walkOS
A dot-matrix character lives in your MacBook notch and reminds you to walk. Your tiny walk buddy.
macOS 13+ / pay once, keep forever / no account needed / built on open-source NotchKit skill
Three moments of your day with walkOS.
You're working. Timer's ticking.
The character sits quietly in your notch. Green. Happy. You don't think about it. 22 minutes until your next walk.
Time's up. The notch expands.
Your buddy is getting antsy. The notch opens itself. Orange means it's time. Tap how long you walked, or snooze if you're busy.
End of day. You actually walked.
Four walks logged. 35 minutes on your feet. 5 out of 7 days walked. That's a good week.
Hover the notch. Go on.
Set it up once. Then forget about it.
Install and configure
Pick how often you want to walk (15 to 120 minutes). Set your work hours. Done.
Work normally
A tiny character lives in your notch, counting down. You keep doing your thing.
Get nudged
When time's up, the notch expands. The character gets sad. You feel something. Go walk.
Tap and reset
Log how long you walked with one tap. Timer resets. Streak grows. Repeat.
Meet your tiny accountability buddy.
Does a lot. Stays out of the way.
Lives in the notch
Content on both sides of the camera. Expands on hover. Collapses when you leave.
Dot-matrix character
Happy when you walk. Fidgety when time's running out. Sad when you ignore it. You'll feel bad. That's the point.
One-tap logging
Tap 5m, 10m, 15m, or 30m. Walk logged. Timer reset. Or start a precise timer.
Days walked this week
Shows how many days you've walked this week (1d to 7d). Resets every Sunday. Aim for 7d. Fresh start, every week.
Work hours
Only nags during your work window. Evenings on the couch? That's your time.
Pause
In a meeting? Pause for 1h, 2h, rest of day, or any custom duration.
Walk Log
Last 30 days. Daily breakdowns. Timestamps. Missed walk tracking.
Sleep aware
Close laptop, walk, come back. Time calculated from the real clock, not a timer.
Dark and light
Toggle themes with a tap. Preference remembered across restarts.
Weekly summary
Sunday 7 PM. Total walks, total time, missed count. One notification.
Menu bar
Walking figure icon. Live countdown. Quick actions. Quit. Always there.
Built on NotchKit
Built on an open-source agent skill. No tracking. No analytics. Everything stays on your Mac.
You'll be up and running in 30 seconds.
Buy and you'll receive the DMG download link via email. Check spam if you don't see it.
Open the DMG. Drag WalkOS.app to Applications.
First launch: Since this is a direct download (not from the App Store), macOS asks you to confirm once. Right-click the app, click Open, click Open again. After that it opens normally.
Set up. Pick your interval, set work hours, and tap "Let's go!" Your character takes it from here.
You're probably wondering...
What's NotchKit? What's a skill?
NotchKit is the open-source foundation WalkOS is built on. It's an agent skill — a reusable capability that AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, etc.) can use to build macOS notch apps. If you're a builder, run npx skills add aishwaryaashok14/notch-kit and tell your agent what to build.
Why $5?
You get a ready-to-use DMG — download, drag to Applications, done. No Xcode, no Terminal, no build steps. WalkOS is built on NotchKit, an open-source agent skill. If you're a developer, you can use NotchKit to build your own notch app from scratch.
Does it work on MacBooks without a notch?
Yes. On non-notch Macs it appears as a floating bar at the top of the screen. Same functionality, slightly different look.
Why does macOS ask me to confirm on first launch?
WalkOS is a direct download, not from the App Store. macOS asks for a one-time confirmation for any app downloaded outside the store. Right-click the app, click Open, click Open again. After that it opens normally every time.
Does it track me or send data anywhere?
No personal data leaves your Mac. Walk data is stored locally in ~/Library/Application Support/WalkOS/. The only network call is a version check to GitHub every few hours (just version numbers, no user data). No analytics. No accounts. The NotchKit skill is open source if you want to verify the architecture.
What happens if I close my laptop while walking?
WalkOS uses wall-clock timestamps, not a running timer. Close your laptop, walk for 20 minutes, open it back up. The duration is calculated correctly from real time, even through sleep.
Will it nag me outside work hours?
No. Set your work hours (e.g., 9 AM to 5 PM) and WalkOS only runs reminders during that window. Outside work hours, the notch shows "zzz" and no missed walks are logged. You can change your interval, work hours, and all settings anytime from the toolbar — takes effect immediately.
What if I miss a walk reminder?
The character gets sad for a few minutes (proportional to your interval). After that, it logs a "missed" walk, resets the timer, and starts fresh. No endless nagging. The missed count shows in your Walk Log as gentle motivation.
How do I quit the app?
Click the walking figure icon in the menu bar and select Quit. Or use the "Hide" button in the notch toolbar to hide the notch while keeping the menu bar icon running. The app shows a confirmation before quitting and cleans up completely — no ghost windows.
How do I restart after quitting?
Open Finder, go to Applications, double-click WalkOS. All your settings and walk history are preserved.
What happens if I miss a walk?
The character gets sad for a few minutes. If you still don't walk, it logs a "missed" and resets the timer automatically. No endless nagging. You can see missed walks in your Walk Log alongside completed ones.
Can I track exact walk duration instead of presets?
Yes. Tap the "..." button next to the presets to enter any custom duration, or use the start/stop timer for precise tracking. The timer works even if your laptop goes to sleep mid-walk.
Can I hide the notch widget without quitting?
Yes. Tap "Hide" in the toolbar. The notch disappears but the menu bar icon stays. The timer keeps running and you can still log walks from the menu bar. Tap the menu bar icon to bring the notch back.
Can I take a day off without messing up my stats?
Yes. Open Pause and tap "Clear this day." It removes all of today's entries — walks and missed — from your log and pauses for the rest of the day. Sunday's weekly summary won't count that day. Good for weekends, holidays, or sick days.
Will it drain my battery?
No. WalkOS uses a lightweight 1-second timer and a small floating panel — the same kind every menu bar app uses. No background syncing, no network polling, no GPU usage. Typical CPU usage is under 0.1%. You won't notice it.
I paid but where's my download?
Check your email — the DMG download link is sent to the email you used at checkout. If you don't see it, check spam. Still nothing? Email aishwaryaashok@gmail.com and we'll sort it out.
How do updates work?
WalkOS checks for new versions in the background. If an update is available, you'll see "Update available" in the menu bar. Click it to open the download page, grab the new DMG, and drag it to Applications to replace the old one. Your settings and walk history are stored separately, so nothing is lost. Updates are free.
I use another notch app (BoringNotch, NotchNook, etc.). Will they conflict?
They might overlap in the notch area since both apps try to draw in the same spot. We'd recommend using one notch app at a time. You can always hide WalkOS from the notch (it keeps running in the menu bar) if you want to use another notch app alongside it.
Can I reset everything and start fresh?
Yes. In the expanded notch, go to Settings (tap the interval in the toolbar) and scroll down to "Reset WalkOS". It clears all data and returns to the setup screen.
Less sitting. More walking. That's it.
$5 once. No subscription. No account. No data leaves your Mac.
Build your own notch app.
WalkOS is built on NotchKit — an open-source agent skill for building macOS notch apps. Install it and tell your AI agent what to build.
npx skills add aishwaryaashok14/notch-kit
40+ agents supported. View on GitHub