NOTE: Sane Break works best with X11 and KDE Wayland. It works on GNOME but less optimal. It also works on other Wayland compositors with wlr layer shell and idle notify protocols support. The Flatpak version does not support locking screen or pausing breaks when specific programs are running.
Sane Break is a cross-platform break reminder designed to help you take meaningful breaks without disrupting your workflow. It allows you to take ownership of when to stop and break, and aims to strike a balance between respecting your workflow and ensuring you take the breaks you need. Specifically, Sane Break uses a two-phase system:
- Phase 1: A small, unobtrusive reminder that encourages you to find a good stopping point.
- Phase 2: The reminder grows to full screen during the actual break.
Transition to phase 2 happens when you stop working on your computer, or when you ignore the reminder and keep working for too long.
Screenshots
Observed history
| App | Change | Version | When ↓ |
|---|---|---|---|
| updated | 0.10.6 | 2 Oct 2026 |
Upstream releases
Release notes supplied by the developer. These dates are not Flathub package publication times.
0.10.61 Oct 2026
Features
- pause on screen lock
Other improvements
- mark GNOME 51 as supported
0.10.526 Aug 2026
Bug fixes
- Bound invalid settings from file
- Honor pause requests during postpone
- Guard idle signals before the first break phase
- Preserve Wayland idleness across listener switches
Other improvements
- No heads-up blinking to distinguish from breaks
0.10.41 Aug 2026
Bug fixes
- Fix multi-display window placement on GNOME
- Fix treating inhibitors as activity at post-break
0.10.326 Jul 2026
Features
- Add/remove break windows on display change
- Reduce friction for postpone, meeting, and focus
- Treat idle inhibitors as user activity
- Case insensitive program monitoring
Bug fixes
- Fix auto start failure on Flatpak