ChocolateBar vs boring.notch: two different jobs for the notch
These two get mentioned in the same breath, so it is worth being clear, they aim at completely different problems. One makes the notch fun, the other makes your menu bar icons reachable again.
boring.notch dresses up the notch
Let me clear this up first, because the two often come up together. boring.notch turns the MacBook notch into something like an iPhone Dynamic Island. Media controls, a battery readout, a calendar peek, a drag-and-drop shelf for files. It is open source, it is free, and it is a genuinely fun, useful thing to have on a Mac. What it is not is a menu bar manager.
ChocolateBar is about the menu bar
ChocolateBar cares about a different strip of screen, the row of status icons the notch shoves out of reach. It gives those icons a second row below the menu bar where you can see and click them, and it can show your open apps in that same row for quick switching, a part I keep making more configurable as I go. The shelf in boring.notch holds files. The strip in ChocolateBar holds your menu bar items and your apps.
Since they are after different things, running both is a fine idea: boring.notch making the notch worth having, ChocolateBar making your menu bar icons reachable. But if what brought you here was "get my hidden menu bar icons back," that is the entire reason ChocolateBar exists. It is a native app, paid once, free for 48 hours, and it only goes online to check for updates.
| Feature | ChocolateBar | boring.notch |
|---|---|---|
| Bring back hidden menu bar icons | Yes, the whole point | No, a different focus |
| Second row for menu bar items | Yes | No, it has a file shelf instead |
| Open app windows in the row | Yes, optional | No |
| Notch media, calendar, file shelf | No | Yes |
| Price | $15 one-time | Free |
| Open source | No | Yes |
Questions people ask
Is boring.notch a menu bar manager?
Not really, and that is not a knock. It turns the notch into something like a Dynamic Island, with media, a calendar glance, and a file shelf. If your goal is getting hidden menu bar icons back, that is ChocolateBar's job, not boring.notch's.
Can I run both at the same time?
Yes, and it is a nice combo. boring.notch makes the notch itself useful while ChocolateBar makes the icons around it reachable. They do not step on each other.
I came here for my hidden icons. Which one do I want?
ChocolateBar. It puts the icons the notch ate into a visible second row, full size, with your open apps if you want them. There is a 48-hour free trial.
Try it on your own menu bar.
ChocolateBar is a native Mac app for Apple Silicon and Intel, Monterey or later. $15, one-time. Free for 48 hours, no account needed.