For macOS 14+ · Launching October 2026
The Mac focus app that notices when you drift
FocusNod is a Mac menu-bar app that keeps you on task. Tell it what you're working on. It checks each window you settle on, and when you've clearly drifted for a few minutes, it shows a small nudge. It reads app names and window titles, never your screen, and costs $19 once.
Already sure? Reserve a founder license for $13
Nobody decides to lose the afternoon. The task gets hard, a tab opens, and nothing says a word until forty minutes are gone.
How is it different from Freedom or Cold Turkey?
Blockers
Freedom, Cold Turkey
Act on access. But the same site is work one minute and a detour the next, so the list gets switched off.
Timers
Pomodoro apps
Act on time. They make the block feel important, with no idea what’s on screen during it.
Trackers
RescueTime, Timing
Act on hindsight. Tonight you learn where the day went, after it’s gone.
FocusNod
A nudge, not a wall
Acts on the moment you drift, while getting back is still a glance away. Want hard locks you can’t escape? A blocker is the better fit.
How does FocusNod know I’ve drifted?
You type what you’re working on. Every window you settle on for a few seconds is judged against that task by a fast AI model, using only the app’s name and the window’s title.
Judgment, not a blocklist
A tutorial that matches your task is work. The same site playing a music video isn’t.
Unsure means silent
Each verdict comes with a confidence. Anything unclear never triggers a nudge.
You can see every check
The Recent checks window shows exactly what was sent, and what came back.
- 10:02XcodeMenuBarController.swifton task0.99
- 10:06SafariSwiftUI MenuBarExtra not updating – Stack Overflowon task0.97
- 10:11SafariBuilding menu bar apps in SwiftUI – YouTubeon task0.94
- 10:18Slack#design-team10 min budgetneutral
- 10:24MailRe: invoice for from stays quietunsure0.52
- 10:31Safarilofi hip hop radio – beats to relax/study to – YouTubedrift0.96
- 10:371PasswordNever sentnever-send listskipped
Will it nag me during real work?
One false accusation costs more trust than ten good nudges earn. So FocusNod waits minutes, not seconds, and climbs one small step at a time.
- 0–3 s
Skims past
Quick switches aren’t judged at all. Cmd-Tab freely.
- < 1 min
Lets it be
A short detour is human. Nothing happens, nothing is counted.
- 1 min
A dot
A small dot on the menu-bar icon. Easy to ignore, easy to notice.
- 3 min
One question
“Still on your task?” Three answers. At most once every ten minutes.
“It’s for the task”
One tap and that window never nudges again for this task.
Breaks are human
Take 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes. Idle, sleep and lock pause it too.
Never mid-call
Zoom, Meet, Teams, FaceTime and presentations are always left alone.
Does it work with YouTube tutorials, Slack and Zoom?
YouTube
Tutorials that match your task count as work. Music videos and rabbit holes don’t.
Slack & Mail
Chat gets a ten-minute budget before any check-in. Replying to people is work.
Zoom & Meet
Calls and screen shares are never interrupted. Not once.
What does it read, and what never leaves my Mac?
Two things: the app in front and its window title. Here is the entire request, character for character.
{
"task": "Fix menu bar bug",
"app": "Safari",
"title": "lofi hip hop radio – beats to relax/study to"
}Emails, long numbers and tokens are stripped from titles on your Mac first. Not stored on our server.
Never read, never sent
- Screenshotsnever
- Page contentnever
- Keystrokesnever
- Full URLsnever
- File contentsnever
- Your never-send appsnever
How much does it cost?
$19 once for one Mac, $29 for two. Each check costs us a tiny fraction of a cent, so there’s nothing to rent you. Reserve before launch and pay 30% less.
At launch
$19
Once. Not a month, not a year.
- AI built in, no API key
- Window titles, never your screen
- A year of updates
- Keeps working after that
- 7-day free trial at launch
- No account
Founder pricing, until launch in October 2026
- Reserve for $13
Single · 1 Mac
$13
$19at launch - Reserve for $20
Personal · 2 Macs
$20
$29at launch
Full refund any time before launch and for 14 days after. If FocusNod doesn’t ship, everyone is refunded automatically. Checkout by Polar, our merchant of record; your license key waits in your Polar customer portal. Prices in USD.
Questions, answered
More in the full FAQ, or write to [email protected].
Does FocusNod block apps or websites?
No. FocusNod is a nudge app, not a blocker. It notices when you've drifted from your task and asks if you're still on it. You decide what happens next. If you want hard locks you can't escape, a blocker like Cold Turkey is a better fit.
Does it take screenshots or read my screen?
No. FocusNod reads two things: the name of the app in front and its window title. It never takes screenshots, reads page content, logs keystrokes or sees full URLs. The privacy page lists exactly what is read, sent and never touched.
How does it know I've drifted?
You type what you're working on. Each window you settle on for a few seconds is judged against that task by a fast AI model, using only the app name and window title. After about a minute of clear drift a dot appears in the menu bar. After about three minutes, a small panel asks if you're still on your task. Unclear cases never trigger a nudge.
Will it nag me during real work?
It's designed not to. FocusNod only nudges when the model is confident you've drifted, waits minutes before speaking up, and shows at most one panel every ten minutes. One tap on “It's for the task” teaches it that window for the rest of the task. Calls, meetings and presentations are never interrupted.
Does it work with YouTube tutorials, Slack and Zoom?
Yes. A tutorial that matches your task counts as work, while a music video doesn't. Chat apps like Slack get a time budget before any check-in, and meeting apps like Zoom are never interrupted.
Do I need an API key or an account?
No. The AI is built in and included in the price. There's no account, no API key and no setup beyond one macOS permission (Accessibility, so it can read the window title).
Four minutes lost, not forty
FocusNod launches in October 2026. Leave your email and we’ll write once, the day it’s ready.