Focusbar

Focusbar is a small ADHD-friendly menubar todo app built in Go.

It is designed for lightweight focus sessions:

• add a task quickly
• keep one active task at a time
• pause and resume without losing context
• mark tasks done when your brain is ready
• keep the menu simple and low-friction

The app lives in the macOS menu bar and uses systray for the UI.

v0.2.0

Focusbar v0.2.0 turns the app into a more complete local-first macOS release.

• SQLite-backed task storage with automatic legacy tasks.json migration
• adaptive reminders that react to response rate and time of day
• focus-window learning based on the hours you actually respond best
• a lightweight Done section so completed tasks still give a small sense of progress
• bundled macOS app, DMG packaging, GitHub Pages site, and release workflows

Why this app

This project is aimed at people who do better with:

• one clear task instead of a large task list
• fast capture with minimal clicks
• visible focus state
• simple momentum over heavy productivity systems

It is not trying to be a full project manager. It is more like a tiny focus companion.

Features

• menubar-based task flow
• quick add task prompt
• one active working task at a time
• pause, resume, complete, and delete actions
• recent completed tasks visible in a lightweight Done section
• native macOS notifications from the bundled app
• persistent task storage in ~/Library/Application Support/Focusbar/focusbar.db
• automatic migration from legacy tasks.json storage
• automatic cleanup for old completed tasks
• live timer in the menu bar while working on a task
• adaptive reminders based on response rate, time-of-day buckets, and stronger/weaker focus hours
• focus-window tracking that learns when you naturally respond best
• short tray-safe titles for multi-display menu bars

Project structure

focusbar/
├── cmd/
│   └── app/
│       └── main.go
├── internal/
│   ├── adaptive/
│   ├── app/
│   ├── logx/
│   ├── notifier/
│   ├── reminder/
│   ├── task/
│   ├── timer/
│   ├── tray/
│   └── ui/
├── macos/
├── scripts/
├── go.mod
└── README.md

Package overview

• cmd/app: application entrypoint
• internal/adaptive: response tracking, time buckets, and focus-window learning
• internal/app: startup wiring and app lifecycle
• internal/logx: file logging for debugging app and notification flow
• internal/notifier: native macOS notification bridge
• internal/task: task model, persistence, cleanup, and task management
• internal/timer: focus timer handling
• internal/tray: short menu bar title formatting
• internal/ui: systray rendering, menu state, and add-task prompt
• internal/reminder: reminder evaluation and escalation logic
• macos: app bundle metadata
• scripts: build and run helpers for the macOS app bundle

Requirements

• macOS
• Go 1.25+

This app is macOS-specific. It uses:

• osascript for the quick add-task prompt
• native macOS notifications through an in-process Objective-C bridge

Build And Run

./scripts/run-app-bundle.sh

That script:

• builds the app bundle
• ad-hoc signs it
• launches Focusbar.app

If you only want to build the bundle:

./scripts/build-app-bundle.sh

The generated app bundle lives at:

dist/Focusbar.app

Install

Install Focusbar into your Applications folder:

./scripts/install-app.sh

Create a release zip for sharing or GitHub Releases:

./scripts/package-release.sh

Create a drag-and-drop DMG installer:

./scripts/package-dmg.sh

NOTE:

• the DMG is currently not notarized
• macOS may warn that Focusbar cannot be verified because Apple Developer signing is still pending
• the zip build is the safer download for now

Website

A GitHub Pages landing page lives in:

docs/

Once GitHub Pages is enabled for the repository, the Pages workflow will publish that folder automatically on pushes to main.

Live repo:

https://github.com/satya-sudo/ADHD_Todo_manager_mac

Releases:

https://github.com/satya-sudo/ADHD_Todo_manager_mac/releases

GitHub Actions

This repo uses separate workflows for:

• CI: test code, build Go packages, and build the signed app bundle
• Release Artifacts: run tests, build the app, and package zip + DMG artifacts for releases
• Deploy Pages: publish the docs/ site to GitHub Pages

Development Build

If you want to compile the code without launching the app:

go build ./...

Logs

Focusbar writes logs to:

~/Library/Logs/Focusbar/focusbar.log

Tail the log during testing:

tail -f ~/Library/Logs/Focusbar/focusbar.log

How it works

1. The app starts in the menu bar.
2. Tasks are loaded from the app support directory SQLite database.
3. If a task was already active, the timer resumes.
4. You can add a new task from the menu.
5. Starting one task pauses any previously active task.
6. Completed tasks stay visible in a small Done section before they age out.
7. Completed tasks are cleaned up automatically after they get old enough.
8. Reminders only trigger when there are pending tasks.
9. Reminder tone and pacing adapt to response history, time of day, and best focus hours.

Data storage

Tasks are stored locally in:

~/Library/Application Support/Focusbar/focusbar.db

If an older tasks.json file exists in the same app-support directory, Focusbar imports it automatically on first load.

Each task includes:

• id
• title
• state
• created timestamp

Adaptive reminders

Focusbar does not use a fixed reminder loop anymore.

• no reminders when there are no pending tasks
• no reminders while a task is actively working
• softer or stronger wording depending on recent response rate
• slower or faster nudges depending on morning, afternoon, evening, or night
• hour-based learning to detect stronger and weaker focus windows

This keeps reminders closer to “supportive” than “nagging”.

Current task states

• todo
• working
• paused
• done

Future ideas and milestones

v0.2.2

• reminder settings and cleanup settings
• Test Notification, Open Logs, and Reveal Data Folder
• Done today feedback in the menu
• clearer first-run and install guidance

v0.3.0

• persisted focus sessions in SQLite
• daily stats like focus time and completed tasks
• settings persistence
• launch at login
• keyboard shortcuts
• backup export and import

v0.4.0

• better first-launch onboarding
• warmer progress feedback and reward loops
• archive or history view
• task notes or tiny context fields
• more polished menu structure

v1.0

• Apple Developer signing and notarization
• public-ready DMG and zip distribution
• stable database migrations
• stronger docs, screenshots, and release polish
• final UX sweep across reminders, onboarding, and task flow

License

Add a license here if you want to open source the project.