C
Currents
An offline-first focus timer for chronic procrastinators
Live today · Fri, May 24
Productivity
Mac apps
Focus
·
5 hr ago
▶
1 / 5 · 38-second walkthrough
What it is
Currents is the focus timer I should have built four years ago instead of buying nine that didn't fit. It's a single-purpose app that lives in your menu bar, runs entirely on-device, and doesn't ask for an account, an email, or anything else.
Three things make it different. First, sessions don't pause on app switch — they pause when you stop typing, scrolling, or pointing for a configurable number of seconds. Second, "long break" isn't a fixed 15 minutes; it's a function of the day you've actually had. Third, the data never leaves your laptop. There is no sync. There is no cloud. There is no — well, there's nothing.
What I'd love feedback on
Two things, mostly. The default idle threshold is currently 90 seconds — too short, too long? And the long-break formula is the part I went back and forth on the most; I'd love to hear how it lands on a real day for you.
About the maker
IS
Ines Sato
Solo developer · Kyoto, JP · @inessato
3 launches4.8 avg score
📌 Pinned by the maker — Q&A
Hi all — I'll be here all day to answer questions. Quickest way to reach me is in this thread. A few things I'm especially curious to hear about: the idle threshold default, whether the long-break formula maps to how your day actually goes, and what one feature you'd cut to make the app simpler.
▲ 38ReplyShare
ML
Mateo Lima
4 hr ago · Top comment
The "no sync, no cloud" framing is what got me to actually try it. I have at least three timers in my Dock right now and none of them survived past day three because they all wanted an account on day one. This one I just used.
▲ 24ReplyShare
Thank you — that's exactly the goal. If I ever add sync it'll be a checkbox in settings, off by default, and never required.
▲ 12Reply
Tried it for two pomodoros while writing a brief — the idle threshold is genuinely the best part. I keep hopping into Slack thinking I'm "still working" and Currents calls me on it within a minute. Slightly too aggressive for design work where you scroll-and-think, though.
▲ 18ReplyShare
Question for Ines — the long-break formula in the docs reads like it scales by session count, not session quality. Have you thought about weighting it by uninterrupted-session ratio? Long-break feels earned that way.
▲ 9ReplyShare
Yes — that's literally the iteration I was sitting on for two weeks before launch. I think you've nudged me back into it. Will share the math here if I find something that holds up.
▲ 14Reply
As a freelancer doing client-billable work, an "export this week as CSV" button would close a real loop for me. Doesn't need to sync — just a local file.
▲ 6ReplyShare
Discussion · 42