Block

Block is a simple Python-based command line utility for blocking access to web sites in order to stop you from procrastinating, because you can't do it by yourself. Relies on modifying the hosts file.

Installing

It is possible to install Block using the Python package manager, pip:

$ pip install block-hosts

Usage

The simplest and most common usage of Block is to block all sites in a curated list. To do this, run the following command in the console:

$ block-hosts block-all

and to unblock, run:

$ block-hosts unblock-all

To block a profile of web sites, such as "social" or "news", run:

$ block-hosts block-profile PROFILE_NAME

and to unblock, run:

$ block-hosts unblock-profile PROFILE_NAME

To block a single web site, run:

$ block-hosts WEBSITE_URL

where website_url refers to, you guessed it, the URL of the website you want to block. To reverse the action, run

$ block-hosts unblock WEBSITE_URL

Note: modifying the hosts file requires administrator privileges, so make sure that the terminal is in elevated mode.

Another note: you might need to restart the browser for changes to take effect.