# nilbuild/pennywise

Cross-platform application to open any website or media in a floating window

Repository: https://github.com/nilbuild/pennywise
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/pennywise
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: floating-window, video, electron, electron-app, pennywise, cross-platform
Last push: 2025-12-22T08:55:32+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 49/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 58, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2866, "days_push": 254, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3867, forks 226 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:27.705757+00:00)

## What it is
Pennywise is a cross-platform Electron desktop application that opens any website or media in a small floating window that stays on top of all other applications. It supports adjustable opacity, resizing, keyboard shortcuts, and works on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

## Use cases
- watch a tutorial video in a floating window while coding
- keep a calendar or checklist visible on top of other apps
- watch a live sports stream or TV show while working
- open documentation in a small always-on-top window
- view a web UI demo without alt-tabbing
- show a demo in real time while recording a video course

## When to choose
- you want a lightweight always-on-top floating browser window for multitasking
- you need a free open-source picture-in-picture tool for websites and media
- you want a simple cross-platform solution without browser extensions

## When to avoid
- the project is explicitly unmaintained - prefer the author's successor project 'Always on Top'
- you need active support, bug fixes, or modern web features like Flash-era plugins
- you need a full browser rather than a minimal floating viewer

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: abandoned
- function: gui, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, cross-platform, desktop-applications
- platform: windows, cross-platform
- tags: floating-window, always-on-top, multitasking, picture-in-picture, electron-app, macos, linux, desktop, electron

## Member repositories
- nilbuild/pennywise (main) score 49

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:27.705757+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:25:50.740854+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/nilbuild/pennywise (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:27.705757+00:00, sha 6fbcbb8dd5a9)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.