Alan.app
Window border utility in Productivity & writing
Adds a border to the active macOS window, with polished visual effects people like. Critics say the border lags behind the window when moved.
Adds a border to the active macOS window, with polished visual effects people like. Critics say the border lags behind the window when moved.
17 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 59%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Polished look and visual effects
“dimming the background of the page in sync with the effects in the video is very clever.”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Alan.app – Add a Border to macOS Active Window” “this actually looks amazing as well, feels very vaguely a bit like classic macos”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Alan.app – Add a Border to macOS Active Window” “I love how the site reflects the darkness of the screen”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Alan.app – Add a Border to macOS Active Window”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Border lags behind moving window
“the tracking of the border with the target window feels quite sluggish”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Alan.app – Add a Border to macOS Active Window” “border made by JankyBorders moves smoothly together with window, unlike with this app.”
Comment from 27 Nov 2025 in “Alan.app – Add a Border to macOS Active Window” “the window border lags the position of the window quite a lot if you drag it around”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Alan.app – Add a Border to macOS Active Window” - Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Alan.app – Add a Border to macOS Active Window”
What people recommend instead
The same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan.appThis page | 10 | 7 | 59% | 1 | — | — |
| JankyBorders | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
15 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I bet their "app" is actually a WebView and provides no native functionality.”
“They don’t even have a website one can use. It is maddening for those of us who always prefer desktop over mobile.”
“this actually looks amazing as well, feels very vaguely a bit like classic macos”
“I'd pay 5€ for this app btw.”
“It seems to work well generally, but it breaks with Ghostty.”
“border made by JankyBorders moves smoothly together with window, unlike with this app.”
“Does it have to be an APP?”
“Excellent. Can you do something about the 5px wide scroll bar?”
“it doesn't even look good”
“the delay between the window and border moving is crazy”
“the window border lags the position of the window quite a lot if you drag it around”
“the tracking of the border with the target window feels quite sluggish”
“I love how the site reflects the darkness of the screen”
“dimming the background of the page in sync with the effects in the video is very clever.”
“do wish the border followed the radius of the native window's corners”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.