Widgets on a Mac: the desktop, Notification Center and the notch

How do I add widgets to the Mac desktop?

Control-click the wallpaper and choose Edit Widgets: the widget gallery opens, and a click places a widget on the desktop. This needs macOS Sonoma (14) or later.

Widgets at the notch come from a notch app: our guide to notch apps for Mac explains the kinds.

1. Control-click the wallpaper, then choose Edit Widgets.
2. In the widget gallery, search for a widget, or click a category (an app) to see its widgets.
3. Click a widget to place it automatically, starting from the top-left corner, or drag it anywhere on the desktop.
4. Click Done at the bottom-right corner of the gallery.

To move a widget, drag it; to remove it, open Edit Widgets again and click its Remove button. Some widgets are interactive: you check off a reminder, play a podcast or control a home accessory without opening the app.

How do I add widgets to Notification Center?

Click the date and time in the menu bar, then Edit Widgets at the bottom of Notification Center. Widgets placed there are never hidden by a window.

1. Click the date and time in the menu bar (or swipe left with two fingers from the right edge of the trackpad).
2. At the bottom of Notification Center, click Edit Widgets.
3. Click a widget, or drag it to the upper-right corner, then drag it up or down to arrange it.
4. Click Done.

The upside: never hidden by a window. The downside: it takes a click to see it, and another to close it.

Which widget settings matter?

Three settings do most of the work: a widget's size and content, whether widgets show on the desktop, and whether they dim to monochrome while you work.

• On a widget: Control-click it to choose Edit "[widget name]" (for example, the list shown by the Reminders widget), a different size, or Remove Widget.
• In System Settings › Desktop & Dock, Widgets section: Show Widgets On Desktop and/or In Stage Manager, and their look, in color or monochrome. The menu is called "Widget style" on macOS 14 and 15, and "Dim widgets on desktop" on macOS 26 and later: automatically, always (monochrome) or never (full color).
• "Click wallpaper to reveal desktop", in the same settings: set it to Only in Stage Manager and clicking the desktop no longer moves your windows away.

Can I use iPhone widgets on my Mac?

Yes: widgets from apps that are only on your iPhone can show up on your Mac. You need an iPhone with iOS 17 or later, signed in to the same Apple Account as the Mac, and nearby or on the same Wi-Fi network.

1. Open System Settings › Desktop & Dock.
2. In the Widgets section, turn on Use iPhone widgets.
3. Your iPhone widgets now appear in the gallery, ready to place.

If the app isn't on your Mac, clicking the widget shows "Open [app name] on your iPhone to continue".

Which widgets are genuinely useful?

• World clocks: the Clock app (World Clock tab, or View › World Clock, then the button in the top-right corner to add a city) shows the time, sunrise and sunset in your cities; its widgets in the gallery keep them in view.
• Calendar, Google included: add your Google account in Calendar (Calendar › Add Account); its events then appear in the app and its widgets.
• Reminders: the widget can be checked off directly; see our to-do list on Mac guide.
• Weather: your city's forecast without opening the app.
• GitHub: there's nothing built into macOS; you need a third-party app.

Why do my widgets disappear?

Because open windows cover them. A desktop widget sits underneath by nature: as soon as a window opens full size, it's hidden. Apple says as much and suggests clicking the wallpaper to move windows aside for a glance. While you work in an app, macOS blends widgets into the wallpaper, in monochrome if the setting says so, so they stay discreet. If you work in full screen, Notification Center is more practical than the desktop.

Can I put widgets in the notch?

Not with macOS alone: it puts no widgets in the MacBook notch or in the menu bar. Apps can draw around the notch, in the spirit of the iPhone's Dynamic Island: what is playing, a timer, upcoming events. Our Dynamic Island on Mac guide explains what is possible, and the notch guide explains how to get back the menu bar icons the notch hides.

What widgets does Tack+ have?

Tack+ has nine widgets: Clocks, Countdown, Month, Google Calendar, GitHub, Weather, Monitor, To Do and, on Macs with Apple silicon once its model is downloaded, the Assistant. Tack+ is a Mac app that tucks what you use all day into a thin line at the edge of the screen: push the cursor against the edge, or press ⌥ Space, and a panel opens above your windows. Its home has six spots (two large, four small) for music, messages, calendar… or widgets:

• Clocks: the time in two or three cities, the difference from yours, and whether it's daytime there.
• Countdown: the days until a date you're waiting for, in days, hours or minutes.
• Month: the current month, today marked, and a dot under busy days if Tack+ has access to your calendar.
• Google Calendar: your next Google events, read from the Google accounts added to your Mac.
• GitHub: pull requests, activity, projects and notifications, using a personal access token stored in the Keychain.
• Weather: a city you pick by name, with no account and no location access; the forecast refreshes at most every thirty minutes.
• Monitor: processor, temperature and memory, covered in our Mac CPU temperature guide.
• To Do: your task lists, with due dates and stars.

To add one: in the panel's tools row, click Rearrange the home, remove a card with "−", then click "+" in its place: the Choose a card gallery opens; pick the widget, then click Done. The widget takes the size of the spot.

What they aren't: macOS widgets. They go neither on the desktop nor in Notification Center; they live in Tack+'s panel. In return, they're one gesture away whatever window is open, and they read nothing while the panel is closed. They share the space with the Spotify and Apple Music player and the Focus page for Pomodoro sessions.

Where can a widget live on a Mac?

Sources: Apple Support, Add and customize widgets on Mac and Check the time in Clock on Mac, accessed September 27, 2026.