Use case
A time tracker for the work between the meetings.
Build Mode is a private time tracker for Mac, built for people who do focused work inside a job: engineers, writers, analysts, researchers. The day dissolves into meetings and pings, and at five the question is where the real work went. Build Mode counts the deliberate stretches. Press ⌘⌥B when one begins, press again when it ends, and every hour stays in a local file on your Mac. It is a one time purchase, runs on macOS 14 or later, and reports to no one.
Press ⌘⌥B
Do the real work
Press again
See where the day went
What it is
A personal record of focused hours.
Build Mode is a menu bar time tracker for macOS 14 or later, Apple Silicon or Intel. Nothing records until you start a session with ⌘⌥B, and the hours you do record accumulate into a dashboard, an hour wall, and a weekly visual recap called Wrapped. The download is free; a license key, bought once and sent by email, unlocks it. Details are on the pricing page.
Who it is for
People whose real work happens between meetings.
An engineer protecting a morning for a hard problem. A writer who needs two clean hours before the inbox wins. An analyst deep in a model, a researcher deep in a paper. The common thread: your calendar is not fully yours, and you want a record of the part that was. If you are building the focus habit itself, the deep work tracker guide covers how session tracking supports it.
How it fits
Four things that make the count honest.
Sessions on purpose
Press ⌘⌥B when a real stretch begins. Nothing records until you start, so standups, email, and hallway questions never touch the count unless you decide they should.
Interruptions pause the clock
Someone stops by your desk, or the display sleeps: the session pauses, then resumes when you return. Totals are active time only, which is what makes them worth trusting at five.
Modes for kinds of work
Modes are yours to define: Writing, Code Review, Research, whatever fits the job. Auto Mode suggests one from the name of the frontmost app, leaves browsers unassigned by default, and can be turned off.
A quiet tether
While a session runs, a small clock shows in the MacBook notch. One glance says the hour is spoken for, which makes it a little easier to leave the ping unanswered.
Not monitoring software
Yours, not your employer’s.
Build Mode has no admin console, no manager view, no team dashboard, and no report that goes to anyone. Everything it records lives in a local file on your Mac: no account, no cloud, and no networking code in the app at all. It asks for zero macOS permissions, so it never sees your screen, your keystrokes, or your browsing.
That is not a complaint about any tool your company uses. It is a boundary. This record is for you, and the design makes it impossible for it to be for anyone else.
How the zero-network design worksThe five o’clock answer
See the deliberate hours add up.
Each session can carry a one line note: what you shipped, what you figured out, where you stopped. Hours land in a dashboard and an hour wall, and each week becomes Wrapped, a visual recap you can keep private or share as an image. The point is a plain answer to the five o’clock question, in your own words and numbers. The product page shows the whole loop.
Deliberately standalone
No integrations, on purpose.
Build Mode does not read your calendar, connect to Jira, or export a timesheet. It cannot: the app contains no networking code. It measures one thing, the focused stretch you chose to start, and leaves the rest of your stack alone. If the glanceable timer is the part you care about most, the notch timer guide covers it in detail.
Common questions
What professionals ask before installing.
Can my employer see this?
No. Build Mode is a personal tool that runs on your Mac and keeps its record in a local file there. There is no account, no cloud, no admin console, and no networking code in the app, so nothing is transmitted anywhere. Nobody sees your hours unless you show them.
Does it integrate with calendars or Jira?
No. Build Mode is deliberately standalone. It has no integrations and no way to add them, since the app contains no networking code. You press ⌘⌥B when the real work starts, and that is the whole contract.
What if I get pulled away mid session?
The session pauses when you step away or the display sleeps, and resumes when you come back, so the interruption never inflates your total. If the stretch is truly over, press ⌘⌥B to end it and leave a one line note about where you stopped.
Does it work in full screen?
Yes. Build Mode lives in the menu bar, and while a session runs the small clock shows in the MacBook notch. A full screen editor or document does not hide it.
Can I use it for timesheets or client billing?
No. There are no timesheets, no invoicing, and no client billing. Build Mode keeps a personal record of focused hours, not a report for anyone else.
What does it cost, and what does it run on?
The download is free, and a one time purchase unlocks it with a license key sent by email and verified on your Mac. No subscription and no trial. It runs on macOS 14 or later, Apple Silicon or Intel. Current details are on the pricing page, and license terms are in the terms.
The meetings will still happen. The hours can still be yours.