RefreshieDownload

Look away. Stretch. Take a walk.

Refreshie sits in your tray and reminds you to rest your eyes every 20 minutes and get out of your chair once an hour. Gently, or not so gently. Your call.

Download for freeSee a break

For Windows. Early builds for macOS and Linux. A 1.9 MB installer, no account.

A monk sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, calm

An hour with Refreshie

Two short breaks, then a long one. Short breaks show one of three small exercises; the long break sends you for a walk.

  1. 20 minShort break

    Look around

    Find something 20 feet away and let your eyes rest on it.

  2. 40 minShort break

    Flex your back

    Lace your fingers, reach for the ceiling, breathe out slowly.

  3. 60 minLong break

    Take a walk

    Stand up, stretch your legs, get a glass of water.

Short breaks every 10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes, lasting 5 to 30 seconds. The long break comes once an hour.

How should breaks find you?

Pick a personality. You can switch any time, and try either one with a demo break.

Monk

Nudges, doesn't nag. A small card appears on each screen with a picture, a hint and a countdown. On Windows it shows up without taking focus, so whatever you are typing carries on.

A Monk break card: Flex your back. Lace your fingers, reach for the ceiling, breathe out slowly. Closing in 3 seconds, with a Skip button.

Sergeant

Takes over every screen for the length of the break. Turn off skipping and there is no way out but to rest. For people who know themselves.

A Sergeant break filling the screen: Flex your neck and look around, with a countdown ring.

New in 3.0

Rebuilt from scratch in Rust and plain web code. The installer went from 51 MB to 1.9 MB.

  • Pause keeps your place. Pause for 30 minutes, an hour, or until you resume.
  • Break now. Take the next break early when it suits you.
  • Notices when you step away on Windows, and starts fresh when you are back.
  • The clock stops during a break, so break time no longer counts as work time.
  • Every monitor gets the break, and Skip on one ends it on all.
  • A new look, light and dark, with the countdown drawn as the logo.
  • Private by design. No account, no network requests, one local file.
The Refreshie window: a ring counting down 19:45 to a short break, next short break in 20 minutes, next long break in 60 minutes, and Pause, Break now and Restart buttons.The Refreshie window: a ring counting down 19:45 to a short break, next short break in 20 minutes, next long break in 60 minutes, and Pause, Break now and Restart buttons.

Where it runs

Windows is where Refreshie is built and tested. The macOS and Linux builds come from the same code but have not been tested on real machines yet. If something is off, tell me.

Windows
Supported
64-bit installer that installs for your user account. Uses Microsoft WebView2, which Windows 11 already has; the installer fetches it if it is missing. Notices idle time and sleep, can lock the PC after a long break, and starts at login.
macOS
Early build
One download for Apple silicon and Intel. Lives in the menu bar, no Dock icon. Notices sleep but not idle time. Lock after a long break sleeps the display, which locks only if your Mac asks for a password after sleep.
Linux
Early build
AppImage and .deb. Needs a desktop with tray (AppIndicator) support. Notices sleep but not idle time. Lock after a long break uses loginctl lock-session, falling back to xdg-screensaver.

Good to know

Is it really free?

Yes, for personal use. Install it on your own computers, including a work laptop you use yourself, and use all of it. No trial, no account, no ads.

If a company is putting it on staff machines, that is the Team licence.

Does it need an account or the internet?

No account. Your settings and break counts are kept in one small file on your computer, and the app makes no network requests while it runs.

Two exceptions you start yourself: links like Check for updates and Feedback open in your browser. And on Windows, if Microsoft WebView2 is missing, the installer downloads it.

What is the 20-20-20 rule?

A common recommendation for screen work: every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet (6 metres) away for 20 seconds. Refreshie's defaults follow it, with a longer break on the hour to get you out of the chair.

Refreshie is a reminder, not a medical device. If your eyes or back keep hurting, talk to a professional.

I am presenting, or watching a film. How do I stop it?

Pause it from the app or the tray menu: for 30 minutes, for an hour, or until you resume. It picks up where it left off, and a timed pause resumes by itself.

What happens when I lock the screen or walk away?

On Windows, after 5 minutes without keyboard or mouse input, Refreshie marks you as away. No breaks pop up while you are gone, and the cycle starts fresh when you are back. A lock shorter than 5 minutes does not pause anything, so a break may be waiting when you return.

On every system, if the computer sleeps for more than a minute, the cycle starts fresh when it wakes. macOS and Linux do not detect idle time yet.

Can I stop myself from skipping?

Yes. Turn off Allow skipping in Settings and the Skip button disappears. Pair it with Sergeant mode if you mean it. When skipping is allowed, Esc skips too.

I have Refreshie 2.x. How do I upgrade?

Uninstall the old version first. 3.0 installs per user rather than per machine, so the two would not replace each other and could both run.

Your break counts start at zero and settings return to their defaults, which are the same as before.

Your eyes will thank you.
Probably quietly.

Free for personal use. Putting it on a team's computers? See pricing.

Download for free