What Island Does
Island is Catalayer's desktop delivery layer for macOS. When a monitor you've set up fires — a specific news story, a matched freelance job, a signal channel hit — Island shows a native desktop notification. Click the notification, open the full story. No tab switching, no email lag.
Currently macOS 13+ only. Windows support is planned, not live.
Why Desktop Push Matters
Most active traders and sourcing professionals have 10-15 browser tabs open. Monitoring requires either:
- Keeping the Catalayer feed tab active (but then you miss alerts when other tabs are forward)
- Checking email for alert summaries (delay: 5-30 minutes)
- Mobile push (delay: 1-5 minutes + phone in pocket = you don't see it)
Desktop push: < 10 seconds from alert fire to on-screen notification, regardless of which tab is active.
Installation
From the Mac App Store (recommended)
Search "Catalayer Island" in the App Store. Sign in with your Catalayer account.
Via direct DMG (testers)
Download from /island → run Island.dmg → drag to Applications. Grant notification + accessibility permissions on first launch.
Login
After install, Island opens a web login. Your Catalayer cookie is shared with Island so monitor alerts route correctly.
Monitor Alerts → Island Routing
Monitor alerts have 3 delivery channels:
- In-app feed (always)
- Island desktop push (opt-in per monitor)
- Telegram bot (if you've connected Telegram)
You toggle Island delivery per monitor:
- Workspace → Monitor → find your monitor → Settings icon
- Enable "Island desktop push"
- Save
From that point, each matching alert fires a native macOS notification.
Filtering: Don't Let Island Become Noise
The mistake most new users make: route ALL monitors to Island, then disable Island a week later from alert fatigue.
Better approach: only route the 2-3 highest-priority monitors to Island. Example tiering:
Tier 1 (Island-worthy)
- Specific tickers you hold + event keywords (
TSLA AND (recall OR delivery OR Musk)) - M&A deals in your watchlist sector
- FDA approvals/rejections if you hold biotech
- Critical Freelancer Sourcing channel matches (budgets > $5K)
Tier 2 (in-app only, no Island)
- Broad industry coverage (Fed news, regulatory actions)
- Secondary tickers (monitored but not held)
- Social/aggregated feeds
Tier 3 (digest email, no Island)
- Exploratory keyword rules you're still tuning
- Channels you follow for reference
Goal: Island fires max 5-10 times per day. That preserves attention and trust in the signal.
Focus Mode Integration
Island respects macOS Focus modes (Do Not Disturb, Work, Personal). You can:
- Allow Island through Work focus (see alerts during work hours only)
- Block Island in Personal focus (no market alerts during family time)
- Custom per-focus routing via System Settings → Focus → Apps Allowed
Recommended: Allow Island only in Work focus. When you switch to Personal, alerts queue up in-app, and you see them when you next open the workspace.
Sound Design
Default notification uses a soft chime. You can customize:
- Island preferences → Notification Sound
- Pick from: Default, Alert, Breaking (louder), Mute (visual only)
Pro tip: set Breaking only for your Tier-1 tickers. You'll reflexively learn to look at Island when that specific sound plays.
Queueing Behavior
If you close your laptop or the Mac sleeps:
- Alerts fire silently in the background
- On wake, Island shows stacked notifications with the unread count
- Clicking opens Catalayer with unread alerts pre-filtered
If you uninstall Island without disabling push routing:
- Alerts continue to queue in-app (feed page)
- No alerts are lost
- Reinstall Island anytime to resume desktop delivery
Performance
Island is a lightweight Electron/native hybrid:
- Memory: ~80MB steady-state
- CPU: < 1% when idle
- Network: one persistent WebSocket to Catalayer, ~500 bytes/min heartbeat
- Battery impact: negligible
It does NOT:
- Poll external sites
- Run a headless browser
- Scrape anything
Troubleshooting
No notifications appearing
- Check macOS System Settings → Notifications → Island → "Allow"
- Verify Island is signed into the correct Catalayer account (menu bar icon)
- Confirm at least one monitor has "Island push" enabled
Duplicate notifications
- Happens if you have both Island AND Telegram routing enabled for the same monitor
- Fix: disable one, keep the primary channel
Island drains battery
- Should not happen under normal use
- If it does: open Activity Monitor, check CPU for "Catalayer Island". If > 5% sustained, force-quit and relaunch
- Report via [email protected] with system details
When Island is NOT the Right Tool
- You're traveling without a laptop → use Telegram routing instead
- You work across multiple machines (multiple Macs) → install on all; Island syncs
- You're on Windows → Windows version in development, Telegram is current fallback
- You're a passive reader, not active trader → just use in-app feed
Roadmap
- Windows native app (Q2 2026)
- iOS/iPadOS widgets (planned)
- Apple Watch complication (planned)
- Desktop Do Not Disturb override keywords (e.g., allow only "SEC" through even in Personal focus)
FAQ
Q: Does Island require Monitor Plus?A: Yes. Free tier gets in-app feed only. Monitor Plus unlocks Island + Telegram + unlimited monitors.
Q: Can two people share one Island install?A: Not recommended. Island is session-bound to one Catalayer account. Multiple users = multiple Island installs (each signed in separately).
Q: Does Island show the full article or just a headline?A: Notifications show headline + source + first-sentence AI summary. Clicking opens the full article in your default browser.