walkOS
A dot-matrix character lives in your MacBook notch and reminds you to walk. Your tiny walk buddy.
macOS 13+ / No subscription / No account / Open source
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. Five-day streak intact. Not bad for someone who forgets they have legs.
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.
Walk streaks
Consecutive days with walks. Shows in the notch. Don't break the chain.
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.
Open source
Full source on GitHub. No tracking. No analytics. Everything stays on your Mac.
You'll be up and running in 30 seconds.
Download the DMG from the link above (or build from source via GitHub).
Open the DMG. Drag WalkOS.app to Applications.
First launch: macOS may warn about an unidentified developer. Right-click the app, click Open, click Open again. One-time step.
Set up. Pick your interval, set work hours, and tap "Let's go!" Your character takes it from here.
You're probably wondering...
Why $4.99 if the source code is free on GitHub?
The $4.99 buys you a ready-to-use DMG. No Xcode, no Terminal, no build steps. Download, drag to Applications, done. If you're comfortable building from source, the full code is on GitHub for free.
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 say "unidentified developer"?
WalkOS is distributed outside the App Store without an Apple Developer certificate. This is normal for open-source Mac apps. Right-click the app, click Open, click Open again. One-time step, then it opens normally forever.
Does it track me or send data anywhere?
No. Zero network calls. No analytics. No accounts. Your walk data is stored locally in ~/Library/Application Support/WalkOS/ and never leaves your Mac. The source code is public if you want to verify.
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.
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.
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.
Go on. Your legs are waiting.
$4.99 once. No subscription. No account. No data leaves your Mac. Just you and your walking buddy.