🍅 Terminal Pomodoro Timer - Focus Booster for Developers

A beautiful terminal-based Pomodoro timer with visual progress bars and sound notifications.

Features

• 🎨 Animated progress bars with bordered design
• 🔔 Sound notifications for session transitions
• ⏯️ Pause/resume functionality
• 🕒 Configurable durations for work/break sessions
• ⌨️ Keyboard controls during operation

💡 Why I Created This Tool

After trying countless Pomodoro apps with distracting interfaces, premium paywalls, or complex setups, I built this lightweight PowerShell solution to solve three key problems:

1. Minimalist Workflow
   ⌨️ No GUI distractions - just pure terminal focus
   💻 Works instantly in any Windows environment
   🚫 No installations or dependencies required

2. Zero-Cost Productivity
   🆓 100% free (no "Pro version" nonsense)
   🔓 Full control over your timer settings
   📝 No registration or tracking

3. Deep Work Optimized
   🔕 Runs silently in your existing terminal
   ⏱️ Visual countdown keeps you accountable
   🔄 Seamless pause/resume for interruptions

"What makes this special is how it disappears into your workflow while actively improving your focus." - Developer testimonial

🧠 The Science Behind It

This implementation follows core Pomodoro technique principles:

• ✅ 25-minute focused work sprints (adjustable)
• ✅ 5-minute mental breaks (adjustable)
• ✅ Audible cues for state transitions
• ✅ Strict no-multitasking enforcement

Studies show the Pomodoro method can:

• ↑ Increase focus duration by 120-200%
• ↓ Reduce context-switching fatigue
• ↑ Improve task completion rates

🏆 Key Benefits

Feature	Advantage
Terminal-native	No alt-tabbing to check timers
Customizable	Adapt to your personal rhythm
Tactile	Keyboard-controlled for flow state
Portable	Runs from USB or cloud drives

🛠️ How It Helps You Focus

1. Eliminates Decision Fatigue
   The timer dictates your work/break rhythm automatically

2. Creates Urgency
   Visual countdown prevents procrastination

3. Structured Breaks
   Enforces proper rest periods to maintain peak cognition

Try it for just 3 sessions and you'll notice:

• Fewer unintended social media checks
• More consistent coding flow
• Clearer task completion awareness

🚀 Basic Usage

Run the timer:

.\PomodoroTimer.ps1

Available Commands:

Command	Action	Shortcut Key
work	Start 25-minute work session	-
break	Start 5-minute break	-
-	Pause timer	P
-	Resume timer	R
exit	Quit the application	E

⚙️ Customization

1. Changing Time Durations

Edit these values in the script:

# Work duration in seconds (default: 25 minutes)
$workDuration = 25 * 60

# Break duration in seconds (default: 5 minutes)
$breakDuration = 5 * 60

2. Customizing Sounds

Option A: Use System Sounds Replace these lines to use different system sounds:

$soundWorkEnd = [System.Media.SystemSounds]::Exclamation  # Try ::Beep, ::Hand, etc.
$soundBreakEnd = [System.Media.SystemSounds]::Asterisk

Option B: Use Custom WAV Files

1. Add these lines to the script:

$soundWorkEnd = New-Object System.Media.SoundPlayer "C:\path\to\work_sound.wav"
$soundBreakEnd = New-Object System.Media.SoundPlayer "C:\path\to\break_sound.wav"

2. Download WAV files (recommended from Freesound.org)

Recommended Sound Pairs:

Purpose	Example 1	Example 2
Work Start	Gentle Chime	Soft Beep
Work End	Alarm Buzzer	Bell Ring

🛠️ Troubleshooting

If you get execution errors, run:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process

📊 Example Session

pomodoro> work
Starting work session for 25 minutes...
WORK TIME remaining: 24:59  # Counts down every second
[Press P] 
Timer paused. Press 'R' to resume or 'E' to exit.
[Press R]
Timer resumed.
...
Work session completed! Time for a break.

📜 License

MIT License - Free for personal and commercial use

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Made with ❤️ for Windows users | JustDuyen