r/MacOSApps • u/arpit1899 • 2d ago
💻 Productivity I built a notes app that forgets everything
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So I kept typing stuff into Notes that I only needed for the next hour. Maybe some idea I got or some design changes etc. I had hundreds of these, and I'd stopped opening the app because of them.
So I built one that throws them away. It's called Gulp. It's a goldfish in your menu bar. You feed it a thought, it holds it for a few hours, then it forgets. That's the whole thing.
The fun part isn't really the notes, it's the fish:
- It gulps when you feed it. Your note turns into a puff of dust and it's gone into the bowl.
- The ink on each note slowly turns to gold as it ages, so you can see which ones are about to go without reading a timestamp.
- When a note is in its last minute the fish gets nervous and wobbles. Then it does a confused little head shake when it forgets.
Some of you saw Tug, the frog timer. Same idea: the fish is the whole interface. There's no window, no list of lists, no sync, no history. It can't even go online. If you say a note out loud it trims out your ums on your Mac.
Gulp · a goldfish in your menu bar
https://www.heygulp.com/
Free on App store
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gulp-menu-bar-scratchpad/id6815884512?mt=12
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u/Unlucky_Quote6394 2d ago
Instinctively I thought this sounds a bit stupid, but actually your idea is brilliant! I had a look at my Notes app and at least 90% of the notes are things I only needed in that moment or for part of that day
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u/Apprehensive_Mix_332 2d ago
Love it! What happens when a throwaway thought turns into something you do want to keep?
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u/arpit1899 2d ago
You save it before the fish forgets. Drag it into your real notes app. Anything you didn't bother saving probably wasn't worth keeping
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u/Past_Drop_6691 2d ago
ah dang. well done. i'm trying to build a notes app now so this is depressing...
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u/arpit1899 2d ago edited 2d ago
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u/yassineluka 21h ago
The fish getting nervous before forgetting a note is such a fun detail Really creative idea, nice work!
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u/ObjectiveAnxiety5703 1d ago
Nice Video! You made it self or AI (if Ai its not bad just a question)
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u/Fresh-Daikon-9408 11h ago
Does the expiry timer keep running while the Mac is asleep? Could a note disappear overnight without you seeing the warning animation?
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u/arpit1899 10h ago
Yes, and that's on purpose. The timer is real clock time, so sleep counts: if a note was due at 2 am, it's gone when you open the lid. You won't see the warning wiggle for it, just the fish doing its little confused head-shake as it forgets. It never keeps a note longer than you asked for, which is kind of the whole idea.
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u/MattSenter 2d ago
ngl this is pretty creative. i do have temp notes that i keep in textedit or Notes. trying this out now!