Deep Work Timer

Deep Work Timer is a small local-first macOS desktop timer for structured focus sessions. It uses only Python standard library modules, so there are no external package dependencies to install before running it.

The app does not make network requests, does not execute shell commands, and keeps all session data on the local machine.

What It Uses

• tkinter for the desktop GUI
• sqlite3 for local session and settings storage
• unittest for regression tests
• osascript and afplay for macOS notifications and sound alerts

Features

• configurable work, rest, and round lengths
• local session tracking with daily, weekly, and total stats
• visible macOS alerts plus sound notifications
• persisted settings in SQLite
• no account, sync, or cloud dependency

Clone

git clone https://github.com/antoni0z/simpletimer.git
cd simpletimer

Run

python3 timer.py

Tests

python3 -m unittest discover -s tests

Notes

• The app stores local data in ~/Library/Application Support/DeepWorkTimer/timer.db on macOS.
• Settings are validated on load, so malformed local config values fall back to safe defaults instead of crashing the app.
• Input values are capped to reasonable limits: work/rest up to 24 hours, rounds up to 100.
• This project currently targets macOS because notifications are implemented with osascript.