Yeah I get it, I mean to implement a better release system moving forward, allowing users to only choose large releases if they want, and include release notes. For now i’ve been focused on meaningful quick improvemnts until the app feels more finished.
You just need an Apple Developer account ($99/year), which you likely already have if you're distributing apps. Notarization itself has no per-build cost — you can notarize as many builds as you want. The process is essentially: codesign your app, zip it up, submit it to Apple's notary service via xcrun notarytool, and staple the ticket. It can be automated in CI too — this project uses a GitHub Actions workflow for it. The $99/year is really the only cost, and that's for the developer account itself, not notarization specifically.
I enjoy it for browsing, switching between articles. Thought others may enjoy it so I open sourced it. To each their own. If you dont like it, no need to use it.