Tomato

AI-enforced Pomodoro for Claude Code. Doesn't remind you to take breaks — makes you take them.

What it does

Tomato uses Claude Code's hook system to block all tool calls during rest periods. When your work sprint ends, Claude Code literally refuses to work until you've taken a break. You can't dismiss it. That's the point.

Install

The easiest way (via skills.sh):

npx skills add Swingcloud/tomato -g -a claude-code

Or manually, from source:

git clone https://github.com/Swingcloud/tomato.git
cd tomato
./install.sh

Requires: jq (JSON processor). Optional: python3 (for stats and checkpoints).

The hook auto-registers in settings.json on your first /tomato start. Restart Claude Code after that for enforcement to take effect.

Usage

/tomato start                     Start a session (25 min work / 5 min rest)
/tomato start --work 50 --rest 10 Custom durations
/tomato start --cycles 5          Auto-stop after 5 sprints
/tomato pause                     Freeze timer (lunch, meeting)
/tomato resume                    Pick up where you left off
/tomato stop                      End session
/tomato status                    Current phase and time remaining
/tomato stats                     Today's focus time, cycles, streaks
/tomato stats --week              Weekly summary
/tomato stats --export csv        Export history as CSV
/tomato clear --before 2026-01-01 Prune old history

How it works

Tomato installs a global PreToolUse hook in ~/.claude/settings.json. On every tool call, the hook checks a state file (~/.tomato/state.json) and either allows the call (exit 0) or blocks it (exit 2).

The hook is designed to be fast on the normal path (read JSON, check timer, allow). Phase transitions (work → rest, rest → work) happen once every 25 minutes and do a little more work.

During rest, all tool calls are blocked — but /tomato stop, /tomato resume, and /tomato status still work. The hook whitelists its own CLI so you're never locked out.

When a work sprint ends, Tomato saves a checkpoint of your git state across all active projects. When the break ends, Claude presents what you were working on so you can resume without losing context.

Configuration

Create ~/.tomato/config.json to set persistent defaults:

{
  "work_minutes": 25,
  "rest_minutes": 5,
  "long_rest_minutes": 15,
  "cycles_before_long_rest": 4,
  "grace_max_sec": 300,
  "grace_timeout_sec": 10
}

Every 4th cycle gets a long rest (15 min by default). When rest starts, the active session gets up to grace_max_sec (default 5 min) to finish its current task before being blocked. Lower it for stricter enforcement.

Uninstall

cd tomato
./uninstall.sh

Removes the hook from settings.json, skill files, and ~/.tomato/ history.

License

MIT