Alternatives
A Vanilla alternative for notched MacBooks
Vanilla hides menu bar icons behind a pair of dots. Its own help page notes that on a MacBook with a notch, macOS can hide the dots too. Here’s how Coat Check compares.
Updated October 19, 2026
The short version
Vanilla, by Matthew Palmer, is a minimal icon hider. Click its dots to hide or show icons to their left. It’s free, and Vanilla Pro ($10 once) adds a hotkey, auto-hide after 5 seconds, and a section for icons you never want to see.
On a notched MacBook, the icons Vanilla reveals still have to fit to the right of the notch, and Vanilla’s help page says its own dots can end up hidden too. Coat Check shows every icon in a list under its hanger instead, and opens any of them from there.
Coat Check vs Vanilla
| Coat Check | Vanilla | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free; Pro is $10 once |
| Source code | Open source (MIT) | Closed source |
| Reach icons the notch hides | A list of every icon under the hanger, hidden ones first, each with its own menu | Click its dots to show hidden icons in place; the notch can still cover them |
| Hide icons you choose | Optional divider (macOS 14 to 26) | Yes |
| Rearrange icons | No; your layout stays as you set it | With ⌘-drag, like macOS |
| Search | No; the coatcheck command opens icons by name | No |
| Automation | Command line | Pro adds a hotkey and auto-hide after 5 seconds |
| Screen Recording permission | Not needed | Not documented |
| macOS 27 (October 2026) | Being tested | Not stated by the developer |
What works differently
- Vanilla clears space; Coat Check reaches what’s hidden.
- Coat Check shows each app’s menu, so you can choose an item without revealing anything.
- Coat Check is open source. Vanilla is closed source.