Make an app
Make a pomodoro focus timer app for iPhone
A pomodoro timer works in blocks: focus for 25 minutes, rest for 5, and take a longer break after four. Describe your own rhythm and Borel builds a native iPhone focus timer in Swift, with a big ring that counts down, a notification when the block ends even if you leave the app, a task per session and a weekly chart.
Updated
“A pomodoro timer: 25 minutes of focus, 5 minutes break, and a 15-minute break after every 4 focus blocks, all adjustable. Before starting I can pick what I'm working on. A ring counts down, a notification tells me when a block ends even if I've left the app, and a chart shows focused minutes per day this week.”
Screens
What a pomodoro timer app needs
The screens Borel builds from the prompt above. Ask for more, fewer or different ones.
Timer
A large ring, the minutes left, the current task and a single start or pause button.
Pick a task
Recent tasks to choose from, or type a new one before the block starts.
Stats
Focused minutes per day and per task, for this week and the last.
Settings
Focus, short break and long break lengths, and how many blocks per round.
Data
What it keeps
Borel writes these as Swift models. On the phone they work with no connection; in Borel's cloud they follow a signed-in person.
| What | Holds | Kept |
|---|---|---|
| Session | Start time, length, task, finished or stopped | On the phone, with SwiftData |
| Task | Name and colour | On the phone, with SwiftData |
| Rhythm | Focus and break lengths, blocks per round | On the phone |
Native iPhone features
What it can use on your iPhone
Written in Swift with Apple's own frameworks, so they work the way iPhone owners expect.
Make it yours
What to ask for next
Once the first version runs, ask for changes in the chat, in words like these.
- “Skip the break with one button when I'm in the flow.”
- “Show a calm full-screen mode with only the minutes.”
- “Let me set a goal of focus blocks per day.”
How to make it
From a prompt to your iPhone and the App Store
- 1
Describe it
Paste the prompt on this page into Borel, or write your own in plain words. Borel plans the screens with you before it builds.
- 2
Try it in your browser
Borel writes the app in Swift and SwiftUI, builds it with Xcode on its own Mac and opens it in a live iPhone simulator in your browser, free.
- 3
Put it on your iPhone
With Pro, Borel Companion for Windows or Mac installs it on your own iPhone with your Apple ID: a cable the first time, then Wi-Fi.
- 4
Publish it when it's ready
Pro publishes to the App Store from the same project. Apple's Developer Program, $99 a year, is the one thing you pay Apple.
Start a block on your iPhone, switch to another app and wait. The end-of-block notification is the feature that matters most, and it only arrives on the real phone. Check it comes on time and that tapping it brings you back to the timer.
Focus timers are a fine first App Store app: simple, private, no accounts. A Pro unlock for more stats or themes can come through In-app purchases when you publish.
Building starts free, with 5 free credits a day, up to 30 a month, and the simulator in your browser costs nothing. Pro, from $20 a month, adds installs on your own iPhone through Borel Companion and publishing to the App Store.
Before you start
Good to know
- It doesn't turn on an iPhone Focus mode or block other apps; it times and records your sessions.
- There's no Live Activity on the lock screen; the end of a block arrives as a notification.
Frequently asked questions
A timer that splits work into focus blocks, usually 25 minutes, with short breaks between and a longer break after four. Borel lets you set your own lengths.
Yes. The app notes when the block started and schedules a notification for its end, so you're told on time either way.
Yes. Ask for a task per session, and Borel saves each one with its minutes and charts them by task.
Yes. The timer, tasks and charts run in the live iPhone simulator in your browser; the notifications need your phone.
Make your pomodoro timer app
Start from the prompt on this page, change it to fit your idea, and Borel builds it while you watch.