Notch reviews

The review is the moment Atomus earns its keep. An atom slides down from your notch while you're in another app, you rate it with one key, and it's gone. You never stopped what you were doing.

What you see

When a review is due, a small pill grows out of your Mac's notch and shows the front of an atom. It sits over the notch area, doesn't dim the rest of the screen, and doesn't steal keyboard focus from whatever app you're working in.

If you ignore it, the pill stays visible for a few seconds and then retreats. You haven't missed anything. The atom goes back in the queue and resurfaces later.

Rating an atom

Atomus defaults to two keys.

• 1 for Forgot, if the back didn't come back to you
• 2 for Remember, if it did

The keypress goes straight to Atomus without leaving the app you're in. You don't need to click the notch pill, bring Atomus to the foreground, or pause what you were doing.

If you want the full FSRS scale (Again, Hard, Good, Easy), turn it on in Settings → Labs → Review buttons. Two keys are enough for most people, so start with the default and upgrade only if you find yourself wanting more resolution.

When reviews appear

A review surfaces when FSRS decides the atom is due. This is driven by how well you've remembered it in the past, not by the clock. You might get a review thirty seconds after capture for a brand new atom, or six weeks later for one you've nailed.

Reviews respect your Mac. They don't appear in Do Not Disturb, during Focus modes, or when your screen is fully occupied. More on tuning this in Notifications.

Missing a review

If you're away from your Mac when an atom comes due, nothing bad happens. Atoms don't pile into a queue you have to drain later. When you come back, the review appears at the next natural moment, and FSRS adjusts the interval for the actual gap.

There is no streak to maintain and no queue to zero out. The loop waits for you, not the other way around.