Blinko Support

A menu-bar pixel pet that rests your eyes with you.

Requirements

macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later

Getting started

Launch Blinko. A small pixel pal appears in your menu bar (top right of the screen).
A short intro walks you through your break rhythm and a name for your pal. That is the whole setup.
Keep working. On your chosen interval the screen gently dims and a short break appears, then returns to normal.

To take a break right away, click the pal and choose Take a break now.

What the pal's moods mean

Content - you are resting well.
Break soon - a break is coming up (the pal yawns).
Resting - a break is in progress (eyes closed).
Refreshed - you just finished a break.
A bit sleepy - you have skipped a few; no scolding, the pal just looks tired.

Settings

Click the pal to open the popover, then the gear. You can set the work interval and break length, rename the pal, turn the screen dim on or off, choose gentle break sounds, enable variety eye exercises, and launch Blinko at login. Smart Pause holds a break while a full-screen app is open or while you have stepped away.

Troubleshooting

I can't find Blinko after launching it

Blinko has no Dock icon and no main window by design. Look for the small cream pixel character near the right end of the menu bar. If the menu bar is crowded it may be hidden behind other menu-bar items.

A break didn't appear when I expected one

Smart Pause holds a break while a full-screen app is frontmost or while you have been away from the keyboard, and tries again shortly after. To test a break right now, click the pal and choose "Take a break now," or lower the work interval to 1 minute in Settings.

"Launch at login" didn't stick

This works in the App Store build. In an unsigned local build macOS may not keep the setting; install the App Store version and toggle it again.

How do I replay the intro?

Open Settings and choose "Replay intro."

Contact

Need help or have a feature request? Email support@hedgielabs.com.