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

1. Starting — Create the Xcode project
2. Timer UI — Build the circular timer display
3. Countdown — Implement countdown logic
4. Sessions — Track focus and break sessions
5. Notifications — Alert when the timer finishes
6. Your Phone — Run it on your device
7. Next — Where to go from here

Start building.

Exercises

1. Confirm your setup: open the App Store, verify Xcode is installed, and check that the same Apple ID is signed in on both your Mac and iPhone.
2. Write a one-sentence description of how you would use a Pomodoro timer — your real use case will help you make better design decisions in later steps.
3. List the five features above in priority order for your own needs; you'll build them in sequence, but knowing what matters most to you sharpens your prompts.