A little structure. A lot of breathing room.
A native Pomodoro timer that feels at home on your Mac.
Download Cadence · Features · Sponsor XDan
macOS Sequoia 15+ · Apple silicon & Intel · Free & open source
Cadence gives your day a gentle rhythm: choose what to work on, settle into a focus interval, then take a break. Keep the timer in view or tuck it into your menu bar and get on with your work.
- Find a rhythm that suits you. Set your own focus and break durations, choose how often to take a longer break, or start with Classic, Deep work or Gentle start presets.
- Stay in control. Pause, resume, skip or add five minutes. Choose whether the next interval starts automatically or waits for you.
- Keep it close. Check your countdown and control the timer from the menu bar. Closing the window keeps Cadence running.
- See your progress. Set a daily goal, give each session an intention, and look back at your week. Export your focus history whenever you like, or reset selected days for a fresh start.
- Make it yours. Follow your Mac's accent colour or choose from nine colours, with light, dark and system appearance options. Native Liquid Glass on Tahoe, translucent materials on Sequoia.
- Enjoy the Mac details. Pick an Apple alert sound, control its volume, play or pause Apple Music, and optionally keep your Mac awake during focus or launch Cadence at login.
Your settings and focus history stay on your Mac. No account, tracking or subscription.
Cadence supports macOS Sequoia 15 and later, on both Apple silicon and Intel.
- Download the DMG from Releases.
- Open it and drag Cadence into Applications.
- Eject the disk image, then open Cadence from Applications.
A ZIP download is also available. Until the first release is published, download Cadence-release-packages from the latest successful GitHub Actions run; sign in to GitHub to access artifacts.
The app is not yet notarised. If macOS blocks it, choose System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway after trying to open it, then confirm. No system-wide security changes are needed.
Notification access is optional. Request it during setup or in Settings → Alerts, where you can check access and send a test reminder. Timer controls and in-app alert sounds work independently of notification permission.
First-run setup helps you choose your pace, appearance and reminders. You can skip it or revisit it in Settings → Data. Pick a preset or open Settings (⌘,) to set your intervals. Add an intention, press Start, and let Cadence keep time. The Music button asks for permission to control Apple Music the first time you use it.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘Return | Start or pause |
| ⌘R | Reset the interval |
| ⇧⌘N | Skip the interval |
| ⌘, | Open Settings |
For alarm behaviour, permissions and session details, see the user guide.
Cadence is built by XDan. If it helps your day, you can support its development. Ideas and bug reports are welcome in Issues.
Want to contribute? See the development guide for building the app, running tests and understanding the project.
MIT licence. Apple alert sounds are supplied by macOS and are not redistributed with Cadence.