# How to make NotchStar open 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.

Canonical: https://www.notchstar.com/help/open-notchstar-on-click-instead-of-hover/
Last updated: 2026-11-04

Published 2026-11-04.

To make NotchStar open on click, open Settings, stay on the General tab and set **Open notch** to **On click**. The notch then opens when you click it and closes when you click anywhere outside it. Hovering no longer opens it.

## Steps

1. Click the star in the menu bar and choose **Settings**, or use the gear in the notch header.
2. In the **Notch** section, pick **On click** for **Open notch**.
3. Move to the notch and click it.

To go back, pick **On hover**. The change takes effect straight away, with no restart.

## Why switch

- The notch opens as you move toward the menu bar for something else.
- You want fewer surprises when you use Safari tabs or menu items near the top centre.
- You work with a pointer that drifts.

The hover mode waits 80 milliseconds and confirms the pointer is on the notch, but a pointer resting at the top of the screen still counts. Click mode removes that.

## Detail

Click outside closes the notch only in click mode, and only if the notch is not pinned. See [keep the notch open](https://www.notchstar.com/help/pin-the-notchstar-notch-open/).

If the notch does not respond in click mode, read [why the notch does not open](https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-notch-does-not-open/). The [clipboard tool](https://www.notchstar.com/features/clipboard/) is one of the things you will open more deliberately this way. How hover works is explained in [hover opening](https://www.notchstar.com/help/how-hover-opens-notchstar/).

## Quick answers.

### Does click mode need a restart?

No. It applies immediately.

## Keep reading.

- [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 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.
- [Why the NotchStar notch does not open](https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-notch-does-not-open/): If the notch does not open on hover, check the star in the menu bar, the Open notch setting, the screen it is on and whether it is pinned or stuck.
- [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.

## More in Settings.

- [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 reorder or hide tools in NotchStar](https://www.notchstar.com/help/notchstar-tool-order-and-hidden-tools/): Open Settings, Tools, drag tools into your order and switch off the ones you do not use. At least one tool always stays on.
- [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.