zisla

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zisla is a native macOS workspace that appears when you need it, then gets out of the way. Move the pointer to the top center of the screen to open one lightweight place for active AI work, media, handoff, downloads, and desktop utilities. Displays without a notch use the same simulated status area.

Current implementation: macOS 14+. Apple Silicon is the supported configuration; Intel release packages may work, but compatibility is not guaranteed.

Why it belongs at the top of your screen

• On demand, without stealing focus. Expand it from the top edge, pin it when needed, and keep working in the current app.
• One place for active work. See now playing, AI tasks, downloads, timers, mail, system status, and battery details without opening a full dashboard.
• AI activity without conversation access. zisla reads only structured events and local activity metadata needed to determine task state. It never reads prompts or answer bodies.
• Controls remain local. Modules, clipboard history, and link detection are independent switches; permissions are requested only when a feature is first used.

What it can do

Keep desktop work moving

Capability	What it does
Now Playing	Shows artwork, title, progress, lyrics, and playback controls; Core Audio can identify the app actually outputting audio when metadata is unavailable.
Handoff and sharing	Drop files, media, or links on the top trigger area to keep them in a handoff tray, reveal them in Finder, or open the macOS share menu.
Clipboard and notifications	Optionally records local clipboard history, recognizes new links locally, and surfaces media, AI activity, browser downloads, timers, mail, and updates in the collapsed state. Optional Quick Actions show a small island toast after every copy with a rich preview and smart next actions (open, reveal in Finder, search, translate, calculate, save). After a browser download completes or an AirDrop file arrives, the same shortcut can open its folder.
Everyday workspace	Includes weather, calendar, reminders, Mail.app, Markdown notes backed by Apple Notes, lock-screen information, and optional desktop pets.

Make AI work visible

zisla monitors local activity from Codex, Claude Code, Pi, GitHub Copilot, Gemini, Grok, Kimi Code, Qwen Code, Qoder, ZCode, Zed Agent, Delta, Orca, TRAE, OpenCode, Harnext, WorkBuddy, WorkBuddy AI, and other supported sources. It shows tasks, status, token trends, contribution heatmaps, and side notices.

For tools without a stable local activity source, zislactl lets scripts, CI, and tool hooks report progress, usage, and notifications while keeping protocol state on this Mac. Settings can also detect, install, update, and remove common AI CLIs and manage local Skills. See the CLI integration reference for providers and commands.

Handle the useful small things

Area	Included tools
Downloads and documents	Video and audio downloads through yt-dlp; local PDF merge, split, rotate, crop, conversion, rendering, text export, watermarks, page numbers, encryption, unlock, and metadata editing.
Focus and presentation	Pomodoro timer with one audible alert and a local notification when a session ends, keep-awake mode, idle-sleep prevention, screen and keyboard cleaning, teleprompter, and camera mirror.
System and battery	CPU, GPU, memory, disk, network, fan, and battery information, plus cleanup of caches and logs that are safe to remove.
Voice input	Global shortcuts for recording and transcription, optional local or remote transcript organization, and local voice history.

Get started

Install the app

Download the latest DMG from GitHub Releases or Gitee Releases, mount it, and drag zisla.app to Applications.

Homebrew is another way in:

brew install --cask wzz6423/tap/zisla

Homebrew fetches the build that matches your chip, so an Apple Silicon or Intel Mac downloads only its own slice. The cask comes from the third-party tap wzz6423/tap rather than Homebrew's own cask repository, so installing it means trusting this tap.

After launching, move the pointer to the top center of the current screen, or choose Show Island from the menu bar icon. Packages are not notarized, so however you installed zisla, the first launch needs Open Anyway in System Settings > Privacy & Security, or clear the quarantine attribute yourself:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/zisla.app

Update the app

zisla updates itself through Sparkle however you installed it. A Homebrew install is the one case worth a note: brew upgrade replaces the app only when the installed copy really is older than the version in the tap, because Homebrew 5.1.6 and later read the version inside the app bundle — so Homebrew stays out of Sparkle's way without leaving a stale install behind. Naming the cask goes by the Homebrew install records instead, so it can put a Sparkle-updated app back on the tap version:

brew upgrade --cask zisla

The tap serves stable releases only; preview builds stay on Releases so brew upgrade never moves you onto a prerelease — and naming the cask while you are on a preview replaces it with the current stable build. Sparkle itself never downgrades, so switching back to Release leaves you on the preview build until a stable release passes it. brew uninstall --cask zisla removes the app, and brew uninstall --zap --cask zisla also trashes its local data.

Run from source

Swift 6 / Xcode 16+ is required; Command Line Tools alone can also build the project.

cd mac
swift run zisla

The downloader requires yt-dlp; ffmpeg is optional. Office-to-PDF conversion requires LibreOffice or OpenOffice. Build, test, and packaging instructions are in the macOS development guide.

Designed to stay out of the way

• Supports multiple displays, Spaces, and ordinary full-screen apps without activating or taking focus from the current app.
• The hidden state has no permanent transparent hit-area window and runs no frame loop; global event monitoring and geometry checks trigger expansion.
• Uses one system material and switches to an opaque background when Reduce Transparency is enabled.
• Detects a physical notch from the system safe area; external displays without one use an overlay with the same outline.

See the architecture and performance design for the implementation trade-offs.

Privacy and permissions

zisla requests a permission only when an enabled feature first needs it. You can disable modules in Settings and revoke authorization in macOS System Settings at any time.

Scope	Boundary
AI activity	Reads only structured events and local activity metadata. Prompts and answer bodies are never read.
Clipboard and files	Clipboard history, link detection, and Quick Actions are separate local switches; Quick Actions handles completed browser downloads and received AirDrop files independently of the browser download progress switch. Recognition runs entirely on-device, and opening links or running actions happens only after an explicit click or trigger press. Handoff uses security-scoped bookmarks and does not copy the original file.
Notes, Mail, and voice	Notes and Mail use AppleScript/JXA with automation authorization. Voice records only while active; transcript organization sends text only to the selected local model, remote provider, or CLI profile.
Browser downloads and media	Uses macOS public file-progress information, MediaRemote metadata, and Core Audio output state. It does not read browser history databases or capture audio content.
Network	Weather, release checks, downloader requests, and optional remote voice organization access the network only for their respective enabled actions.

The macOS guide documents the complete permission and network behavior.

Documentation

Document	Purpose
macOS development guide	Modules, AI integration, dependencies, build, test, permissions, and system limitations.
Architecture and performance design	Top-edge triggering, window behavior, concurrency, media, and download safety.
CLI integration reference	zislactl providers, commands, fields, and exit codes.
Signing and release design	Signing, notarization, DMGs, update channels, and release acceptance.
Contributing guide	Development environment, branches, commits, and pull request requirements.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Read the contributing guide first. Report security issues privately through GitHub Security Advisories rather than opening a public issue.

License

PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0. Noncommercial use is permitted; selling this software, or any other commercial use, is not.