A lightweight macOS menu bar app that reminds you to take breaks, fix your posture, and alternate between standing and sitting.
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Sitting at a desk all day is terrible for your body. Prolonged sitting increases risk of cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, and fatigue, even if you exercise regularly. The fix is simple: take short breaks, check your posture, and switch positions throughout the day.
Give Me A Break lives in your menu bar and quietly reminds you to do all three.
| Reminder | What it does |
|---|---|
| Take a Break | Reminds you to step away from the screen, rest your eyes, and stretch |
| Check Posture | Nudges you to sit up straight, relax your shoulders, and unclench your jaw |
| Stand / Sit | Prompts you to alternate between standing and sitting at your desk |
Each reminder runs on its own independent timer (5 min to 2 hours). Visual progress rings show how much time remains at a glance. Pause, reset, or adjust any of them directly from the menu bar.
Download the latest GiveMeABreak.dmg, open it, and drag the app to your Applications folder.
The direct download version checks for updates automatically via Sparkle.
git clone https://github.com/jxucoder/give-me-a-break.git
cd give-me-a-break/GiveMeABreak
xcodebuild -scheme GiveMeABreak -configuration ReleaseOr open GiveMeABreak/GiveMeABreak.xcodeproj in Xcode and hit Run.
Requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later and Xcode 16+.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Three independent timers | Break, Posture, Stand/Sit with individual intervals and controls |
| Visual progress rings | Color-coded indicators show time remaining at a glance |
| Menu bar controls | Pause, resume, reset, and adjust intervals without leaving your workflow |
| Flexible display modes | Notification, banner, or fullscreen overlay per reminder |
| Smart notifications | macOS notifications with snooze options (5, 10, or 15 min) |
| AI messages | Optional on-device Apple Intelligence for varied reminder text (macOS 26+) |
| Auto-updates | Built-in Sparkle updater (direct download version) |
| Launch at login | Start automatically with your Mac |
| Privacy-first | No accounts, no tracking, no data collection |
Open Settings from the menu bar dropdown:
- General — Launch at login, notification sounds, overlay duration, check for updates
- Reminders — Enable/disable each reminder, set intervals, choose display mode
- AI Messages — Enable Apple Intelligence, pick a tone, or write a custom prompt
Give Me A Break does not collect any data. All settings are stored locally. The only network request the direct download version makes is checking for updates via the appcast feed. AI-generated messages are processed entirely on-device using Apple's Foundation Models framework.