Use case
Watch every hour of study add up.
Build Mode is a private time tracker for Mac, made for students and self-learners: revising for exams, learning to code after class, working through a hard subject over months. Press ⌘⌥B to start a session, study, press again to stop. It counts active time only and keeps every hour in a local file on your Mac. It runs on macOS 14 or later, Apple Silicon or Intel, and is a one time purchase, not a subscription.
Press ⌘⌥B
Study
Press again
Watch it add up
What it is
A one button tracker for hours of real study.
Press ⌘⌥B when the books open. A small clock shows in the MacBook notch while the session runs. Pressing again ends it with a one line note: “finished the respiration flashcards” or “chapter 4 problem set”. It counts active time only, and everything stays in a local file on your Mac. The product page shows the whole loop.
Who it is for
Students and self-learners in it for months, not days.
Revising for finals, learning to code after school, working through a textbook nobody assigned. Build Mode runs on macOS 14 or later, Apple Silicon or Intel. The download is free, and a license, paid once, unlocks it. There is no subscription, so a long degree costs the same as a short one.
Why it works for studying
Consistency wins exams, and consistency needs a record.
Start on purpose
Press ⌘⌥B when you sit down. Nothing records until you start, and a small clock in the MacBook notch shows the session is running. Studying becomes something you begin, not something you drift into.
Pauses when you do
Walk off to make tea or let the display sleep and the session pauses. It resumes when you return, so a two hour total means two hours of actual study, which is what makes the record worth trusting.
One skill per subject
Modes are called skills, and you define them: Biology, Calculus, Essays, Coding, anything. Auto Mode can suggest one from the name of the app in front, browsers stay unassigned by default, and you can turn it off and pick yourself.
Totals with a long memory
Every day feeds a dashboard, and every completed active hour becomes a dot on the hour wall. Each week becomes Wrapped, a visual recap you can keep private or share as an image.
Exam weeks
The daily number is the motivator.
In the weeks before an exam, open the dashboard in the evening and the day’s total is right there. Because sessions pause when you step away, three active hours means three hours of attention, not three hours near a desk. Yesterday’s number makes today’s session easier to start, and that small loop, run daily for a few weeks, is most of revision. The deep work guide covers the focus side.
The long game
Semesters add up into something you can see.
Hours accumulate across exam weeks, semesters, and the summer in between. The dashboard keeps the totals, and the hour wall turns every completed active hour into a dot. Each week becomes Wrapped, a visual recap of your studying that stays private unless you choose to share it as an image. A subject that felt endless in September looks different above a wall of hours in May.
Nothing to manage
No account, no cloud, no permissions.
Build Mode keeps everything in a local file on your Mac. There is no account to create and no cloud to configure, the app contains no networking code at all, and it asks for zero macOS permissions. It never sees your screen, your keystrokes, or your browser history. That is a structure you can check, not a promise you have to take on trust.
The license works the same way: buy once, a key arrives by email, and it is verified on your Mac. Buy it during school and it is still yours years after graduation.
How the fully private design worksStudent questions
Asked before a semester of use.
Does Build Mode block distracting websites?
No. Build Mode is a tracker, not a blocker. It never sees which sites you visit, so it could not block them if it wanted to. If you need blocking, run a dedicated blocker alongside it. Build Mode’s job is the honest record of the hours you put in.
Can I track reading or physical notebook study?
Yes. A session is just time you chose to start, and it does not care which app is open. Press ⌘⌥B, set the laptop to one side, and read. One thing to know: Build Mode pauses when you step away from the Mac or the display sleeps, so keep it awake next to you while you read.
Can I use it on a shared or library Mac?
You can, with one thing to understand first: your hours live in a local file on whichever Mac you track on. There is no account or sync to carry them anywhere else. Hours tracked on a library Mac stay on that library Mac. Build Mode fits best on a Mac that is yours.
Does it need an internet connection?
The app itself never needs one. It contains no networking code, so tracking works the same in a basement library or on a plane. You need internet once, to buy the license and receive the key by email. After that the key is verified on your Mac.
What happens after exams are over?
Nothing changes and nothing expires. The license is a one time purchase, so the app keeps working after finals, after graduation, and after you have forgotten what the exam was about. Add new skills as your subjects change; the totals keep accumulating and each week still becomes a Wrapped.
One honest session tonight. Another tomorrow.