Focus Lock for Mac
Hide everything on your Mac except the work you picked.
Tick the apps, windows and Chrome tabs you need, then press Start focusing. Everything else stays hidden until you end the session. And to end it, you have to type “I want to stop focusing now”, letter by letter.
Try it here: tick what you need for the task, then press Start focusing.
A drawing of the real app. Nothing on your device is hidden.
Write down an idea: ⌃⌥Space
Return saves it and closes this note. You'll see every idea when the session ends.
Add to this session
Tick what else you need. It stops being hidden, joins ⌘Tab, and opens straight away. Only add what this task needs.
You're in a focus session
Pasting is turned off, so you have to type it.
Session ended
Ideas you wrote down
You didn't write down any ideas this time.
In the demo, as in the app, you can't paste the sentence. You have to type it.
Stopping takes a full sentence, typed by hand.
If ending a session takes one click, you click it without thinking. Focus Lock asks you to type a sentence instead, and pasting doesn't work.
It takes about ten seconds. That's usually long enough to notice you were about to open YouTube in the middle of the work, and press the other button on that screen: Keep focusing, which takes you straight back to what you were doing.
When you do end it, you see how long you focused and every idea you wrote down on the way.
You can always get out
⌥⌘Esc (Force Quit) still works during a session. Force-quit Focus Lock, and the apps it hid come back when you click them in the Dock. Focus Lock doesn't try to stop this, because a focus app you can't leave in an emergency is one you'd stop opening.
Quitting with ⌘Q during a session opens the end screen instead. And if Focus Lock ever crashes, open it again: it turns ⌘Tab back on every time it launches.
What changes while a session is on
Your picks behave as normal. Everything else is out of reach until you type the sentence.
- ⌘Tab
Shows only the things you ticked. macOS's own switcher is turned off until the session ends, so the apps you didn't pick aren't one keypress away.
- ⌃⌥Space
Opens a sticky note on top of whatever you're doing. Type the idea, press Return, keep working. You see all of them when you finish, and each one is saved to a file on your Mac as soon as you press Return.
- A new Chrome tab
It's closed straight away, with a message telling you to write down what you wanted to look up. This works when you ticked single Chrome tabs. If you tick the whole of Chrome, all its tabs stay usable.
- Any other app
If you switch to something you didn't pick, it's hidden again and you're put back where you were. Menu bar apps (the ones with no Dock icon, like screenshot or clipboard tools) are never hidden. Nor is anything on your Always allowed list at the bottom of the setup screen: those apps stay usable in every session without being ticked, and they don't join ⌘Tab.
- The desktop
Behind your windows, on every display, the desktop shows your task in big letters, a running clock, a line to keep you going and a button for each thing you picked. Clicking Focus Lock in the Dock shows the same screen.
- Something you forgot
Press Add an app, window or tab… on the session screen or in the menu bar. What you add stops being hidden, joins ⌘Tab and comes to the front. The session keeps going.
- ⌃⌥E
Opens the screen where you end the session by typing the sentence. From a full-screen app you can also use the lock icon in the menu bar.
Before you download
Focus Lock runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later. You download it from this site, because it can't be on the App Store.
The reason is ⌘Tab. To stop macOS's own switcher from listing every app during a session, Focus Lock turns it off with a private macOS function, the same way the switcher app AltTab does. Apple doesn't allow private functions in App Store apps. The switcher is turned back on when the session ends, and again every time Focus Lock opens, in case it ever crashed.
The first time you open it
- macOS asks you to turn on Accessibility for Focus Lock in System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility. macOS only lets an app hide other windows and change what ⌘Tab does with this on. The setup screen updates by itself once it's on.
- If Chrome is open, macOS asks whether Focus Lock may control Chrome. Say yes and you can pick single tabs. Say no and you can still pick the whole of Chrome.
- You type what you're working on and tick what you need. A search field above the list (⌘F) narrows it down when you have a lot open. Then press Start focusing.
Who shouldn't buy it
If you want a lock you can't get out of, this isn't it. Force Quit always works, and typing the sentence takes about ten seconds. Focus Lock puts a pause in front of giving up. Once you've really decided to stop, it won't fight you.
There are no blocklists and no schedules. You can't set "block Twitter from 9 to 5", and no timer ends the session for you. You pick what you need each time, and everything else is hidden until you stop.
Single tabs only work in Google Chrome. Safari, Arc and Firefox can be picked as a whole app, which keeps every tab in them usable.
And it's for the Mac only, on macOS 14 or later. Nothing for Windows, iPhone or iPad.
Pay once, after trying it for 14 days.
Focus Lock costs US$9.99. Or get it with Rushan's other three paid Mac apps for US$19.99, one key for all four.
All 4 Mac apps
One key unlocks every paid app below on your Mac.
- Focus Lock hides everything except your task
US$9.99 
Tpad trackpad gestures you chooseUS$9.99
ManyMin time per app and site, live on screenUS$9.99
Notch Icons reach icons hidden by the notchUS$9.99
FinderCut ⌘X and ⌘V to move files in FinderFree for everyone- New paid Mac apps released before 31 Dec 2027Included
- Bought one at a timeUS$39.96
Focus Lock on its own
Just this app, on one Mac.
- One licence for one Mac, and you can move it
- All updates for 1 year, then keep what you have
- 14-day free trial with everything on, no card
Two apps bought one at a time cost US$19.98. All four cost US$19.99.
Tax is added where it applies. The checkout page shows the exact total before you pay.
Questions people ask before buying
What happens if Focus Lock crashes in the middle of a session?
Open Focus Lock again. It turns ⌘Tab back on every time it launches. Apps it hid show up again when you click them in the Dock.
Can I get out right away if I really need to?
Yes. ⌥⌘Esc (Force Quit) still works during a session. Force-quit Focus Lock and click any hidden app in the Dock to bring it back. Focus Lock doesn't try to block this.
Can I add something I forgot in the middle of a session?
Yes. Press Add an app, window or tab… on the session screen or in the menu bar. What you add stops being hidden, joins ⌘Tab and comes to the front. You don't have to end the session.
Where are my ideas saved?
In a plain text file on your Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Focus Lock/ideas.md. Each idea is written there as soon as you press Return, so nothing is lost if the app quits. The setup screen shows the ideas from your last session, with buttons to open the file or show it in Finder.
Does it work with Safari, Arc or Firefox?
You can pick any browser as a whole app, and it stays usable while everything else is hidden. Picking single tabs, and closing new tabs, only works in Google Chrome.
Why isn't it on the Mac App Store?
To stop macOS's own ⌘Tab switcher from showing every app, Focus Lock turns it off for the length of a session with a private macOS function, the same way the switcher app AltTab does. Apple doesn't allow private functions in App Store apps, so you download Focus Lock from this site.
Which Macs does it run on?
Macs running macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
How many Macs can I use it on?
One licence is for one Mac. If you get a new Mac, you can move the licence to it.
How does the free trial work?
Download it and use everything for 14 days. You don't need a card or an account. If you buy later and change your mind, email support@manymin.app within 30 days and you get your money back.
Questions first? Email support@manymin.app.