Question 1

What is Cove?

Accepted Answer

Cove is a native macOS app that turns your MacBook notch into a Dynamic Island. It shows live activities like music, timers, calendar, battery and downloads, and opens into a panel of widgets, a file shelf, capture and editing tools, and on-device AI. It's built by KIMLABS DEVELOPMENT in Sydney, Australia.

Question 2

Is Cove free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Cove's free tier is free forever and includes live activities, widgets, the shelf, area capture, the image editor, dictation and translation. Cove Pro unlocks 16 power tools for a one-time $5 USD.

Question 3

How much is Cove Pro, and is it a subscription?

Accepted Answer

Cove Pro is a one-time payment of $5 USD. It isn't a subscription, and the price is locked. Pay once and Pro is yours on that Mac forever, including updates.

Question 4

How many Macs can I use one Pro license on?

Accepted Answer

One. Each Cove Pro license is bound to a single Mac, which is how we keep the price at $5. Multi-Mac packs are on the roadmap for people who need more seats.

Question 5

Which Macs does Cove support?

Accepted Answer

Cove needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later and a Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 and later). It works on notched MacBooks, and adds a virtual notch on external displays and Macs without one.

Question 6

Is my data private?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Dictation, translation, OCR, LaTeX Grab and Diagram Grab all run on your Mac. Cove has no account system, Clipboard History skips password-manager entries, and your license is checked offline after activation.

Question 7

How do I activate Cove Pro after buying?

Accepted Answer

After checkout you'll see your license key, and it's emailed to you too. Click Open in Cove, or paste the key in Cove → Settings → Pro. Cove binds it to your Mac and verifies it offline from then on.

Question 8

Is Cove a good alternative to Notchy, NotchNook or Alcove?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Cove matches the core notch features of those apps for free and adds tools they don't have, like LaTeX Grab, Diagram Grab, photo adjustments, video pipelines and on-device dictation. Cove Pro costs $5 once, compared with $17 for Alcove and $25 for NotchNook.

Question 9

Does Cove slow my Mac down?

Accepted Answer

No. Cove is SwiftUI with a Rust core and is event-driven: it doesn't poll for media, battery, calendar or Bluetooth. The expanded panel is released from memory when closed, and system stats sample only while visible.

Question 10

Do I need Accessibility permission?

Accepted Answer

Only for the volume and brightness HUD replacement, which intercepts those keys. Everything else works without it. If Cove quits, macOS gets its keys back immediately.