I Built a Pomodoro Timer Because Every Other One Annoyed Me

PomBar is a Pomodoro timer that lives in your Mac's menu bar. You click the tomato, you start a focus session, it counts down, you take a break. That's it. That's the whole app.

Why This Exists

I tried like six different Pomodoro apps and they all had the same issue — they wanted to be way more than a timer. Project tracking, detailed analytics, team collaboration, Notion integrations, monthly subscriptions. Brother, I just want a countdown in my menu bar. I don't need a productivity platform. I need to know when 25 minutes is up.

So I built exactly what I wanted.

What It Does

It times your focus sessions. It times your breaks. It sits in your menu bar so you can see how much time is left without switching apps. You can customize the session lengths. There are keyboard shortcuts if you're into that.

That's genuinely it. No account, no sync, no analytics dashboard showing you a pie chart of your productivity. Just a timer.

What It Doesn't Do

  • No subscriptions. $1.99, you own it, we're done.
  • No tracking. I have zero idea how you use this app and I'd like to keep it that way.
  • No internet required. It's a timer. It doesn't need the cloud.
  • No bloat. It's a menu bar app. It takes up approximately zero space in your life until you need it.

The ADHD Angle

Real talk — I have ADHD and the Pomodoro technique is one of the few productivity methods that actually works for my brain. Something about knowing there's a visible countdown creates just enough external pressure to keep me on task. And knowing a break is coming makes it easier to start.

If that sounds familiar, this might be your app.

The Indie Dev Angle

PomBar is part of my growing family of small, focused apps. I also make SenseSoothe (a fidget app for your phone) and Node Playground. Same philosophy across all of them — do one thing well, respect your privacy, charge a fair price, and get out of the way.

I'm a solo dev building these in my spare time. No venture capital, no growth team, no grand plan to monetize your attention. Just tools I wanted that didn't exist yet.

Get It

PomBar on the Mac App Store — $1.99. If you use the Pomodoro technique and you have a Mac, I think you'll like it. And if you don't like it, that's cool too. Probably still cheaper than the coffee you're drinking while you read this.