macOS warns you at 20% and again at 10%. That's it. (Apple Support documents the limits.) You can't change the thresholds, you can't add a full charge alert, and you can't pick a custom sound.
For a $2,000 laptop, that's surprisingly limited.
What macOS gives you
- A notification at 20% battery
- Another at 10%
- A "Low Power Mode" toggle
- "Optimized Battery Charging" that sometimes caps at 80% (but not reliably)
What it doesn't give you:
- Any alert when your battery is full
- Custom percentage thresholds
- Custom notification sounds
- Any way to know when to unplug
The fix
Battery Notifier runs on macOS and fills every gap:
- Install via Homebrew:
brew install --cask Sandip124/tap/battery-notifier
Or download the .pkg from the releases page.
Set your thresholds — low battery at 25%, full battery at 80%, or whatever works for you.
Pick a sound — 10 synthesized tones, 4 curated clips, or import your own audio file.
Done. It sits in your menu bar and only speaks up when needed.
Focus Mode compatibility
The biggest annoyance with third-party notification apps on Mac: they get silenced by Focus Mode. You're in a meeting, Focus Mode is on, and you miss the low battery alert. Laptop dies.
Battery Notifier respects macOS Focus Mode but handles critical battery alerts intelligently — so you're not disturbed during work, but you're also not caught off guard when your battery is about to die.
Do you actually need this?
If you're at a desk most of the day — the full charge alert helps you follow the 80% rule without thinking about it.
If you're always on the move — a low battery alert at 25-30% gives you real time to find a charger instead of the panicked scramble at 10%.