knook icon
knook icon

knook

Compact open-source macOS menu bar tool promoting screen breaks for balanced work rhythms by tracking break patterns, offering context-aware reminders, manual controls, office hours, smart pause, idle reset, and storing all settings locally for privacy.

knook screenshot 1

Cost / License

  • Free
  • Open Source (MIT)

Application type

Platforms

  • Mac
knook screenshot 1
knook screenshot 2
knook alternatives  
4likes
60alternatives
0articles

Features

Properties

  1.  Lightweight
  2.  Distraction-free
  3.  Privacy focused
  4.  Local-First
  5.  No AI

Features

  1.  No registration required
  2.  Pomodoro Timer
  3.  Break timers
  4.  Sits in the menu bar
  5.  No Telemetry
  6.  Periodic Reminders
  7.  SwiftUI App

 Tags

knook News & Activities

Highlights All activities

Recent activities

  • Neill-Robson added Distraction-free as a feature to knook
  • Neill-Robson reviewed knook  

    I used Intermission before, and appreciated how minimal and functional it was. Knook serves almost exactly the same purpose, but with the added benefits of being actively developed and open-source.

  • Neill-Robson liked knook
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  • mikarstck liked knook
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knook information

AlternativeTo Category

Office & Productivity

GitHub repository

  •  93 Stars
  •  9 Forks
  •  12 Open Issues
  •   Updated  
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Our users have written 1 comments and reviews about knook, and it has gotten 4 likes

knook was added to AlternativeTo by Danilo Venom on and this page was last updated . knook is sometimes referred to as Nook. 

Comments and Reviews

   
Neill Robson
0

I used Intermission before, and appreciated how minimal and functional it was. Knook serves almost exactly the same purpose, but with the added benefits of being actively developed and open-source.

Review from a new or low-activity account — shown here, but not counted in the app rating.

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What is knook?

Knook is an open-source, privacy-focused software for macOS users. It encourages regular screen breaks to promote a balanced work rhythm. It operates without user accounts, subscriptions, or cloud syncing for optimal privacy and ease of use.

Knook, designed using SwiftUI, tracks your break patterns and offers short and long break reminders. It has a context-aware pause function to ensure reminders are not disruptive during focused work. It allows users to postpone, skip, end breaks early, and manually pause or resume.

Knook was created with the belief that health reminders should be accessible without a paywall, account system, or syncing model. It is compact, local-first, and easy to understand. Key features include a native macOS menu bar app, a scheduler core, reminder panels, a break overlay window, office hours, idle reset, launch-at-login wiring, smart pause, and versioned local JSON settings.