PulseBreak help
PulseBreak is a menu-bar app for macOS 13 or later. It counts the time you actively work, and when a break is due it covers the screen with a short prompt. Everything below applies to the free version unless it says Pro.
Where is PulseBreak?
In the menu bar at the top of your screen. It has no Dock icon, except while its Settings window is open. Click its icon to see the next break, start one now, pause, or open Settings. A dimmed icon means nothing is being timed (paused, or outside your work hours); a dot on the icon means a break is due.
How often are breaks?
By default, a 25-second pause every 20 minutes and a 2-minute break every hour. Change both in Settings › Breaks. Only active time counts: after a minute without keyboard or pointer input the timer stops counting, and it picks up where it left off when you return. If your Mac was locked or asleep for five minutes or more, that counts as a break and both timers start again. With Pro, Count time away from this Mac as a break in Settings › Adaptive Breaks also counts time away as long as a short break (at least a minute) as a short break, and time away as long as your long break as a long one; it also lets you change the five minutes.
Will a break interrupt me mid-sentence?
No. A due break waits for a short pause in your typing or pointer movement before it appears. If you would rather have breaks exactly on time, turn off Delay until I pause typing or moving the pointer in Settings › Adaptive Breaks.
Can I postpone or skip a break?
Yes. Postpone 5 min brings the same break back after five more minutes of work, once per break. It is not offered for a break you start yourself, or, with Pro, where skipping is turned off. Skip break ends it and starts the next interval; Escape does the same. With Pro you can limit skips to a daily allowance or turn them off, in which case a long break can still be ended once a short break’s worth of rest has passed.
What about presentations, video calls and full-screen apps?
Choose Pause until from its menu while you present (it names when reminders resume), and Continue PulseBreak afterwards. With Pro, the submenu of the next-break line also offers Pause for 1, 5 or 15 minutes, and PulseBreak can handle this for you: send a notification instead of covering a full-screen app, wait until you leave full screen, or apply rules per app.
Why am I not getting notifications?
Open Settings › App: the Notifications section says whether they are on, with a button to allow them or to open macOS’s notification settings. PulseBreak notices the change as soon as you return to it.
Breaks stopped after I restarted my Mac
Breaks only happen while PulseBreak is running. Turn on Start PulseBreak when I log in under Startup in Settings › App, and check that PulseBreak is allowed under System Settings › General › Login Items.
Can I use my own photos? (Pro)
Yes, in Settings › Break Experience: pick a Photos album or folder, or individual photos (up to 100 either way), or a Finder folder. Photos are stored as display-sized copies on your Mac; Remove Imported Photos deletes them. A Finder folder is read in place and never copied.
What does PulseBreak know about what I do?
Only how long ago you last typed or moved the pointer, whether the screen is locked or asleep, and which app is in front and whether it fills the screen, which Pro’s per-app and full-screen rules use. It never records what you type or what is on screen. Your settings and break history stay on your Mac; see the privacy policy for the details.
Pro licence questions
Lost keys, moving to a new Mac and the device limit are covered on licence help.
Updates
PulseBreak checks for updates itself, and you can check any time from its menu. Every update is signed; what changed is on the changelog.
How do I uninstall PulseBreak?
Choose Quit PulseBreak from its menu and move PulseBreak from Applications to the Trash. Once the app is gone, macOS no longer starts it at login. Its settings, break history and any imported photo copies remain in your user Library until you delete them; choose Remove Imported Photos before uninstalling to delete the photos first. A Pro licence stays in your keychain.
Something else?
Use the contact form. If something is not working, say what you expected and what PulseBreak did instead, and paste what Settings › About › Copy Diagnostics puts on your clipboard: your PulseBreak and macOS versions and your break settings, without your email address, licence key or app names.