Core Cooldown
Your body is not
a productivity tool.
A portable break timer for Windows that reminds you to rest.
No installer. No account. No telemetry. No cost.
Rest is not
a luxury.
Repetitive strain injury and eye strain are not personal failings. They are the predictable result of systems that treat human attention as an extractable resource. Core Cooldown exists to serve you - not a subscription model, not an analytics dashboard, not a corporate wellness KPI.
Collects nothing
No analytics, no telemetry, no usage tracking. Your break habits are your own business.
Costs nothing
Not "free tier with limitations." Free, unconditionally, for everyone.
Requires nothing
No account, no email, no app store, no internet. It answers to you alone.
Owns nothing
CC0 - the most complete relinquishment of rights possible. The code belongs to the commons.
Powerful features designed
for your wellbeing.
Guided breaks that actually help.
Full-screen overlay with animated breathing exercises, 71 curated break activities, and a pulsing visual guide. Five breathing patterns - Box, Relaxing, Energizing, Calm, and Deep.
Track your progress, build the habit.
Daily summaries, compliance rate, streak tracking, and a 7-day history chart. Set break goals, celebrate milestones with confetti, and export everything - stored locally.
Your rules, your way.
18 grouped configuration cards covering timers, breaks, sounds, working hours, idle detection, and more. Every aspect of your break routine is adjustable. Live preview as you change settings.
Classic Pomodoro, fully integrated.
Full Pomodoro timer with alternating short and long breaks. Track your cycle progress, configure how many short breaks before each long break, set independent durations, and optionally reset cycles when skipping.
The 20-20-20 rule, built in.
Independent eye-rest reminders between your main breaks. A subtle, non-blocking overlay appears with activity suggestions - and automatically pauses during your regular breaks.
Knows when you're busy or away.
Automatically pauses when you step away, credits natural breaks toward your daily goals, and defers prompts when it detects presentations, video calls, or fullscreen apps.
Compact, always-visible timer.
A tiny 200×50px floating overlay that stays on screen without getting in the way. Click-through when idle, draggable on hover, double-click to return to the full window.
A gentle nudge, not a wall.
Gradually dims your screen before a break starts, giving you time to wrap up. Configurable timing and intensity - a smooth fade instead of an abrupt interruption.
One file. Zero footprint.
A single standalone .exe - no installer, no registry entries, no telemetry, no internet required. Runs from a USB stick, stores data next to itself, and delete the folder to uninstall completely.
Built for everyone.
WCAG 2.2 Level AAA compliant with 42 fixes across 18 components. 7:1 contrast ratios, full WAI-ARIA 1.2 implementation, 44px minimum touch targets, skip navigation, Windows High Contrast support, and reduced motion respect.
Control it from anywhere.
System-wide keyboard shortcuts work even when the window is hidden. The dynamic tray icon renders a real-time progress arc, and the context menu gives quick access to every action.
Make it yours.
UI zoom from 50-200% with live preview, a full HSL color picker for accent and break ring colors, Google Fonts integration for the countdown display, and animated gradient blob backgrounds.
See it in action.
Everything else
you'd expect.
Configurable Timers
Work sessions from 5–120 min, breaks from 1–60 min. Pre-break warnings, snooze, strict mode.
Pomodoro Mode
Built-in Pomodoro timer alternates short breaks with longer recovery periods.
Microbreaks (20-20-20)
Quick eye rest reminders. Every 20 min, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Smart Idle Detection
Pauses when you step away, resumes on return. Natural breaks count toward goals.
Presentation Mode
Detects fullscreen apps and defers breaks until you exit.
Mini Mode
Compact floating timer, click-through until hovered. Always visible when you need it.
Screen Dimming
Gradual pre-break dimming with configurable timing and intensity.
WCAG 2.2 AAA
7:1 contrast ratios, full keyboard navigation, WAI-ARIA 1.2 screen reader support, high contrast, and reduced motion.
Three steps.
Nothing else.
Download
Grab the single core-cooldown.exe file. 22 MB. No installer needed.
Drop & Run
Put it anywhere. Run it. Config and data live right next to the exe.
Rest
It reminds you to take breaks. That's it. Your body will thank you.
Built to be
invisible.
A Rust-native backend with a reactive Svelte frontend. Everything runs locally. All config and data live next to the exe - no registry, no AppData, no hidden folders.
Drop it in a folder.
Run it. Rest.
Tools for human wellbeing should never be enclosed, never be scarce, and never serve a master other than the person using them.