Perch ships on Steam for Linux and Windows. There’s no installer to babysit and no config file to hand-edit — Steam handles updates, and everything else happens in the settings window.
Install
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Install from Steam. Search for Perch or open the store page and hit Install. The build is native — no Proton, no Electron.
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Launch it once. Perch starts, places the notch top-center on your primary display, and adds a tray icon. On Wayland (KDE, GNOME, wlroots) the overlay uses layer-shell; on X11 it uses shaped windows. Both are automatic.
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Let it autostart. On first run Perch offers to start with your session. You can flip this later under
Settings → Startup.
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Install from Steam. Same store page, same button.
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Launch it once. The notch appears top-center and Perch settles into the system tray. Windows may ask to allow the overlay on first run — that’s the click-through layered window being registered.
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Let it autostart. Accept the first-run prompt, or toggle it later in
Settings → Startup.
First five minutes
- Hover the notch — it expands into the widget panel. Flip pages with the icon bar on top.
- Play some music — album art and the visualizer appear on their own.
- Roll the volume wheel — the slider widens the notch for a few seconds, then retracts.
- Open Settings — click the tray icon. Pick static or dynamic mode, choose which display the notch lives on, and arrange your widget pages.
Keyboard basics
The settings window is fully keyboard-navigable. In these docs, press Ctrl K (or ⌘ K) anytime to search.
Troubleshooting
The notch didn't appear
Check the tray icon first — if it’s there, Perch is running and the notch is probably in dynamic mode (hidden until something happens). Play media or change volume to summon it, or switch to static mode in Settings.
I have multiple monitors and it picked the wrong one
Settings → Display lists every connected monitor. Pick the one you want;
Perch re-anchors instantly and remembers per-setup, so docking a laptop
does the right thing.
Something else is wrong
Come say hi on Discord — the fastest way to get help while Perch is young.