Files
Drop in files, folders, apps and links. A frame keeps links, so your originals stay where they are. Rename items, add color labels and pick your own icons.
Organize your Mac desktop into frames you'll want to look at.
Nook is a file organizer that puts your files, folders, notes, timers and more into frames right on the desktop. Dress each frame in one of 41 styles, add an animated effect, and keep everything one click away.
Drawn for this page from the app's real style values, with sample content. The app blurs your own wallpaper behind each frame.
Try a style on every frame
Seven frames, seven different styles. Pick one above to dress them all the same.
Nine kinds of frame, one for every job on your desktop
A frame holds your files or runs a small tool. Each one below is shown in a different style, and any frame can wear any style.
Folder
Shows a real folder, such as Documents or your Desktop. Open subfolders without leaving the frame, go back up, and sort by name, date modified or kind.
Recent files
The 12 files you changed most recently in your Desktop, Downloads and Documents folders, always up to date.
Notes and checklists
Type a note, or switch to a checklist and tick things off. One button turns lines of text into list items. Notes are encrypted on your Mac.
Clock
The time with seconds, and the date, in the same style as everything around it.
Timer and stopwatch
A stopwatch with laps, or a countdown with 5, 10 and 25 minute presets. It keeps running while the frame is rolled up.
Clipboard history
Keeps copied text, images and screenshots. Click a clip to copy it again. You can pause capture, set how long clips stay, and skip password managers.
System monitor
CPU, GPU, memory, swap, storage, disk activity, network, battery, thermal state and uptime. Choose which rows to show.
Video
Play a YouTube link or a video file right on the desktop. Loop it, mute it, or let it fill the frame.
41 styles, every one with its own colors, corners and type
A style sets the glass, tint, border, icon size, title font and a starting effect. Pick one per frame, or change every frame at once.
SlateFree
MidnightFree
CarbonFree
Gold LuxeFree
PaperFree
ArcticFree
NoirFree
FrostedFree
Neon ArcadeFree
TerminalFree
CyberpunkFree
LavaFree
SunsetFree
SakuraFree
VaporwaveFree
ForestFree
OceanFree
Pixel QuestPremium
Pixel GardenPremium
Pixel BerryPremium
ChromePremium
TitaniumPremium
CopperPremium
BlueprintFree
Dungeon CrawlPremium
Elven GrovePremium
Arcane MagePremium
Vampire GothicPremium
SteampunkPremium
HyperspacePremium
Dark FleetPremium
Space StationPremium
Anime PopPremium
Shonen EnergyPremium
Cyber SamuraiPremium
Creature CatcherPremium
Block BuilderPremium
Sunset HeistPremium
Street HustlePremium
Zombie ZonePremium
Candy PopFree
Free: 19 styles in six collections. Premium: 22 styles in six more, with the effects that come with them. Drawn for this page from each style's real colors, corners and fonts. In the app the frame is also frosted glass over your own wallpaper.
20 animated effects, colored by the style you pick
Rain, snow, digital rain, a synthwave grid, an equalizer, a rainbow border. Every effect uses the frame's two main colors, so changing a color changes the effect. Raise the brightness above 100% and neon effects glow, or switch every effect off at once.
15 effects are free. The other 5 come with Premium styles. These are close CSS versions of the app's effects, which are drawn at 30 frames a second and pause when a frame is covered.
Put a picture behind any frame
Choose from 24 backgrounds built into the app, use any image from your Mac, or search free CC0 and public-domain pictures. The picture sits over the style's glass, and you set how strong it is. Credits for downloaded pictures are saved for you.
The 24 built-in backgrounds
The built-in backgrounds are generated by the app, so they have no licensing strings attached. The swatches above are drawn in CSS from the same colors and patterns.
Start from a style, then make it yours
Every frame can override its style: colors, corner radius, border, glass, title font, glow and effect. Try it on the frame below.
Start from
Accent color
Title font
Effect
- Two main colors that tint the border, gradient and effects
- Glass material, tint strength and the see-through level of the whole frame
- Title font, size, weight and capitals
- Icon size, three folder looks (system, themed or tile), and your own icon for any item
- Take the accent color from your wallpaper
- Effect speed and brightness
Three desktops, three moods
The same frame types, dressed for focus, play and a slow Sunday. Mix styles freely: each frame is styled on its own.
Styles used: Midnight, Paper, Arctic, Carbon, Blueprint. Quiet colors, a countdown timer and a monitor for a work day.
Styles used: Pixel Quest (Premium), Neon Arcade, Cyberpunk, Vaporwave, Lava. Loud colors for a gaming desk.
Styles used: Sakura, Candy Pop, Sunset, Forest, Ocean. Soft colors for a slow day.
It behaves like part of the desktop
Nook lives in the menu bar, with no Dock icon. Frames stay where you put them and get out of the way when you need the room.
- Roll upCollapse a frame to its title bar with the arrow. Open it on hover, on click, or by hand. ⌥⌘R rolls up every frame and ⌥⌘E expands them.
- Hide and show⌥⌘F hides or shows every frame. You can also turn on a double-click on the desktop.
- Peek⌥⌘P or a hot corner brings your frames in front of your windows for a moment. They also surface while you drag a file.
- Keep on top⌥⌘O keeps frames above your windows until you press it again.
- Sort rulesGive a frame rules and it takes the files that match: by extension, name, kind, age, or the folder they sit in.
- LockLock a frame's position and size so it stays exactly where you left it.
- Monitors and SpacesFrames remember where they belong for each monitor setup, and can show on every desktop or on one.
- LayoutsSave sets of frames and switch between them with ⌥⌘L.
- Search⌥⌘S searches the items in your frames. ⌥⌘N adds a new frame.
- BackupsYour layout is backed up automatically, with a restore menu.
- Finder iconsOptionally hide Finder's own desktop icons so frames take over. A Desktop Mirror frame keeps your Desktop files in view.
Free to use. Premium for the extra looks.
Every tool and setting is in the free version. Premium adds styles.
Free
0
- All 9 frame types and every setting
- 19 styles in six collections
- 15 effects
- Layouts, backups, multi-monitor memory and sort rules
- All 24 built-in backgrounds and the image library
- No account and no ads
Premium
Price shown at checkout
- Everything in Free
- 22 more styles in six collections
- The 5 effects that come with them
- Works on up to 2 Macs
- License key by email, entered in the app
- 14-day refund
Checkout opens in your browser on Stripe, which handles the payment. Nook never sees your card.
Your desktop stays yours
Nook works on your Mac and has no account to create.
- No tracking. No analytics, no telemetry, no ads.
- Notes are encrypted on disk, with a key kept in your Keychain.
- Clipboard history stays in memory and is gone when you quit.
- Files are linked, not copied. Adding a file to a frame does not move it.
- Checkout is outside the app. Your card never passes through it.
- Not notarized by Apple. macOS asks you to confirm the first launch; here is how.
Read the privacy policy for what is sent where.
Questions
Does it move or change my files?
Frames for files only keep links, so your originals stay where they are. A folder frame shows a real folder, and dropping a file onto it moves the file into that folder, the same as in Finder.
Does it work with several monitors and Spaces?
Yes. Frames remember their place for each monitor setup, can be kept on one monitor, and can appear on every desktop or only on the one you choose.
What happens to a frame that uses a Premium style without a license?
It shows a free look and keeps your choice. The Premium style comes back the moment you unlock it.
How many Macs can I use?
One license works on up to 2 Macs. To move it, choose Remove license from this Mac in the Premium window, then activate it on the new one.
Does it need the internet?
Only for Premium. The app checks your license online now and then and keeps working offline in between. Everything else runs without a connection, apart from YouTube frames and the online image search.
Is it on the Mac App Store?
No. It is sold here as a direct download, which lets it read your desktop and sit behind your windows the way a desktop tool should.
macOS says Nook cannot be opened. What do I do?
Nook is not notarized by Apple, so macOS blocks the first launch. Open System Settings, go to Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway next to Nook, then confirm. Step by step.
Which Macs does it run on?
macOS 13 Ventura or later, on Apple silicon and Intel.
Can I get a refund?
Yes, within 14 days. The terms have the details.
Give your desktop a nook.
Download Nook free, drop a few files into a frame and pick a style. It takes about a minute.
Download free