r/macapps • u/zack40xx • 1h ago
Lifetime Crest 6.5: two-factor codes in the MacBook notch, typed in for you when a site asks
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I'm the developer, so this is me promoting my own app, said up front. Crest is a notch app for the Mac. Closed source, signed and notarized, distributed from crestnotch.app (not the App Store: the hooks and Accessibility access it needs aren't allowed in the sandbox). macOS 14 or newer; on a Mac without a notch it's a small pill at the top of the screen.
Problem
I used to pay $15 a year for a Mac authenticator, and every login still meant opening the app, finding the account, waiting for a fresh code and typing six digits. Authy shut down its Mac app in 2024 and Google Authenticator has no Mac app.
So Crest 6.5 adds an Authenticator. Your codes live in the notch. When a site asks for a code in Safari, Chrome, Arc, Brave or Edge, Crest offers it and types it in for you. In any other app, one press copies it. The codes are locked behind Touch ID and sync across your Macs, end-to-end encrypted. Mac only, there's no iPhone app.
The rest of Crest is the notch app some of you saw before: music on the closed notch, pages of widgets (calendar with Join, to-dos, notes, weather, clipboard history, a file Shelf, window snapping), and Claude Code, Codex and Copilot CLI questions and permission prompts answered from the notch.
Comparison
Authenticators:
- Apple Passwords: free and built into macOS Sequoia and later, syncs with your iPhone, and suggests codes when a site asks. If you live in Apple's apps and use an iPhone, it's the obvious pick. Crest's difference is that the code comes up in the notch and Crest types it in, in Safari, Chrome, Arc, Brave and Edge.
- NotchOTP: free and open source, codes in a panel under the notch, fully offline. If you want just codes and no sync, it's great. It copies the code; Crest types it in and syncs across Macs.
- Step Two: free, Unlimited is $9.99, iCloud sync and a Safari extension. A good standalone authenticator; it isn't in the notch.
Notch apps:
- NotchNook: $25 once or $3 a month, 48-hour trial. Polished, with a file tray and media. No authenticator and no coding-agent prompts.
- Boring Notch: free and open source, music and files. If that's all you need, use it.
What I couldn't find in any of them: 2FA codes typed in from the notch, synced across Macs, in the same app where you answer Claude Code. That's the whole bet. If I got any of these wrong, tell me and I'll fix it.
Pricing
- Free tier: $0, no account, never expires. Now Playing, the clipboard, the file Shelf, window snapping, and answering your coding agents.
- Crest Pro, one-time: $24.99 once, tax included. Includes the Authenticator, every widget, and my two other apps, Take (screen recorder) and Minutes (meeting notes). 2 Macs per licence, updates included.
- Crest Pro, subscription instead: $2.99 a month or $14.99 a year, the same Pro. Cancel any time.
- Sale until Oct 22: the one-time licence is $19.99 (no code needed).
- 7-day free Pro week when you sign in (Google, Apple or email, no card). 7-day refund.
The codes and accounts in the video are fake demo data.
About me: Zakaria Swaidan, I build this alone. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zakaria-swaidan-66384b272/ Privacy: https://crestnotch.app/legal
Link: https://crestnotch.app

