You won't take a break.
So a cat takes it for you.
Catnap is a focus timer with teeth. You work, and when the session ends a sleepy ginger cat lies down across your screen and refuses to move until your break is over. You can still see your work — you just can't touch it.
This is what lands on your screen
No notification, nothing to dismiss. It walks on, lies down, and doesn't move until your break is over.
A break reminder you can't ignore
Every other break app sends a polite notification. You dismiss it without reading it and keep working for another three hours. Catnap doesn't ask.
You pick how long you want to focus — 45 minutes by default — and how long the break should be. When the timer runs out, a real cat walks onto your screen, curls up, and goes to sleep on top of everything. The screen stays visible, so nothing feels lost, but every click and keystroke is swallowed by the cat until your break time is done.
It's for anyone who codes, designs, writes, or edits for hours without moving — and for eyes, wrists, backs, and necks that have quietly been paying for it.
Small app, stubborn cat
Everything Catnap does, it does on your machine — offline, with no account and nothing to sign up for.
Your rhythm, your numbers
Set focus time from 1 to 180 minutes and a break of up to 5. Defaults are 45 on, 5 off — change them any time.
A full-screen block, not a popup
The cat covers every screen you have, including apps in native full-screen. It can't be clicked past or scrolled behind.
A 30-second heads-up
A quiet warning appears before the break lands, so you get to finish the line you're typing instead of losing it.
Streaks & achievements
Breaks taken, daily count, longest streak, total rest time — plus seven achievements from First Nap to Iron Will.
Pet it. Feed it.
The break screen isn't dead time. Pet the cat, feed the cat, or pick its coat — ginger, tuxedo, calico, or siamese.
Nothing leaves your computer
No account, no analytics, no network calls. Your timings and stats sit in local storage, and no accessibility permissions are ever requested.
Three steps, then forget about it
Catnap runs quietly in the background and only shows up when it's time to stop.
Set your times
Open Catnap and choose your work duration and break duration. Toggle sound, dark mode, desktop notifications and snooze if you want them.
Press Start focus
Get back to work. The window can be closed — the timer keeps counting. Need a break sooner? Hit Break now.
The cat arrives
Thirty seconds of warning, then a cat walks in, lies down and sleeps across your screen with a countdown and a gentle nudge to stretch, drink water, or look out a window. At zero it walks off and your next session starts.
Getting past the first-run warning
Catnap isn't distributed through the App Store or the Microsoft Store, so the first time you open it your computer will show a warning. That's expected for an app sent directly — here's exactly what to click.
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Download the .dmg
Grab Catnap-0.1.0-universal.dmg below. One file works on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.
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Open it and drag Catnap into Applications
Double-click the .dmg. A window opens with the Catnap icon on the left and an Applications folder on the right — drag the cat onto the folder.
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Eject the disk image, then open Catnap
Go to your Applications folder and double-click Catnap.
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You'll see a warning — click Done
macOS says "Apple could not verify 'Catnap' is free of malware." Click Done. Do not click "Move to Bin" / "Move to Trash".
Heads up: right-clicking the app and choosing "Open" no longer works on recent macOS versions. Use the steps below instead. -
Open System Settings → Privacy & Security
Click the Apple menu → System Settings → Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
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Scroll to Security and click "Open Anyway"
Near the bottom you'll see "Catnap was blocked to protect your Mac." Click Open Anyway, authenticate with Touch ID or your password, then click Open Anyway once more in the dialog that follows.
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That's it
Catnap opens normally from now on — you never have to repeat this. Set your work and break times, and press Start focus.
Alternative: allow apps from "Anywhere"
If you'd rather stop being asked about directly-downloaded apps in general, macOS has a third setting under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Security called Anywhere, under "Allow applications downloaded from". It's hidden by default; to reveal it, open Terminal and run:
sudo spctl --master-disableEnter your password, then reopen that Security panel — "Anywhere" now appears as an option and Catnap opens with no prompt at all.
This lowers Gatekeeper for every app on your Mac, not just
Catnap, so most people should use the "Open Anyway" steps above
instead. To turn protection back on later, run
sudo spctl --master-enable.
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Download the installer
Grab Catnap-Setup-0.1.0.exe below. Prefer not to install anything? Use the portable Catnap-0.1.0-portable.exe instead — it just runs.
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Run the file
Double-click it in your Downloads folder. If your browser flags the download, choose Keep — it's an unsigned installer, not a damaged file.
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"Windows protected your PC" — click More info
A blue SmartScreen box appears. Click the small More info link in it, then click Run anyway.
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Follow the installer
Pick an install folder (or accept the default) and finish. Catnap adds a desktop and Start menu shortcut. Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit.
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Open Catnap and start focusing
Set your work and break durations, then press Start focus. The cat handles the rest.
Installer or portable?
The Setup version installs normally with shortcuts and an uninstall entry — pick this one unless you have a reason not to. The portable version is a single .exe you can keep on a USB stick or a locked-down work machine; it leaves nothing behind.
Catnap 0.1.0
Free, no account required. Read the install guide above first — the first launch needs one extra click.
macOS
Universal disk image — runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. macOS 11 Big Sur or newer.
Download .dmg 181 MBWindows — Installer
Standard installer with desktop and Start menu shortcuts. Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit.
Download .exe 94 MBWindows — Portable
A single .exe that runs with no installation. Good for USB sticks and machines you can't install software on.
Download .exe 94 MBBefore you download
Why does my computer warn me about Catnap?
Because it's handed to you directly rather than through the App Store or Microsoft Store. Signing and notarising a build costs money every year — $99 for an Apple developer account — and Catnap is free. The warning is about who signed the file, not about what's in it; the install guide above shows the two clicks that get past it, and this is the plan for removing it for good.
Can I skip a break if I'm in the middle of something?
Yes. Snooze is on by default and pushes the break back by two minutes. You can shorten it, lengthen it, or switch it off entirely if you want the cat to be non-negotiable. Snoozing does break your streak, though.
Does the cat really block everything?
It covers all your displays, including apps in native full-screen, and absorbs every click and keystroke underneath it. What it can't override are the shortcuts the operating system reserves for itself — Force Quit, Activity Monitor, the power button. Every app in this category hits the same ceiling; Apple reserves those by design.
Does Catnap need special permissions?
No. It uses ordinary window APIs, so there's no accessibility or screen-recording prompt on first run. It also never touches the network — no account, no sync, no analytics. Your settings, streaks and achievements stay in local storage on your machine.
Is there a Linux build?
An AppImage builds from the same source, but it isn't published here yet. macOS and Windows are the supported downloads for 0.1.0.
Do I have to keep the window open?
No. Close it and the timer keeps running in the background. The cat will find you.
Help me get rid of that warning
Catnap is free, and it stays free. But the "unverified developer" screen isn't something I can code my way out of — it's the one problem here that costs money.
Notarise the macOS build
$99 to go — 33 sponsors at $3.
Apple charges $99 a year for a developer account. With one, every build gets notarised and the warning disappears completely — for everyone who downloads Catnap, not just for whoever chipped in. That's the entire goal. Sponsorships go through GitHub, which takes no cut, so the whole $3 counts toward it.
No paywall, no accounts, no pro tier — every feature is in the download whether you sponsor or not. If money's tight, starring the repo or telling one person who forgets to stand up helps just as much.