2 min read
FocusTimer
An iOS Pomodoro timer app with circular countdown and session tracking.
Platform note: This project requires macOS, Xcode, and an iPhone. Windows users: check out the web projects (LinkPreview, Weather, Portfolio, Playground) for cross-platform alternatives.
What You’re Building
A focused iPhone app that:
- Shows a circular countdown timer with an animated ring
- Lets you set focus and break durations
- Automatically switches between focus and break sessions
- Tracks completed sessions
- Sends a notification when the timer finishes
By the end, you’ll have a real app on your phone.
Why This Project
Pomodoro timers are one of the most useful productivity tools — and building one teaches you how apps handle real-time updates. This project covers:
- SwiftUI animations (circular progress)
- Timer and state management
- Local notifications
- Running on a real device
Different from HabitTracker. Less about lists and persistence, more about real-time UI updates and animations.
Before You Start
Make sure you have:
- Xcode installed (from the App Store)
- An iPhone with iOS 17+
- Same Apple ID signed in on Mac and iPhone
- Claude Code running
You don’t need an Apple Developer account to run on your own device.
The Steps
- Starting — Create the Xcode project
- Timer UI — Build the circular timer display
- Countdown — Implement countdown logic
- Sessions — Track focus and break sessions
- Notifications — Alert when the timer finishes
- Your Phone — Run it on your device
- Next — Where to go from here