How to Put a Pet in Your MacBook Notch

What's a MacBook notch pet?

It's a small animated pet that lives in the notch, the cut-out at the top of a MacBook screen where the camera sits. Nibbii is a pixel pet that lives in your MacBook notch, so it's right where your eyes already go when you glance at the menu bar.

Apple's own announcements describe that part of the display:

• Apple's announcement of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, published 18 October 2021, says the display extends up around the camera.
• Apple's announcement of the 13.6-inch MacBook Air, published 6 June 2022, says the display has been expanded up around the camera to make room for the menu bar.

Facts about Apple's MacBooks come from Apple's newsroom: MacBook Pro announcement and MacBook Air announcement.

How to set one up, step by step

Four steps. Nibbii is a Mac app and requires macOS 15+.

1. Download it. Grab the .dmg from the download page. It's a universal build (Apple silicon and Intel), signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple. You won't find it on the Mac App Store. Download it straight from nibbii.pet.
2. Drag it into Applications. Open the DMG and drop Nibbii into your Applications folder.
3. Open it and look up. Launch Nibbii from Applications. It has no Dock icon, so don't go hunting for one. The first launch opens a setup panel at the notch.
4. Meet your pet. You can name it here, and Nibbii asks how you'd like AI chat to work. Off is one of the choices. AI chat is an optional Pro feature. Doggo is the free starter, and the free base app has two worlds, Meadow and Night. Finish setup and a quick guided tour starts. That's it. Your pet lives in the notch now.

What if your Mac has no notch?

No notch? It'll make one just for itself. On a Mac with no notch, Nibbii draws its own perch at the top of the screen, so you don't need a notched MacBook to use it.

Got more than one display? Nibbii's Settings has a Screen option for picking which one the pet sits on. Automatic uses the built-in display, or your main display when there isn't one.

What it does day to day

Care and play come first, and they're how your pet grows. Free pets grow through Level 10. Later growth stages are Pro.

Put a song on and it reacts to music playing on your Mac. If you want a hand staying on task, there's Focus Buddy and focus sprints (Pro). And with Pro, it can leave the notch and roam around your desktop for a while.

Will it get in the way?

Nibbii is designed to sit quietly in the background while it keeps you company. It's a native Swift app. Pet state and memories are stored locally by default.

There's one setting worth knowing about, called App-aware. When App-aware is enabled, Nibbii uses frontmost app metadata. It does not use screen recording, screenshots, or accessibility content. Turning App-aware off stops collection and clears App-aware data. App-aware comments are Pro. If you're weighing it against AI companions that can look at your screen, the AI desktop companions for Mac guide puts them side by side.

Nibbii uses high-privacy defaults. Read the Privacy Notice for the data the app can handle and your choices.

Questions people ask

Can the pet leave the notch?

Yes, with Pro. Roaming around the desktop is a Pro feature.

Is Nibbii free?

The base app is free to keep: one starter pet, two worlds, core care and play, simple essentials, and growth through Level 10. Doggo is the free starter. Pro lets you collect all 11 pets and 22 worlds as you play. Lifetime Pro is $9.99 once and includes 5,000 bonus Sparks. Monthly is $3.99/month, a separate optional subscription that includes Pro plus 30,000 AI Sparks every month. AI chat is an optional Pro feature. The first Pro payment has a 14-day refund promise. See full pricing.

Is it on the Mac App Store?

No. It's a direct download from nibbii.pet, signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

Which Macs can run it?

Nibbii is a Mac app and requires macOS 15+. It's a universal build (Apple silicon and Intel), and it works with or without a notch.

Want to see what else is out there? The desktop pets for Mac page puts other Mac desktop pets side by side. Nibbii publishes that page and is one of the apps on it.

If you came here looking for a Dynamic Island on your Mac, that's a different kind of notch app. The Dynamic Island for Mac guide explains what exists.

Not sure whether you want a pet or a utility in the notch? The notch companion vs utility guide lays out the difference. And if the pet you have in mind roams over your windows instead, the Desktop Goose for Mac guide covers what that one does and how to quit it.