Free · Open source · macOS 12+

A gentle bell
to bring you back.

MindBell is a focus timer that lives in your Mac's menu bar. Name the task, pick a duration, pick a bell, then get to work. When time's up, a soft chime asks you to stop, stretch and breathe.

Download for macOS

Apple Silicon & IntelNo accountNo ads

Minutes
Mode
Sound

Go ahead, click around. The web demo runs fast: 1 minute = 1 second.

Why MindBell

  1. 9:00 AM

    You sat down at 9 a.m.

  2. 3:47 PM

    You looked up. It was nearly 4.

Stiff shoulders, cold tea, dry eyes, and no memory of your last deep breath. Deep focus is good. Forgetting yourself isn't.

MindBell doesn't push you to do more. It just reminds you to stop, at the right moment.

Short film · 39 seconds

Watch MindBell at work

Every bell you hear in the film is the real sound from the app.

Sounds

Each bell, a way back

8 bells, trimmed and balanced in loudness: gentle enough not to startle, clear enough not to miss. Tap to listen.

  • Your own sound Pick any MP3 or WAV file on your Mac. MindBell remembers it for next time. MP3 · WAV

Six recordings come from Freesound under CC0; Airport and Soft Ding were made for MindBell. See sources

How it works

Three steps, then forget about it

  1. 01

    Name it, time it

    Type what you are working on (optional), then pick 5, 15, 25 or 50 minutes, or type any number from 1 to 999.

  2. 02

    Pick a bell

    Tap a tile to hear it. Choose Once for a single bell, or Repeat for a steady mindfulness chime.

  3. 03

    Work. The bell will remind you.

    Press Enter to start. The time left sits right in your menu bar. When it runs out, the bell rings and a small note appears.

Enter Enter starts, pauses and resumes

Features

Small, with every detail thought through

  • Menu bar only

    No Dock icon, no stray windows. Click the bell to open, click away to close.

  • Once, or on repeat

    Repeat turns MindBell into a mindfulness bell that reminds you to breathe every N minutes.

  • Pause and resume

    Someone at the door? Pause and pick up right where you left off. The ring dims while paused.

  • Reminds without noise

    A small note under the menu bar plus a silent system notification. Only the bell you chose makes a sound.

  • A soft start cue

    Starting a session plays a short, quiet strike, so you know it is running and never mistake it for the end.

  • Keeps real time

    Time is read off the system clock, so power saving or a busy Mac never delays the bell. If your Mac sleeps past the end, it rings as soon as it wakes.

  • Remembers your choices

    Duration, bell, volume and your custom file are all kept for next time.

  • Launch at login

    Turn on Launch at Login and MindBell is ready whenever you are (macOS 13 or later).

  • Keyboard friendly

    Enter starts, pauses and resumes. ⌘Q quits.

No account. No network. No tracking.

MindBell runs entirely on your Mac and sends nothing anywhere. The full source is public on GitHub under the MIT license.

Read the privacy policy

Install

Set up in a minute

  1. 1

    Download MindBell.dmg

    The latest build always lives on GitHub Releases.

  2. 2

    Drag to Applications

    Open the .dmg and drag MindBell.app into your Applications folder.

  3. 3

    Allow the first launch

    Open MindBell. When macOS blocks it, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway. The bell appears in your menu bar, with no Dock icon.

MindBell isn't notarized by Apple yet, so macOS blocks the first launch. Since macOS 15 the only way through is Open Anyway in Privacy & Security; on macOS 12–14 you can also right-click the app and choose Open.

Questions

Is MindBell really free?

Yes. Free, no ads, no paid tier. Open source under the MIT license.

Why does macOS block the first launch?

Because the app isn't notarized by Apple. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway (on macOS 12–14, right-click → Open also works). You only do this once.

Will it run on my Mac?

MindBell needs macOS 12 Monterey or later and runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Launch at Login needs macOS 13 or later.

Does it need internet or an account?

No. MindBell works fully offline and collects no data at all.

Can I use my own sound?

Yes. Click the Custom tile in the sound grid and pick an MP3 or WAV file. MindBell remembers it for next time.

How do I uninstall it?

Click Quit in MindBell (or press ⌘Q while it is open), then drag MindBell.app from Applications to the Trash.

Ready to come back to the present?

Download MindBell and let a gentle bell remind you that you're here, right now.

Download for macOS View the source

macOS 12 or later · Free, forever