Blink

A minimal macOS menu bar app that reminds you to take regular eye breaks.

Why Blink?

Staring at screens for extended periods causes eye strain, dry eyes, and fatigue. The 20-20-20 rule recommends looking at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes. Blink simplifies this with a customizable work-break rhythm and gentle full-screen reminders.

Features

• 25/5 Rhythm — Work for 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break (fully customizable)
• Menu Bar Timer — Always visible, shows elapsed or remaining time
• Full-Screen Overlay — Gentle reminder that covers all displays
• Snooze & Skip — Press Esc to snooze, double-Esc to skip
• Global Shortcuts — ⌘⇧B to pause/resume, ⌘⇧R to restart
• Idle Detection — Pauses automatically when you're away
• Launch at Login — Starts automatically with your Mac
• Minimal & Native — Built with SwiftUI, runs quietly in your menu bar

Installation

Download

1. Download Blink.dmg from the latest release
2. Open the DMG and drag Blink to your Applications folder
3. Launch Blink from Applications
4. First launch: Right-click → Open → Click "Open" (required for unsigned apps)

Requirements

• macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later

Usage

Menu Bar

Click the timer in your menu bar to access controls:

• Pause/Resume — Pause the work timer
• Restart Session — Reset and start a new work session
• Break Now — Trigger an immediate break
• Settings — Configure durations and preferences

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
⌘⇧B	Pause/Resume timer
⌘⇧R	Restart session
Esc	Snooze break (during overlay)
Esc Esc	Skip break (during overlay)

Note: Global shortcuts require Accessibility permission. Enable in Settings or System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.

Settings

• Work Duration — How long to work before a break (1-60 min)
• Break Duration — How long each break lasts (1-30 min)
• Display Mode — Show elapsed time or countdown to next break
• Sound — Play a sound when break starts
• Launch at Login — Start Blink automatically

Building from Source

Prerequisites

• macOS 14.0+
• Xcode 15+
• XcodeGen

brew install xcodegen

Build

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/rachitwatts/blink.git
cd blink

# Generate Xcode project and build
xcodegen generate
xcodebuild -project Blink.xcodeproj -scheme Blink -configuration Release build

Create DMG

./scripts/build-dmg.sh

Create Release

./scripts/build-dmg.sh --release

Run Tests

./scripts/run-tests.sh

See TESTING.md for the complete test strategy.

Project Structure

Blink/
├── BlinkApp.swift          # App entry point
├── Models/
│   ├── AppState.swift      # Observable app state
│   └── Settings.swift      # User preferences
├── Services/
│   ├── TimerEngine.swift   # Core timer logic
│   ├── IdleMonitor.swift   # System idle detection
│   ├── HotkeyManager.swift # Global keyboard shortcuts
│   └── LaunchAtLoginManager.swift
├── Views/
│   ├── MenuBarView.swift   # Menu bar dropdown
│   ├── BreakOverlayView.swift
│   ├── SettingsView.swift
│   └── OnboardingView.swift
└── Windows/
    ├── BreakOverlayWindowController.swift
    ├── SettingsWindowController.swift
    └── OnboardingWindowController.swift

License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.

Acknowledgments

• App icon generated with Google Gemini
• Built with SwiftUI and AppKit