Global pin hotkey
Pin or unpin the frontmost window from any app with Control-Option-P. You can re-record the shortcut in Settings or reset it to the default.
Open source · macOS 14+ · Universal binary · Window Management
Keep any window
above the rest.
PinWindowOnTop is a free menu bar utility that keeps the windows you choose above everything else. Press Control-Option-P to pin the frontmost window, and again to unpin it.
Free & MIT licensed · Apple Silicon & Intel · Latest release
Features
Small utility, careful details.
Everything runs locally on your Mac, with no accounts, servers or network access.
Multiple pinned windows
Pin as many windows as you need. Their order stays stable, and windows with identical titles are told apart by window ID.
Optional border marker
Draw a click-through colored border around pinned windows. Choose the color, thickness from 1 to 10 pt, and opacity.
Gentle and full-screen modes
Gentle mode raises pinned windows only when the active app changes. Pins also pause while a non-pinned app is full screen.
Menu bar control
The pin icon fills when something is pinned. The menu lists each pinned window by app and title, with Focus, Unpin and Unpin All actions.
Automatic cleanup
Pins are dropped when a window closes or its app quits. Minimized windows and windows on other Spaces pause, then resume when visible. Launch at login is optional.
Screenshots
See it in action.
Install
Up and running in a minute.
PinWindowOnTop is open source and not notarized with a paid Apple Developer ID, so macOS needs one extra step the first time.
- Download PinWindowOnTop-macOS.zip and unzip it.
- Move PinWindowOnTop.app to your Applications folder.
- Clear the quarantine flag once, then right-click the app and choose Open:
xattr -cr /Applications/PinWindowOnTop.app
- When prompted, grant Accessibility access in System Settings Privacy Security Accessibility so the app can find and raise windows.
Download
Get PinWindowOnTop for macOS
Free, forever. Built for macOS 14 Sonoma or newer, Apple Silicon and Intel.
Not notarized: on first launch right-click PinWindowOnTop.app → Open.
- macOS 14 Sonoma+
- Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel)
- MIT licensed · open source
- No ads, no accounts, no telemetry
- Built with Claude Code · how and why
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is PinWindowOnTop really free and open source?
Yes. It is released under the MIT license, and the full source is on GitHub. There are no accounts, subscriptions or paid tiers, and optional donations help support development.
What permissions does it need?
It needs Accessibility access to find the focused window, raise pinned windows, and watch for move, resize, minimize and close events. It does not request Screen Recording, Microphone, Camera or network access, and it reads only window titles, positions and sizes.
Where is my data stored?
Only on your Mac. Your hotkey and border appearance settings are saved in the app's local preferences. Pinned windows are tracked in memory and are not persisted or sent anywhere.
Why isn't the app notarized?
Notarization requires a paid Apple Developer account, and this is a free project. Right-click the app and choose Open once to launch it, or build it yourself from source with Xcode and XcodeGen.
Was this written by AI?
Yes. PinWindowOnTop was generated by Claude Code from a written spec as a clean-room reimplementation, with no code or assets from any commercial app. The full source is on GitHub under MIT, so you can read every line before you run it. It has had less human review than a hand-written app, so bug reports are welcome.
Support ❤️
Built by one person, given away for free.
PinWindowOnTop is a free, open-source alternative to paid utilities. If it earns a spot on your Mac, a coffee keeps the updates coming.
☕ Support Or on Ko-fi