Pandan
Time awareness in your menu bar
Pandan shows in the menu bar how long you have been actively using your computer, so you know when it is time to take a break.
Free · Available on macOS
Pandan is instead about gently reminding you how long you’ve been on the computer so you can be aware of that.
Recent Reviews
Keeps me aware!
Just a handy little tool for keeping track of the time spent with your screen (without the bells and whistles) - it’s great!
I love it
It’s very simple but it works. It creates mindfulness of your screen time without being restrictive or punitive. I’ll always know more than an app about whether I should keep working, take a break or finish for the day. Pandan gives me data and awareness so I can use my judgment better.
Fantastic
This is perfect for me. I've tried so many apps for breaking up time at the desk and they're always too intrusive. Thanks for a quality free app
Works Great
I had various home made apple scripts to this job in the past. This works great and pretty much does just what I need. The intellegence feature that works out how long you've been using the computer works really well. A sweet little app that helps my head and eyes from computer over use
It notices when you step away, and it can remind you when it is time.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have a feature request, bug report, or some feedback
Click the feedback button in the app or send it here.
Can you make the history be further back than 120 days?
The history is intentionally limited. Pandan is about time awareness right now, not analyzing past behavior. If you need more stats and graphs, check out the system Screen Time feature.
Can you make the app available on iOS too?
This is unfortunately not possible as iOS does not let an app continuously check whether the user is idle.
How can I play a custom sound as a notification?
Make a shortcut that uses the Play Sound action and then select that shortcut in the Pandan settings.
If you have my Dato app installed (even the free trial), you could use one of the sounds it provides. Find the Get Sound action. Example
How can I show an alert as a notification?
Same as the above, but use the Show Alert action instead.
You could also use the “Flash Screen” action from the Actions app to momentarily flash the screen.
How can I run multiple shortcuts as a notification?
Pandan lets you run a single shortcut as a notification, but a shortcut can run other shortcuts. So make the shortcuts you want to run, make another shortcut that uses the “Run Shortcut” action to run the other shortcuts, and then select this shortcut in Pandan.
Can you support iCloud sync?
No. iCloud sync is unreliable and creates too many support issues, especially for a free app.
How can I use this as an eye-break reminder?
Set Pandan to remind you to take a break. Make a shortcut in the Shortcuts app that uses the “Wait” action and set it to the wanted duration of the break. After this action, you can either add a “Play Sound” or “Show Alert” action to notify you when the break is done. Then select this shortcut in the Pandan settings.
How can I disable Pandan while using certain apps?
You can use the Shortcuts app for this. Make a shortcut that uses the “Set Enabled State” action that Pandan provides. Shortcuts automations can only run when an app opens or quits, so use the Shortery app to run this shortcut when certain apps become active or inactive.
Note that Pandan already disables itself when you are inactive.
How can I show the total active duration today as a countdown?
Get this shortcut (requires the Actions and One Thing apps) and select it in the Pandan settings. The countdown will update every time Pandan shows a notification. If you want the countdown to update more often, use the Shortery app to run the shortcut at an interval.
How can I start a new session from the command-line?
Make a shortcut that uses the New Session action and run that shortcut from the command-line.
TIP
Shortcuts can be a bit slow sometimes. You can use this command to have it not wait for the shortcut to finish running: (&>/dev/null shortcuts run ShortcutName &)
Why is this free without ads?
I just enjoy making apps. Consider leaving a nice review on the App Store.
Scripting
Pandan comes bundled with actions for the built-in Shortcuts app which you can use to automate Pandan.
TIP
You can run shortcuts from the command-line.
Use-cases
- Play custom notification sound
- Use Pandan as an eye break reminder
- Show an alert as a notification
- Flash the screen as a notification by using the “Flash Screen” action from the Actions app
- Show a web page as a notification
- Lock the screen as a notification
- Invert the screen for 20 seconds
- Make the screen gray for 20 seconds
- Show the total active duration today as a countdown
And you can combine these too.
Older Versions
- 1.17.0 for macOS 15+
- 1.16.0 for macOS 14+
- 1.15.0 for macOS 13+
- 1.13.2 for macOS 12+
- 1.9.1 for macOS 11+
Non-App Store Version
A special version for users that cannot access the App Store. It won’t receive automatic updates. I will update it here once a year.
Download (1.18.0)
Requires macOS 26 or later
Get Pandan
Time awareness in your menu bar
Free