Lightweight always-on-top app

TopIt and Always On Top. I like the UI for TopIt, but it’s been a little flakey for me lately with VLC. I do want to give Always On Top a try, though, if only for the great name.

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You might enjoy StageHero.app

topit hasnt got updated since 2024

sorry but there are ways. I have it fully working in front interactable and no sip disabled. byt also found a way

You mean you have found other ways to make any other app’s window stay on top of everything without breaking the view hierarchy like menus not appearing correctly in front etc. ? Could you share some details?

If all you want is to keep an eye on that app, you can try my Pipiri app. But if you want to interact with it, there really is nothing that can keep the actual app in front because macOS now requires disabling SIP for changing the level of another app’s window. Alternatives are either finding an alternate app with an always on top function (e.g. let’s say you’re trying to keep Notes on top, you could switch to Raycast Notes which has its own Always on Top function, apps can changer their own windows level easily) Or using something like BetterTouchTool’s keep on top function which shows a recording of the window at the same place and size as the original window to make it appear the same.

+1 for TopIt.

Hey I know this is the worst issue and that's exactly why my app Float fixes this exact issue. It's the most lightweight and smooth Always on top app. Please try it and let me know your feedback :)

https://github. com/southflowpeak/Pin I found this and always on top is also great https://github. com/itsabhishekolkha/AlwaysOnTop

Afloat used to be the go-to but it’s been dead for years. These days I use Rectangle Pro (paid) which has an always-on-top shortcut, but if you want something free + lightweight, AlwaysOnTop on the App Store does literally nothing else and it’s like 1MB. Hammerspoon also works if you don’t mind a tiny bit of Lua.

I’ve been searching for an app doing this since I have a Mac and can’t seem to find one. Let me know if you are !

yeah macos kinda sucks at this natively, but there are a few simple options i’ve used helium before, it’s mainly for floating windows (like videos) but works surprisingly well if that’s your use case if you want something more general, bettertouchtool or rectangle pro can do it too with a “pin window” feature, and they’re still pretty lightweight overall there are also tools like afloat, but they can be a bit hit or miss depending on your macos version honestly if you already use something like rectangle or btt, i’d just use that, easiest setup by far

Try "Topit" by lihaoyun6 on GitHub. I've used it a few times and, while I don't need Always on Top functionality, the few times I did, it worked well.

I vouch for AlwaysOnTop or TopWindow 10000x. They basically just let you pin a window with a shortcut and that's it...

For the native notes app, if you open a note in a new window there’s an option called “keep on top” under the window menu bar that’ll make it a floating note. Only exists for the notes app afaik, so an app will still be needed for other windows though

I use Stage Manager for some of this but a dedicated always-on-top toggle is way more flexible. Does it work with fullscreen apps too or just regular windows?

Not sure what your usecase for this is, but if you want a transparent notes app that always stays on top, try GhostCue

For some reason I was absolutely sure that macOS does it for any app via the Window menu 🥲 But it turns out it doesn't

Sounds like TopShelf? Its a lightweight app that allows you to show your favorite tools/apps in front of every window even on full screen mode. It even allows you to pin tools in the menu bar. Got it for only $2.99 lifetime

What do you think of Fuwari? It’s free and lightweight, so I’ve been using it a lot.

I posted here a free menu bar app that did exactly this. a trackpad gesture that pins the app always in view fully interact able and another mode to also focus one app so that the cursor always returns to that app , button the post was deleted because I forgot to accept the rules and can’t create post for 30 days. if anyone interfered shoot me a pm I can send a link with the motorized file. it is open source.