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@om_patel5 (2026-08-03) posted about a free, open-source Mac app (~1 MB) that…

2026-08-03 · 02:23 UTC ·@om_patel5 ·1 min read

Brief

@om_patel5 showcases a tiny, free, open-source desktop basketball hoop that sits above your Mac screen (≈1 MB), needs no permissions, and offers a 24-second shot-clock or free-play with live score by the notch. The thread notes Claude overhauled it into a cloth simulation, a C++ fork produced a 469 KB Windows build with rule-book physics and a 240 Hz integrator, and similar hand-focused side projects (including a notch-as-hole golf mode) are proliferating.

Why it matters

@om_patel5 (2026-08-03) posted about a free, open-source Mac app (~1 MB) that floats above your desktop, requires no permissions or network access, offers two modes (a 24-second shot clock where buzzer-beaters count and free play), and displays live score and all-time best next to the notch.

Key details

  • A fork rewrote the physics engine in C++ and shipped a native Windows build at 469 KB that uses real gravity constants, quadratic air drag, ball mass and rim diameter from the official rulebook, floor bounce derived from FIBA rebound data, and a fixed 240 Hz integrator with tests; the original Claude rewrite turned the model into a cloth simulation.
  • The post frames this as part of a broader trend of developers making small ‘hand-occupied’ side projects to use while their agents run—examples include an upcoming golf version where the notch functions as the hole.
Source evidence

SOMEONE VIBE CODED A BASKETBALL HOOP THAT SITS ON TOP OF YOUR MAC SCREEN SO YOU CAN SHOOT HOOPS WHILE YOUR AGENT CODES

it floats over whatever youre doing

you flick the ball like a slingshot while claude code or codex is running

> the whole app is 1mb, and no permissions or network access is needed
> two modes, a 24 second shot clock where buzzer beaters actually count, and free play
> your live score and all time best sit right at the top of the screen next to the notch
> it lives above everything on your desktop so you never leave what youre doing
> its free and open source

the net was the hard part because claude ended up rewriting the whole thing as an actual cloth simulation (very overkill)

then someone forked it, rewrote the entire physics engine in c++, and shipped a native windows version at 469kb

that version has real gravity from real constants, quadratic air drag, ball mass and rim diameter pulled from the official rulebook, floor bounce derived from fiba rebound data, all running on a fixed 240hz integrator with tests proving the numbers

hes already building the golf version too, where the notch itself is the hole and the ball drops into it like a cup

everyone in this space is building the same side project right now, something to do with your hands while the agent works

Video