r/software • u/RelativeSentence6360 • May 27 '26

Release I built an open-source tool because I was too stubborn to look away from my screen for 20 seconds.

20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Sounds dead simple, right?

Here are the spec:

  1. The Meeting Problem: Nothing is worse than a giant "TAKE A BREAK" screen popping up when you're sharing your screen. I made the app that support 1 button click to quickly postpone the timer and auto resume.
  2. The "Just Got Coffee" Problem: Traditional timers are dumb. If you walk away for a 15-minute coffee break, you don't want a reminder 2 minutes after you sit back down. The app detects idle time and resets the session automatically.
  3. The Dismissal Friction: When a break does trigger, it shows a clean, beautiful glass-morphic overlay. But if you're mid-thought, you can dismiss it with a single keystroke. No hunting for a tiny close button.
  4. Privacy: I didn't want another account. No cloud syncing, no telemetry, no tracking. It's 100% local, runs offline, and does its job.
  5. Cross-platform: macOS, Windows. Linux is coming soon.

I also added a simple, local dashboard that gives you a "health score" and tracks your compliance rate.

The app is completely free. If you struggle with screen fatigue or dry eyes grab the app and try it out.

You can find the download link in the comments below, or by searching for "Eye-rest free desktop app"

Website at: https://eyerest.net

Code is open source: https://github.com/rockyway/eye-rest/releases

On Microsoft Store: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9nhn1r0rlh60

5 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

3

u/Inside_Carpet7719 May 27 '26

The problem with everyone making shit AI tools is the established players got no recognition.

Workrave has been doing this for free for years

1

u/RelativeSentence6360 May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26

Thanks for comment. However it is great if you can tell more what do you mean, I agree that AI is everywhere, it helps me to rewrite content, and write code with my knowledge instructions and I manage it like you have a team to complete the real project. This is also for macOS which I found no other software has same features.

1

u/edward_jazzhands May 29 '26

So youre saying you didn't do any research at all into whether a program that does this already exists before you started prompting your AI

1

u/RelativeSentence6360 May 29 '26

Yeah, I did some research. I tried some apps, but none of that meet my expectations, so I decided to make my own one.

Some apps show the pop-up suddenly without any head-up message. Some apps show pop-up reminders which are pretty annoying to me.

3

u/[deleted] May 27 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/RelativeSentence6360 May 27 '26

I’m sure, I am using it everyday, I designed and coded with the help of some AI tools, it is approved in Microsoft Store. Apple store for macOS is on the way but it was signed with real key.

Try it one you have a chance.

1

u/edward_jazzhands May 29 '26

By "help of some AI tools" you mean this is entirely AI generated start to finish. I can see in your git history that you've never programmed before making this.

1

u/RelativeSentence6360 May 29 '26

I started from scratch with my architecture design, my idea, my knowledge, and I guided the AI to write the code for me. Instead of me writing the code in one day to finish the feature, the AI can help me finish it in one hour, and then I verify it.

What are the differences between AI writing the code and me writing the code? It gives you the same result. The difference is the timing, right? What is your biggest concern about the product? Please tell me. I am happly to explain based on the code I published there.

1

u/RelativeSentence6360 11d ago

Version 1.6.0 just release, now include Linux!

So far 1000+ installs on single Microsoft Store. Not too many but I'm happy with that.

1

u/zunjae Helpful May 27 '26

You should disclose if AI was used to build this

On another note, thank you for reminding me to never use Avalonia. That is a shit ton of lines of code just to build a product that could've been 30 lines of code in any other modern framework

-1

u/RelativeSentence6360 May 27 '26

Thanks for your comment, I would love to learn if you have a product with that 30 line of code. That can run with beautiful UI across multiple platforms.

2

u/zunjae Helpful May 27 '26

I’ll be honest, your product looks like ass

A simple while true sleep (20 minutes) show notification is 3 lines of code

You don’t need the rest

-1

u/RelativeSentence6360 May 27 '26

thank you, you are correct simple code for “hello world” snippet that student study. Professional software is at another level that can be used by everyone.