lockin 0.4.0

CLI focus blocker for macOS — block distracting websites and apps

Lockin

Focus blocker for macOS. Blocks distracting websites and apps so you can get work done.

lockin

╭──────────────────────────────────────╮
│            LOCKIN v0.3.0             │
│      Focus when it matters most      │
╰──────────────────────────────────────╯

Main Menu
  [1] Start a Focus Session
  [2] Manage Profiles
  [3] Manage Schedules
  [4] Always-Blocked Sites
  [5] View Presets
  [6] Activity Recap
  [7] Settings & Info
  [0] Exit

How it works

• Blocks websites via /etc/hosts — works across every browser, no extensions
• Kills distracting apps on launch (Discord, Spotify, etc.)
• Sessions are tamper-resistant — once started, they can't be stopped
• A launchd watchdog re-applies blocks every 3 seconds, survives reboots
• Tracks your activity in the background — apps, browser URLs, productivity score
• Menu bar app shows live session countdown and runs the activity tracker
• Periodic screenshot capture (opt-in) for visual activity logging

Install

Requires macOS and Python 3.11+.

pipx install lockin

Setup

# Launch the interactive menu
lockin

# Or use CLI shortcuts
lockin --status          # Check active session
lockin --recap           # Today's productivity report
lockin --recap weekly    # Weekly summary

The interactive menu walks you through everything — creating profiles, starting sessions, configuring settings.

Key concepts

Presets are built-in bundles of sites/apps by category (social, entertainment, news, gaming, communication).

Profiles combine presets with custom sites and apps into a blocking configuration.

Sessions activate a profile for a set duration. Once started, there's no stopping it.

Presets             Profile              Session
─────────           ────────             ────────
social       ─┐     "work"               2h focus
entertainment ┼──>  + slack.com   ────>  96 domains blocked
news         ─┘    + Slack app           3 apps killed

Activity tracking

The menu bar app (lockin-menubar) tracks your activity in the background:

• Detects frontmost app and window title every second
• Extracts browser URLs via the Accessibility API
• Categorizes activity as productive / neutral / distracting
• Stores everything in a local SQLite database
• Optional periodic screenshots saved as compressed JPEGs

View your data anytime with lockin --recap or through the interactive menu.

Tamper protection

Attack	Mitigation
Edit /etc/hosts	Immutable flag; watchdog re-applies
Kill the watchdog	launchd auto-respawns it
Delete session file	Blocks become permanent
Modify session times	HMAC signature invalidates
Reboot	Session persists, daemon has RunAtLoad

Storage

• Config: ~/.config/lockin/config.json
• Activity DB: ~/.config/lockin/activity.db
• Screenshots: ~/.config/lockin/screenshots/
• Sessions: /var/lockin/session.json

License

MIT