macOS · Menu bar + main window

Third Arm

>_ captures quick notes

Third Arm lives in your menu bar: quick-add notes, reminders, habits and payments — plus clipboard history, PDF tools, image convert, QR and focus timers. Local-first on your Mac. No account required.

Download for Mac Explore the toolkit
Local-first No account to start Optional iCloud sync macOS only
0
capture lanes
0
quick actions
0
free cards
0%
on your Mac
Third Arm File Edit View
--:-- Try me
Third Arm — Workbench Saved on Mac
scroll

Capture model

Every lane,
its own color.

Third Arm doesn't flatten your life into one list. Each category keeps its own shape, color and fields — pick a lane and watch the board repaint itself.

✎

Quick Notes

Loose thoughts, pinned before they evaporate.

3 cards

Quick actions

A toolbox that
fits in the menu bar.

The 5-second jobs that used to mean opening another app. Everything below runs locally — and yes, these demos actually work. Try them.

=

Calculator scratchpad

Free

Type math, get the answer inline — no equals key, no separate app.

>
= 210
Aa

Text transform

Free

Fix casing, trim whitespace, then copy the result instantly.

THIRD ARM MAKES MY MAC FASTER
◷

Focus timer

Free

Shared Pomodoro across the Timers page and menu bar. Floating overlay is Pro.

25:00
UTC

World clock

Free

A strip of time zones one click away, always DST-correct.

  • Local--:--
  • New York--:--
  • London--:--
  • Hong Kong--:--
  • Tokyo--:--
⧉

Clipboard history

Free

Recall recent copies and paste in a click. Local only — password fields are skipped.

QR

QR generate + scan

Free · Pro

Generate codes free. Scan from an image file or full-screen capture on Pro.

thirdhand.app/focus
SYS

System status

Free

CPU, memory, network and battery without opening Activity Monitor.

CPU
32%
MEM
61%
NET
12%
PDF

PDF tools

Free · Pro

Compress free; merge and batch compress on Pro. Nothing leaves the Mac.

Merging 3 PDFs…
IMG

Image convert

Free · Pro

PNG, JPEG, HEIC, TIFF, PDF — single file free, batches on Pro.

⌁

Quick Capture

Pro

Type naturally — Third Arm drafts the card with date and time filled in.

>
◔
Lunch with SamTomorrow · 1:00 PM
✓
⌘

Snippets

Pro

Reusable text with fill-in placeholders, pasted anywhere in two keystrokes.

☀

Today glance

Pro

Next event, reminders due and habits left — done without opening the window.

The main-window Timers page is free; the menu bar Timer shortcut and floating overlay are Pro. Some tools ask for macOS permission the first time — Accessibility, Screen Recording, or Calendar.

Pro+ · AI Connect

Plug your AI
into your data.

Flip on Live Connect and Third Arm shares your cards with the AI tools you already use — privately on your Mac, token-locked, never uploaded to our servers. One click connects Cursor or Claude Desktop so they pull fresh context instead of stale exports.

  1. 1
    Enable Live Connect

    Runs only while Third Arm is open on your Mac. Nothing is reachable from the internet.

  2. 2
    One-click connect

    Wires up Cursor or Claude Desktop in a single step.

  3. 3
    Ask with context

    Your AI can read live Third Arm data when you ask. Snapshot export stays available for ChatGPT and other web AIs.

No Third Arm–hosted AI API. No OpenAI/Anthropic keys stored. You bring — and pay for — your own AI tool.

third-arm — zsh On this Mac

Workflow

Capture fast.
Review clearly.

01

Add without opening the app

Menu bar quick-add covers notes, reminders, habits, links, subscriptions, diary, flash cards and payments — mid-thought, mid-meeting, mid-anything.

02

Everything keeps its shape

Renewals, streaks, due dates and focus sessions stay scannable because no two categories are forced into one format. Calendar view ties the week together.

03

Sync only if you want it

Local disk is always the source of truth. Pro adds optional whole-snapshot iCloud sync via Sign in with Apple — clipboard history never leaves this Mac.

Pricing

Start free.
Upgrade when it adds up.

Focus timers are unlimited on every plan. Paid plans renew monthly through Apple until canceled. See the Terms of Use / EULA and Privacy Policy.

Free
$0forever

0 cards

  • Core categories saved on this Mac
  • No account required to start
  • Calendar view + notifications
  • Menu bar quick-add + unit converter
  • Clipboard (25), calculator, text transform, system status, world clock
  • QR generate, single-file image convert, single-file PDF compress
  • Main-window focus timer

Prior paid users keep up to 120 cards after expiry.

Most popular Pro
$3.99/ month

0 cards

  • Everything in Free
  • Optional iCloud sync via Sign in with Apple
  • Snippets, Quick Capture, Today glance
  • QR scan, image batch convert
  • PDF merge + batch compress
  • Menu bar Timer + floating overlay
  • Clipboard history up to 200 items (local)
  • Summary dashboard + appearance upgrades

Permanent 120-card fallback after canceling.

Pro+
$9.99/ month

0 cards

  • Everything in Pro
  • AI Connect: private, on-device link to your AI tools
  • One-click Cursor / Claude Desktop
  • Optional snapshot export for ChatGPT web
  • No cloud AI API, no AI keys stored

Monthly auto-renewing subscription through Apple.

Give your Mac
a third arm.

Download free and start on this Mac — no account, no setup. Upgrade to Pro when you want iCloud sync and the full toolbox.

Download on the Mac App Store
Free · 50 cards · No account required