The product
A visible record of becoming better at the work that matters.
Build Mode is a native Mac app that turns focused work into a practice you can see. It stays close in the MacBook notch while you work, counts active effort instead of empty clock time, and turns every session into progress toward the skills and goals you care about.
Choose a skill
Enter Build Mode
Work naturally
See it add up
Why it works
Your goal feels more real when the work behind it is visible.
Begin deliberately
Choose the skill you are building, enter Build Mode, and give the session a clear purpose before the work begins.
Count the work
Build Mode measures active time, pauses for inactivity and display sleep, and keeps away time out of your progress.
See momentum
Every completed active hour becomes a dot. The remainder carries forward, so small sessions still become something visible.
Learn your pattern
See where your time goes by skill, review recent sessions, and build an honest record of the effort behind your goal.
A small ritual
One clear transition into focused work.
Start from the menu bar, the notch, the command center, or a keyboard shortcut. A quiet ceremony marks the beginning, then the notch becomes a glanceable session timer that stays out of your way.
Honest timing
Active time, not time you happened to leave a timer running.
Input inactivity and display sleep pause the session automatically. When you finish, the receipt shows exactly what that session added—separate from the progress already banked toward your next hour.
The hour wall
Effort becomes a body of work.
Each filled dot represents one completed active hour. Sessions can be seconds or hours; partial time carries forward until the next dot is earned. The wall is not a streak and never punishes a day off.
Your categories
Track the skills that move your goal forward.
Add, rename, recolor, and remove skills as your work evolves. Deleted categories stay out of active views. Optional Auto Mode can classify recognized Mac apps locally, and you can correct or forget its rules at any time.
Private by design
Your practice belongs to you.
Sessions, notes, skills, app rules, and recovery data begin on your Mac. Build Mode uses no advertising, tracking, or analytics SDKs and does not need Accessibility, Screen Recording, camera, or microphone access.
Publishing is optional. Manual logs and the app names used by Auto Mode remain local. You can export your records or erase local data from the app.
Read the full privacy policyThe details
Built to feel trustworthy, not demanding.
Does Build Mode watch my screen?
No. It does not capture the screen, document titles, browser tabs, typed text, camera, or microphone. Optional Auto Mode receives only the frontmost app name and bundle identifier from macOS and processes them locally.
What happens when I step away?
The session pauses after the idle threshold—three minutes by default—and while the display sleeps. When activity returns, timing resumes without counting the away period.
Can it categorize apps automatically?
Yes, if you turn on Auto Mode. Recognized app families can map to an active skill, browsers remain unassigned by default, and every learned rule can be corrected or forgotten.
Is it a streak tracker?
No. Build Mode records cumulative effort toward your goal. There is no streak to lose, badge pressure, or fixed claim that mastery happens at one universal number of hours.
When will it be available?
Build Mode is coming soon for macOS 14 and later. Join the waitlist for launch access, special launch pricing, and other early-builder perks.
What are you building toward?