Pocket Screen - Keep any Mac window visible in a floating mini screen
Pocket Screen turns the frontmost window on your Mac into a compact, always-on-top PiP-style view. Keep documents, chats, videos, or reference material visible while you work in another app—without constantly switching windows. Processing stays on your Mac.
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Pocket Screen
@masaki_iino This is a very practical Mac utility. I can see it being useful for docs, tutorials, dashboards, and any keep this visible while I work flow.
The click through mode is a nice touch.That’s usually what separates a helpful floating window from something that just gets in the way. I’d probably use it most for keeping specs or Slack threads visible while coding
Pocket Screen
@vahid_davoudi Thanks, Vahid!
Keeping specs or Slack threads visible while coding is exactly the kind of workflow Pocket Screen was designed for.
I’m especially glad you noticed the click-through mode. The goal was to keep reference content visible without letting the floating window interfere with the work underneath it. I really appreciate the thoughtful feedback.
The single-display framing is really good! A lot of PiP tools assume you already have the screen space and just want a second video running in the corner. On the frontmost-window pick though - once a window is floating, is the mini view still interactive (scroll, click, type inside it) or is it a passive mirror I have to pop back into to actually use?
Pocket Screen
@artstavenka1 Thanks, Art!
The floating view is currently a live, passive mirror rather than an interactive remote view, so scrolling, clicking, and typing are done in the original window. The click-through option lets pointer input pass through the floating window to whatever is behind it.
Keeping the experience lightweight and predictable was the priority for this version.
YourSitee
This is such a simple but useful Mac utility. I spend a lot of time switching between docs, chats, browser tabs, and whatever I'm actually working on, so keeping one reference window visible without constantly rearranging everything sounds genuinely helpful :)
The opacity and click-through controls are especially nice touches. Curious how well Pocket Screen handles content that changes quickly, like video, live dashboards, or chat windows. does it stay smooth without using too much battery or CPU?
Pocket Screen
@andrasczeizel Thanks, Andras!
Pocket Screen is designed to stay lightweight, but resource use naturally depends on what you keep visible. A mostly static document or reference page should have a much smaller impact than video, live dashboards, or fast-moving chat content.
In my testing, a single floating window has remained smooth across Safari, QuickTime, and Chrome, including video playback. Battery and CPU usage will increase more with frequently changing content, so for longer sessions, keeping the floating window smaller and using it mainly for reference material is the most efficient setup.
The "captured content stays local, nothing uploaded" point is what makes this feel safe to leave running all day. One implementation question: since the mini view mirrors the frontmost window, what happens when I cover or minimize the source app — does macOS keep delivering frames so the float stays live, or does the mirror freeze until the source is visible again? And does a floating window get excluded from my own screen recordings/screenshots, or would it show up if I am recording a demo?
Pocket Screen
@hi_i_am_mimo Thanks, Valeria!
Once a window is pinned, Pocket Screen stays attached to that specific window rather than continuously following whichever window is frontmost.
If the source window is simply covered by another app, the floating view generally stays live—I’ve tested browser video continuing to update while the source was covered. If the source is minimized, macOS or the source app may stop rendering new frames, so the mirror can temporarily pause, but it resumes automatically when the window is restored without needing to be pinned again.
The floating window is not automatically hidden from screenshots or screen recordings, so it will appear when capturing the full display.
Thanks, that's exactly the detail I needed — good that a covered window keeps updating and only pauses on minimize. The one that'd change my workflow: since the float shows up in full-display recordings, is there any plan for a per-window 'exclude from capture' flag (macOS exposes sharingType = none at the window level) so I can keep a reference floating while recording a clean demo? Right now that's the only thing stopping me from leaving it up during screen captures.
Pocket Screen
@hi_i_am_mimo Thanks for explaining the use case so clearly, Valeria. I understand why keeping the floating reference visible while recording a clean demo would be useful.
sharingType = .none appears to be considered a legacy setting, so I’m cautious about relying on it for the current implementation. One possible approach would be to add recording directly to Pocket Screen, which would make it technically possible to exclude its own floating window. However, I would first need to consider whether that would actually provide a practical and intuitive workflow.
I can’t promise an implementation yet, but it’s a very useful idea and I’ll keep it under consideration.
honestly super useful for keeping docs open while coding. one thing though, would be great if you could set custom keyboard shortcuts to toggle which window becomes the floating view, right now i have to click through menus which kind of breaks the flow. a quick hotkey to swap the target window would make this way more seamless.
Pocket Screen
@bayraktuta26773 Thanks, Nehir!
Pocket Screen currently supports Option + Command + P to pin the frontmost window, but I agree that customizable shortcuts and a quicker way to switch the target window would make the workflow even smoother. I’ve added this to my improvement list.
Pocket Screen
@bayraktuta26773 Thanks again, Nehir! I’m currently finalizing an update that will let the hotkey switch the selected floating window to the current frontmost window without going through the menu. I’m aiming to submit it to the App Store early next week.
Love how it just keeps processing local on your Mac instead of bouncing stuff to the cloud. The always-on-top window feels really well done too, super smooth when you're dragging stuff around.
Pocket Screen
@zcan1758563 Thank you, Özcan!
Keeping the processing local and making the floating window feel smooth and lightweight were both important goals, so I’m really glad you noticed that.
the reference-without-switching use case is the one i'd actually use this for. keeping docs or a video call pinned in a corner while i work in the main window, no alt-tab dance. simple, but that's a real daily annoyance solved
Pocket Screen
@alex_watson2110 Thanks, Alex!
That’s exactly the kind of everyday workflow Pocket Screen was designed for—keeping a document, reference, or video call visible while staying focused on the main window.
Glad to hear the use case resonates with you!
this is one of those things that sounds small but I'd actually use daily, keeping a Zoom or a stream floating over other windows instead of alt-tabbing constantly. does it stay attached when you switch spaces/desktops or does it need to be re-pinned each time
Pocket Screen
@omri_ben_shoham1 Thanks, Omri!
You don’t need to re-pin it each time. Pocket Screen keeps the window attached when you switch Spaces. If the source window is on an inactive Space, the floating view temporarily hides to avoid showing a black or stale image, then automatically resumes when the source becomes available again.
Working off one laptop screen is basically my whole day, so keeping something in view while I get on with other things speaks right to me. Simple and genuinely useful, Masaki.
Pocket Screen
@melodie_sh Thanks so much, Mélodie!
That single-laptop-screen workflow is exactly what Pocket Screen was made for. I’m really glad it resonates with you.
Love that processing stays local on the Mac, keeping a floating reference window in view without shipping my screen contents to the cloud is exactly the privacy first touch that makes this genuinely usable for real work.
Pocket Screen
@ilko_kacharov Thanks, Ilko! Exactly—Pocket Screen processes the window capture locally on your Mac and does not upload your screen contents to the cloud. Keeping it private and practical for real work was an important part of the design.