- Category
- Productivity
- Rank
- No. 1893Tools index
Previous survey · No. 1868 ·
- Pricing
- Open Source
- Type
- APP
- Builder
- f
- GitHub
- 32 stars
- Latest release
- v1.0.2
- Date
About
Multiple floating shelves for apps, links, and snippets on macOS, right where you need them.
What it does
Shelf is a menu-bar organizer that turns dropped applications, folders, URLs, and text into clickable controls. Separate shelves can sit horizontally or vertically, remain visible across spaces, and remember their contents and screen positions. Clicking an item opens it, while snippets paste into the active application.
Why it's ranked here
Shelf combines launch shortcuts, reusable text, links, and lightweight notes without adopting a browser-based desktop stack. Its strongest argument is direct manipulation: drop material onto a shelf, reorder it visually, then use it with one click. The narrow platform target and manual first-launch workaround make it a focused choice, not a general productivity hub.
What's good
The interaction model stays concrete. External drops distinguish files, web addresses, and ordinary text, while duplicate applications and links are suppressed within each shelf. Positions and contents persist locally. Native panels support every space and full-screen companions. Links receive cached favicons, and spacers plus separators make mixed collections easier to scan.
Tradeoffs
Shelf requires macOS 15 or later and offers no cross-platform path. Distribution outside the Mac App Store may require a Terminal command and manual approval on first launch. Snippet activation writes to the system clipboard and simulates Command-V. Favicon retrieval contacts Google first, then the linked host. Sticky notes stop at 500 characters.
How to use it well
Give each shelf one stable context, such as development tools, project links, or frequently repeated replies. Use separators to keep unlike items readable, and snippets for text you genuinely paste often. It suits Mac users who prefer persistent visual shortcuts. It does not replace a cross-platform launcher or a full note-taking system.
Technical notes+
Shelf/ShelfApp.swift creates a MenuBarExtra, a management window, and shared DockStore, DockWindowController, and StickyNoteWindowController state. Shelf/Windows/DockWindowController.swift hosts each shelf in a borderless, nonactivating NSPanel that joins all spaces and persists movement. Shelf/Helpers/DockHostingView.swift handles external pasteboard types and separates file URLs, web URLs, and text, while SwiftUI drag delegates reorder items. Shelf/Store/DockStore.swift atomically encodes shelf configuration as JSON in Application Support and deduplicates applications and links. Shelf/Helpers/FaviconFetcher.swift caches PNG favicons after trying Google’s service and then /favicon.ico. Shelf/Views/DockItemView.swift opens resources, places snippets on NSPasteboard, and posts synthetic Command-V events. Shelf/Models/DockConfig.swift declares autoHide, but no supplied implementation consumes it.
Observed
- License
- MIT
- Primary language
- Swift
- Platform
- macOS 15 Sequoia or later, on Apple Silicon and Intel
- Install surface
- Release DMG, Homebrew tap, or source build with Xcode 16 and Swift 5.0 or later
- Interface
- Native macOS menu-bar application with floating graphical panels
- UI stack
- SwiftUI and AppKit, with no Electron or web views
- Persistence
- Shelf configuration is stored locally as JSON in Application Support
Read from README.md, Shelf/Item.swift, Shelf/ShelfApp.swift, Shelf/ContentView.swift, Shelf/Models/DockItem.swift, Shelf/Store/DockStore.swift, Shelf/Models/DockConfig.swift, Shelf/Views/ManagerView.swift, Shelf/Views/DockItemView.swift, Shelf/Views/StickyNoteView.swift, Shelf/Windows/TooltipWindow.swift, Shelf/Helpers/FaviconFetcher.swift, Shelf/Views/FloatingDockView.swift, Shelf/Helpers/DockHostingView.swift, Shelf/Windows/DockWindowController.swift.
What it can do
Create floating shelves on desktop
User command → Floating shelf widgets on macOS desktop
Organize applications in shelves
App icons/shortcuts → Categorized app collections in floating shelves
Store web links in shelves
URLs and bookmarks → Quick-access link collections
Save text snippets to shelves
Text content → Accessible text snippet library
Position shelves anywhere on screen
Drag and drop gestures → Custom-positioned floating shelves
Launch apps from shelves
Click on app in shelf → Opened application
Intel on Shelf
Tags
Tech Stack
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