# How to reorder or hide tools in NotchStar

> Open Settings, Tools, drag tools into your order and switch off the ones you do not use. At least one tool always stays on.

Canonical: https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-tool-order-and-hidden-tools/
Last updated: 2026-11-04

Published 2026-11-04.

To reorder or hide tools in NotchStar, open Settings, go to the Tools tab, drag a tool up or down to change the order, and use the switch beside it to hide it. The tab bar in the notch follows this list. At least one tool always stays visible.

## Steps

1. Click the star in the menu bar, choose **Settings** and open **Tools**.
2. Drag a row to move it. The header reads "Drag to reorder. Switch off the tools you don't use."
3. Switch a tool off to hide it from the tab bar. Switch it on to bring it back.

## Rules

- The switch for the last visible tool is disabled, so the notch is never empty.
- If every tool were somehow hidden, the first tool stays visible.
- A new tool added in a later version is appended at the end of your order, so an update does not scramble the layout.
- Hiding a tool does not delete its data. Quick Notes you wrote stay saved if you hide the tab.

## A tool seems to be missing

If a tab you expect is gone, it is probably switched off here. Open the Tools tab and look for a tool with its switch off. This is the first thing to check before reading [a tool is blank](https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-tool-blank/).

## What the tools are

There are ten: Home with Now Playing, Shelf, Clipboard, Calendar and Reminders, Quick Notes, Timers, Teleprompter, Mirror, System and Disk. The [Clipboard feature](https://www.notchstar.com/features/clipboard/) is a good one to keep near the front. Settings are stored on your Mac and are not synced.

## Quick answers.

### Does hiding a tool stop it from running?

The tab is hidden. Whether anything runs in the background depends on the tool, for example the clipboard watcher. Hiding is for layout.

## Keep reading.

- [Clipboard history that lives in your notch](https://www.notchstar.com/features/clipboard/): Searchable clipboard history in the Mac notch: text, links, images and files. Skips password manager copies. Click any item to copy it again.
- [Why a NotchStar tool is blank or empty](https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-tool-blank/): A blank NotchStar tool usually means a missing permission, nothing to show yet, a hidden tab or the trial prompt. Check each tool here.
- [How hover opening works in NotchStar](https://www.notchstar.com/help/how-hover-opens-notchstar/): Move the pointer to the notch and NotchStar opens after a short pause of 80 milliseconds. The open panel is 660 by 296 points. Click mode is in Settings.
- [How to make NotchStar open at login](https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-launch-at-login/): Switch on Launch at login in NotchStar Settings, General. macOS may ask you to allow it in System Settings, Login Items.

## More in Settings.

- [How to make NotchStar open on click instead of hover](https://www.notchstar.com/help/open-notchstar-on-click-instead-of-hover/): If the notch opens by accident, set Open notch to On click in Settings, General. You then click to open and click outside to close.
- [How to keep the NotchStar notch open](https://www.notchstar.com/help/pin-the-notchstar-notch-open/): Press the pin button in the notch header, labelled Keep open, and the notch stays open when the pointer leaves. Press it again to unpin.
- [How to make NotchStar open at login](https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-launch-at-login/): Switch on Launch at login in NotchStar Settings, General. macOS may ask you to allow it in System Settings, Login Items.
- [How to quit NotchStar](https://www.notchstar.com/help/quit-notchstar/): Click the star in the menu bar and choose Quit NotchStar, or press Command Q while its menu is open. Quitting clears clipboard history and the shelf.
- [How to update NotchStar](https://www.notchstar.com/help/update-notchstar/): NotchStar has no automatic updater today. Download the new disk image from this site and drag it over the old app. Your license and settings stay.
- [How to uninstall NotchStar from your Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/help/uninstall-notchstar/): Quit NotchStar, deactivate the license if you want the slot back, switch off launch at login and drag the app to the Trash.