The missing distraction blocker for Mac, to complement your BUSY Bar
I was really missing a tool to help me to keep focus when I'm busy. The BUSY app for iOS does this natively, but many of us still work with a computer and have many ways to get distracted. So this app had to appear.
It hides distracting apps while you're busy. There are also browser extensions that remind you that you're busy. Extensions sync seamlessly with the app and your BUSY Bar.
- Hides apps. Telegram, Slack (lol), Steam, whatever you consider distracting
- Blocks websites. A browser extension reminds you that you're busy and mirrors your actual BUSY Bar display.
- macOS 13 or newer.
- A BUSY Bar on the same Wi-Fi or plugged in over USB.
- Safari, Firefox, or any Chrome-family browser (Chrome, Arc, Brave, Edge).
Download the latest DMG from Releases, drag BusyBlock to Applications, and open it.
Opening the app for the first time walks you through it. Four steps, a couple of minutes:
- Allow local network access. macOS asks once. BusyBlock needs it to see the bar, over USB and over Wi-Fi alike.
- Find the bar. It looks over the USB link first, then
busybar.local, then Bonjour. - Turn on the browser extension. Safari's is inside the app already, see below. Chrome-family browsers need the extension folder loaded once.
- Pick what distracts you. Drop apps onto the window or take them from the suggestions, type websites or take them from the list.
Safari. The extension ships inside BusyBlock.app. Open Safari → Settings → Extensions, tick BusyBlock, and allow it on every website. It needs access to every site because it cannot know in advance which one you are about to open, and it never sends a single one anywhere.
Firefox. Official extension is coming soon.
Chrome, Arc, Brave, Edge. Official extension is coming soon.
Until that: open chrome://extensions, turn on Developer mode, choose Load unpacked,
and pick the extension folder from this repository. The toolbar badge shows ON while a
session is blocking.
No data collected or shared (except favicons download and update checks).
Full policy: PRIVACY.md.
The bar is not found. Plug it in over USB, or check both devices are on the same network. The Bar connection section in Settings shows what it tried. A bar with access protection on needs its API token pasted there.
Websites are not blocked. Check the extension is enabled and allowed on every
website, and that BusyBlock itself is running: the extension shows a ! badge
when it cannot reach the helper. A session that started before the helper died
keeps blocking until it would have ended anyway.
Safari forgot the extension after an update. Safari disables extensions when their app changes. Settings → Extensions, tick it again.
Still stuck? Open an issue and
include your macOS version, your browser, and what the Bar connection section
says. The log lives at
~/Library/Application Support/BusyBlock/busyblock.log.
Bug reports, ideas and pull requests are all welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for how to build it, how it works inside, and how to run the checks.
BusyBlock is free. If you find it useful, buy me a coffee is quite welcome.
extension/brand/busybar-device.png is the BUSY Bar device render from the
open-source firmware, copyright
© Flipper Devices, used under CC-BY 4.0. BusyBlock is an unofficial project, not
affiliated with or endorsed by Flipper Devices. "BUSY Bar" is their trademark.
GPL-3.0, see LICENSE. Copyright and licensing details are in LICENSING.md.