row also has a contextual action:

Monitor — follow a busy session.
Respond — open the approval or question prompt.
Jump — return to a finished session.

The app switcher jumps between Cursor, Terminal, Xcode, and Finder without leaving the shelf.

How does the clipboard shelf work?

Three spaces stay stable when you reopen the shelf:

Agent — sessions and approvals.
Recent — automatic inbox of what you copy (about 20 visible items).
Saved — clips you star on purpose. Saving removes an item from Recent.

Typical flow:

Copy — ⌘C anywhere. Grinote captures a clip into Recent and can flash COPIED on the notch.
Hover — move to the notch. Browse, search, and filter (All, Text, Links, Code, Media, Files).
Click — click a clip to copy it again. Double-click selects; Space opens a preview.

Images get local Vision OCR so their text is searchable. Capture can be paused from the shelf.

Is Grinote private?

Yes. Clipboard history and agent UI state stay on your Mac. Sensitive patterns can be filtered. Pause stops capture when you need a clean desk.

The website account is only for purchase, license delivery, and download — not for syncing your clips. See the Privacy Policy for site data.

How do I buy and activate Grinote?

Create an account and buy Grinote on grinote.app/buy.
Open Account for your license key and the Mac download.
Install the app, then paste the key in Settings → License. Each license binds to one device.

Requirements: macOS 14+. Accessibility (and related permissions) may be requested so paste and global shortcuts work.

Frequently asked questions

What is Grinote?

Grinote is a native macOS app that lives around the notch. It shows coding-agent status at a glance, lets you approve or reply without opening Cursor or Claude Code, and keeps a private clipboard shelf one hover away.

Does Grinote work offline?

Yes. After you buy and activate a license, Grinote runs on your Mac. Clipboard content stays on your device and is not uploaded to grinote.app servers.

How do agent approvals work in Grinote?

When an agent needs permission, Grinote shows Deny, Allow once, and Always in the notch. You can answer without switching to Cursor or Claude Code.

How much does Grinote cost?

Grinote is a one-time purchase at $29 (launch price; regular $39). Each license binds to one device on macOS 14+.

Where is my clipboard data stored?

Clipboard history and agent UI state stay on your Mac. The grinote.app account is only for purchase, license delivery, and download — not for syncing clips.

Need more?

Product overview on the home page. Legal details: Privacy · Legal notice.