Latch

Latch is a local-first macOS focus blocker built with Electron.

It blocks distracting sites with a privileged helper, keeps blocklists on-device, and optionally uses a Chromium extension for a friendlier blocked-page experience.

Download

Download the latest macOS build from the GitHub Releases page then run: xattr -cr /Applications/Latch.app.

For the friendlier blocked-page experience, also download the Latch-chrome-extension.zip asset from the same release.

Chromium extension

To load the extension in Chrome, Edge, or another Chromium browser:

1. download Latch-chrome-extension.zip from GitHub Releases
2. unzip it
3. open chrome://extensions
4. enable Developer mode
5. click Load unpacked
6. select the extracted chrome folder

If you already installed the desktop app, the packaged app bundle also includes the extension under extensions/chrome.

Screenshots

Focus session setup

Block list management

Settings and extension setup

Highlights

• macOS-only
• local-first, no accounts, no cloud sync
• timed sessions and always-on blocking
• local domain blocklists
• one-time privileged helper install
• Chromium extension bridge for blocked pages
• crash recovery for interrupted sessions
• menu bar support

Requirements

• macOS 12+
• Node.js 20+
• pnpm 9+
• Xcode command line tools / Swift toolchain for packaging

Development

pnpm install
pnpm typecheck
pnpm test
pnpm build:mac

Useful commands:

pnpm dev
pnpm lint
pnpm build:mac

Packaging notes

pnpm build:mac prepares and packages:

• the Electron desktop app
• the macOS helper
• the Chromium extension bundle
• the native messaging host

On first launch, Latch prompts once to install the helper. The app bundle includes the unpacked Chromium extension under extensions/chrome.

Manual smoke checklist

• install and launch the DMG build
• confirm the helper install prompt appears once
• confirm /var/run/latch.sock is reachable after setup
• load the Chromium extension from the app bundle
• start a session and verify /etc/hosts markers are written
• restart the app during an active session and verify recovery
• uninstall the helper from the app and verify cleanup

Contributing

If you want to contribute:

1. install dependencies with pnpm install
2. run pnpm typecheck && pnpm test && pnpm lint
3. keep diffs small and macOS-focused
4. verify pnpm build:mac before proposing release-affecting changes

Roadmap

• smoother first-run setup
• better packaged-app smoke coverage
• continued simplification of the macOS-only distribution flow

License

MIT