LoudCueCalendar alerts you can't ignore
macOS notifications get dismissed by reflex. This one isn't.
Notarized by Apple · macOS 14+Notarized by Apple · Signed with Developer ID · macOS 14+ · Universal binary
Upcoming meeting
Q2 Roadmap Review
9:00 AM · Conference Room A
What it does
Subscription-like features, no subscription
Multi-stage alerts
Stack up to 3 alerts per meeting
Native & lightweight
Swift, not Electron. Quiet on your Mac.
Multi-display
Fires on every monitor at once
Smart silence
Closes itself the moment you launch Zoom
Apple Reminders
Reminders too, same overlay
Sources
Wherever your events live
Anti-reflex
Make me answer a question first
Optional quiz before dismiss or snooze, for when your reflexes know how to dismiss alerts faster than your brain registers them.
To dismiss, answer
What is seven plus four?
Also built in
Auto-detects join links from
40+
And 30 more, including Whereby, Around, BlueJeans, RingCentral, GoTo, Hopin, Lifesize, Vonage, 8x8, Tandem, Riverside, StreamYard, Doxy.me, Wire, Tencent Meeting.
Why this exists
I wanted a calendar alert app I didn't have to subscribe to
Where LoudCue fits
There are three kinds of calendar alert apps
I tried most of them before building LoudCue.
The flagship
In Your Face
Polished, cross-Apple, years of refinement.
Trade-offs
- · $25/year or $69
- · One alert per meeting
- · No compact mode
- · No quiz-gated dismiss
The others
Subscription and menu-bar apps
Dato and MeetingBar are great at narrower jobs. The rest were laggy or paywalled.
Trade-offs
- · Mostly subscription
- · MeetingBar has no full-screen
- · Dato is calendar-first
This one
LoudCue
Three stacked alerts, optional quiz to dismiss, Mac-native, free.
Trade-offs
- · Mac only
- · New, expect rough edges
The plan
I want to maintain LoudCue. I'd rather not run multiple hardware targets and complex cloud infrastructure for a free app, so we'll see where it goes based on demand. In Your Face already does cross-device well today. If a paid v2 ever makes sense, the free MIT version of v1 keeps working either way.
See the full comparisonFree & open source
Free
No subscription, no account, no in-app upsell. MIT licensed source on GitHub.
- No nags, no upsell
- MIT licensed source
- Universal binary
- Notarized + hardened
- Auto-updates via Sparkle
- No account, no telemetry
Install with Homebrew
brew install --cask bnjreece/loudcue/loudcueNotarized by Apple · No telemetryNotarized by Apple · Signed with Developer ID · Hardened runtime · No telemetry
Saved you a meeting? Sponsor on GitHub.
Questions
Things people ask
Does it work with Google / Outlook calendars?+
Yes. LoudCue uses macOS EventKit, so it sees every calendar that Apple Calendar sees - iCloud, Google, Outlook 365, Exchange, CalDAV. If it shows up in Calendar.app, it shows up in LoudCue. Add accounts in System Settings → Internet Accounts.
What macOS versions are supported?+
macOS 14 (Sonoma) and later. Native Apple Silicon (arm64) and Intel (x86_64).
Does it sync to my iPhone?+
No. LoudCue is Mac-only for now. I'd rather not run multiple hardware targets and cloud infrastructure for a free app. In Your Face does cross-device well today; if a paid v2 ever makes sense based on demand, I might build the parts that need infra.
What about privacy?+
Zero analytics. Zero telemetry. No accounts. The only network request LoudCue makes is a once-per-day update check via Sparkle. Source is open on GitHub, so you can verify all of this yourself.
Will you sell my email?+
There's no email to collect. LoudCue has no account system. If you write in to benjamin@reece.is, I only use it to reply.
Why is it free?+
LoudCue doesn't need a server, doesn't have an account system, doesn't track you. There's nothing to charge for ongoing. Free + open source under MIT means anyone can audit it, fork it, or build from source. If you want to support development, there's a GitHub Sponsors link.
If In Your Face is worth it, why does this exist?+
It is worth it. In Your Face is a polished app, the price is fair for what you get, and the cross-device story is real. I built LoudCue mostly because it didn't have the specific features I wanted (multi-stage alerts, quiz-gated dismiss, auto-silence when you launch the meeting app). The other reason is that software utilities are commoditizing fast. For something I just need to work on my Mac, building it myself and giving it away made more sense than paying. And every dollar adds up.
Will it always be free?+
The MIT license on v1 is irrevocable. Every release I publish under MIT stays free for anyone to use, fork, or build from source. If I ever ship a separate paid v2 with major new features, v1 keeps working.