How to show Spotify in your MacBook's notch

macOS doesn't put anything in the MacBook's notch, Spotify included. To see the song that's playing up there, with its artwork and controls, you need a notch app. Koi 2.0 does it as soon as a song plays: the artwork sits in the notch with bars dancing beside it, and hovering the notch opens a player. Atoll, which names Spotify, and Boring Notch show what's playing for free.

The closest thing built into macOS is Now Playing. It lives in Control Center, and you can pin it to the menu bar, but it sits beside the notch rather than in it.

We make Koi, so read this with that in mind. Everything about Koi here is what version 2.0 does. The macOS steps come from Apple's own guides, and the other apps' features from their own pages, checked October 25, 2026.

1. Install Koi and finish its first run. Koi moves into the notch at the top of your screen.
2. Play a song in Spotify or in Apple's Music app.
3. The first time, macOS asks whether Koi may control Spotify or Music. Click Allow, so Koi can show the artwork and send your presses to the player.
4. The song's artwork appears in the notch, with bars dancing beside it.
5. Hover the notch. It opens on a player: the artwork, the song and who it's by, how far in it is with the time gone and left, and shuffle, back, play or pause, next and the speakers.

Pause the song and Koi itself comes back into the notch. During a call with Koi, a dictation or a recording, Koi shows over the music until it's done.

If you click Don't Allow, the notch still shows what Spotify or Music tells every app on the Mac: the song, who it's by, and whether it's playing or paused.

Koi asks Spotify or Music what's playing, every second while it plays, over Apple Events on your Mac. It's held in memory to show in the notch: never stored, logged, measured or sent to our server. Spotify's artwork loads from Spotify's own image server, an ordinary picture request with nothing about you attached.

Without any app, macOS can keep Now Playing one click away:

1. Open the Apple menu, then System Settings.
2. Click Control Center in the sidebar (Menu Bar on newer versions of macOS).
3. Find Now Playing and choose Show in Menu Bar, or Show When Active to see it only while something plays.

The names differ a little between macOS versions; Apple's guide to menu bar settings has yours.

• Boring Notch: free and open source, music controls with a visualizer, plus a file shelf and a calendar. macOS 14 or later.
• Atoll: free and open source, media from Apple Music, Spotify and other players. macOS 14 or later, and it needs a MacBook with a notch.
• Droppy: $9.99 once, now playing with motion art, plus a file tray and AirPods.
• MediaMate: pay what you want, €6.99 suggested, now playing plus nicer volume and brightness popups.

All of them, with prices and what each needs, are in the best notch apps for Mac.

If all you want is Spotify in the notch, take a free one: Boring Notch does it well, and Atoll names Spotify on its page. Koi is worth it when you'd use the rest of it. The same notch opens on an AI you talk to that sees your screen, dictation in any app, call recording, your documents and calendar, and a teleprompter under the camera. Koi is $20 a month, $7 for a first week, or Lifetime, paid once, with no free trial. See Koi's plans.