Breather
A menu bar app for Mac

Work in focus. Rest on time.

Breather counts only the time you're actually using your Mac, then reminds you to rest your eyes, drink some water, stretch or step away. It stays quiet while you're on a call.

Download on the Mac App Store Requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later
Breather's menu: Rest Your Eyes in 4 minutes, then Drink Water, Stretch and Long Break, with 7 breaks taken and 4 hours 12 minutes focused today.
Idle 3 min → timers pause

Counts active time only

Timers move only while you're using your Mac. Walk away, lock the screen or close the lid, and they stop where they are.

Away ≥ break length

Time away counts

Step away for at least as long as a break and Breather treats it as taken, so it never asks you to rest right after you've rested.

Mic or camera in use

Quiet on calls

When any app is using your microphone or camera, breaks wait as a banner you can snooze, and sounds stay muted. No permissions needed.

Features

The right size of break, at the right moment.

Banners

A nudge in the corner, then out of your way.

Short breaks slide in like a notification. Start the timer, mark it done, snooze or skip. Optional reminders dismiss themselves if you're busy and try again next cycle.

A Rest Your Eyes banner in the top-right corner with 14 seconds left on its timer.
Full screen

Breaks that actually get you out of the chair.

Longer breaks dim every display and count you down. A heads-up banner comes first, so you can finish your sentence.

  • Esc skips, unless you've made a break non-skippable
  • Hold ⌥ Option to skip anyway in an emergency
  • When several breaks are due, the longest one wins
A full-screen Stretch break with a green progress ring and 2:14 remaining.
Calls & meetings

Never pulls you out of a meeting.

Video calls and phone calls on your Mac are detected automatically. Choose whether breaks wait as a snooze-only banner or your timers pause until the call ends. A full-screen break already on screen is snoozed for you.

A video call with a small Stretch banner offering to snooze for 5 minutes.
Settings

Every break is yours to shape.

Set the name, icon and color, how often it comes up, how long it lasts, banner or full screen, whether it can be skipped or snoozed, and the sounds it plays when it starts and ends.

Breather's Breaks settings, editing the Stretch break, with the templates menu open.
Breaks

Start with four. Add from eight.

Breather starts with the four marked below. Add any template from the + menu, or build your own from scratch. Intervals count active time only.

BreakEveryLengthShown as
Rest Your EyesDefaultLook at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
20 min20 secBanner
Drink WaterDefaultGrab a glass of water and take a few sips.
45 minReminderBanner
StretchDefaultRoll your neck and shoulders, open your chest, stretch your wrists.
1 hr3 minFull screen
Long BreakDefaultStep away from the screen. Get some air, have a snack.
2 hr15 minFull screen
Exercises15 squats, 10 push-ups, 30 seconds of plank.
1 hr 30 min5 minFull screen
Posture CheckFeet flat, shoulders back, screen at eye level.
30 minReminderBanner
BreatheBox breathing: in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4.
1 hr 30 min1 minFull screen
Take a WalkGet up and move for a few minutes. Bonus points for going outside.
1 hr 30 min10 minFull screen
From the Breathe template

Try one now. It takes a minute.

Box breathing: in for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four. Four rounds is one minute. Breather can remind you to do this every 90 minutes.

Ready when you are 4 rounds · 1 minute
Privacy

No accounts. No analytics. Nothing leaves your Mac.

Your breaks and stats are stored on your Mac and nowhere else. Read the privacy policy.

Network
Breather makes no network connections at all.
App Store label
Data Not Collected.
Calls
It checks only whether the microphone or camera is in use. It never hears or sees anything.
Sandbox
Fully sandboxed, as every Mac App Store app must be.
FAQ

Questions

Something else? See support.

Where is Breather after I open it?

In the menu bar, near the clock. Breather has no Dock icon or main window. Click the ring to see your upcoming breaks, and choose Settings… (⌘,) to change them.

Will it interrupt my meetings?

No. When any app is using your microphone or camera, breaks that come due wait as a small banner you can snooze, or your timers pause until the call ends. You choose which in Settings. Break sounds are muted during calls.

What counts as working?

Any keyboard, mouse or trackpad input. After a few minutes idle (3 by default, adjustable), timers pause. Locking the screen, display sleep and system sleep pause them too.

Can I make a break impossible to skip?

Yes. Turn off "Can be skipped" for that break. For a real emergency, holding ⌥ Option still shows a Skip This Once button.

Does it need any permissions?

No. Call detection only checks whether a device is in use, and idle detection only checks how long it's been since your last input. Neither triggers a permission prompt.

Which Macs does it run on?

Any Mac running macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

Your next break is already counting.

Download on the Mac App Store Requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later