Break Timer
A full-screen countdown overlay built for presentations and focused work sessions. Choose from a solid color, two-color gradient, or frosted glass background — then add a circular progress ring, custom title, and a sound alert so you and your audience always know exactly when the break ends.
Getting Started
How to enable
- Click the ProToys icon in the menu bar and choose Open ProToys…
- Select Break Timer from the sidebar under Screen Tools.
- Toggle the switch to enable the module.
Starting a countdown
Press ⌥⌘B to start the timer. The full-screen overlay appears immediately with your countdown running. Press the same shortcut again — or press Esc — to dismiss it at any time.
Break Timer is designed to be triggered and dismissed entirely by keyboard — you never need to reach for the mouse during a presentation.
Background Styles
Open ProToys Settings → Break Timer → Appearance and use the Background style picker to choose how the overlay looks behind the countdown.
| Style | Description |
|---|---|
| Solid Color | A flat fill using your chosen background color and opacity. Clean and distraction-free. |
| Gradient | A smooth vertical transition from a start color to an end color. Great for a polished, modern look. |
| Frosted Glass | A live blur of whatever is behind the window — the same translucent effect used throughout macOS. Your desktop stays subtly visible through the overlay. |
In Frosted Glass mode the background opacity and color controls are hidden because the blur material defines the look.
Progress Ring
When Show progress ring is enabled, a large circular arc surrounds the countdown digits. The ring fills clockwise as time elapses, giving a quick visual read of how far through the break you are without needing to read the numbers.
The ring always scales larger than the countdown digits — at any text size the digits sit comfortably inside the arc. Toggle it off in Settings if you prefer a cleaner overlay.
Customization
Title text
The overlay shows a title above the countdown. It defaults to "Break Time" but you can change it to anything — "Back in 5 minutes", your name, or a custom message for your audience.
Colors
Click any color swatch in Settings to open the native macOS color picker with a full color wheel. You can also type or paste a hex code directly into the #RRGGBB field next to the swatch and press Enter to apply it instantly.
Text size
The Timer text size slider scales the countdown digits from 0.6× to 2×. The progress ring and title scale with it automatically.
Timer Options
Duration
Set the countdown length from 1 to 180 minutes using the stepper in Settings. The default is 5 minutes.
Auto-dismiss
When Auto-dismiss when done is on, the overlay closes automatically the moment the countdown reaches 00:00. When it is off, the overlay stays visible showing 00:00 until you dismiss it manually — useful if you want the audience to see that the break has ended.
Sound alert
When Play sound when done is on, a brief chime plays the instant the countdown hits zero. The sound comes from macOS and does not require any additional files.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Start / stop break timer | ⌥⌘B |
| Dismiss overlay early | Esc |
Settings Reference
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Duration | Countdown length in minutes (1–180). Default: 5. |
| Auto-dismiss when done | Closes the overlay automatically when the countdown reaches 00:00. |
| Play sound when done | Plays a macOS chime at the end of the countdown. |
| Title text | The heading shown above the digits. Default: "Break Time". |
| Background style | Solid Color, Gradient, or Frosted Glass. |
| Background opacity | Transparency of the overlay (not available in Frosted Glass mode). |
| Background color | Fill color for Solid Color mode; start color for Gradient mode. |
| Gradient end | End color of the vertical gradient (Gradient mode only). |
| Text color | Color of the title, countdown digits, and hint text. |
| Timer text size | Scale multiplier for the countdown digits (0.6×–2×). Default: 1×. |
| Show progress ring | Displays a circular arc around the digits that fills as time elapses. |