🚫 App Blocker for macOS

A lightweight daemon that automatically blocks distracting apps during work hours

✨ What It Does

Automatically blocks WhatsApp and Signal from 9:30 AM to 8:00 PM every day, helping you stay focused during work hours. The blocker:

• ✅ Runs automatically in the background
• ✅ Survives system restarts and sleep
• ✅ Can't be easily bypassed
• ✅ Logs all activity (tracks when apps are blocked/unblocked in /tmp/appblocker.log)
• ✅ Easy to customize or remove

🚀 Quick Install

# 1. Clone or download all files to a folder
# 2. Make scripts executable
chmod +x *.sh

# 3. Install (requires admin password once)
./install_daemon.sh

That's it! The blocker is now active.

📂 Directory Structure

block_apps/
├── README.md                    # This file
├── install_daemon.sh            # 🚀 Run this to install
├── uninstall_daemon.sh          # 🗑️  Run this to remove everything
├── app_blocker_daemon.sh        # 🤖 Main daemon (runs in background)
├── block_apps.sh                # 🚫 Manually block apps
├── unblock_apps.sh              # ✅ Manually unblock apps
└── com.user.appblocker.plist    # ⚙️  macOS launch configuration

📋 Requirements

• macOS 10.12 or later
• WhatsApp and/or Signal installed in /Applications/
• Admin password (only for installation)

🎯 How to Use

Check Status

# Is it running?
launchctl list | grep appblocker

# View activity
tail -f /tmp/appblocker.log

Manual Control

# Block apps immediately
./block_apps.sh

# Unblock apps temporarily
./unblock_apps.sh

# Stop the daemon
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.appblocker.plist

# Start the daemon
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.appblocker.plist

Uninstall Completely

./uninstall_daemon.sh

⚙️ Customization

Command Line Options

The daemon supports these command-line arguments:

# Disable process killing (only moves/hides apps)
app_blocker_daemon.sh --no-kill

# Change check interval (default: 120 seconds)
app_blocker_daemon.sh --interval 300

# Combine options
app_blocker_daemon.sh --no-kill --interval 60

To use custom options with the daemon, edit com.user.appblocker.plist before installing:

<key>ProgramArguments</key>
<array>
    <string>/usr/local/bin/app_blocker_daemon.sh</string>
    <string>--no-kill</string>
    <string>--interval</string>
    <string>300</string>
</array>

Change Schedule

Edit app_blocker_daemon.sh before installing:

# Current schedule (9:30 AM - 8:00 PM)
local start_time=570   # minutes from midnight
local end_time=1200    # minutes from midnight

Quick Reference:

Time	Minutes
7:00 AM	420
8:00 AM	480
9:00 AM	540
9:30 AM	570
5:00 PM	1020
6:00 PM	1080
8:00 PM	1200
10:00 PM	1320

Add More Apps

In app_blocker_daemon.sh, find this section and add your apps:

if should_block; then
    block_app "WhatsApp"
    block_app "Signal"
    block_app "Telegram"  # Add new app
else
    unblock_app "WhatsApp"
    unblock_app "Signal"
    unblock_app "Telegram"  # Remember to unblock too!
fi

🔧 Troubleshooting

Apps Not Blocking?

1. Check if daemon is running:

   launchctl list | grep appblocker

2. Check for errors:

   cat /tmp/appblocker.err
   tail -20 /tmp/appblocker.log

3. Verify apps exist:

   ls /Applications/ | grep -E "WhatsApp|Signal"

Apps Still Blocked After Uninstall?

Manually restore them:

sudo mv ~/.blocked_apps/WhatsApp.app /Applications/
sudo mv ~/.blocked_apps/Signal.app /Applications/

📁 File Locations

Component	Location
Daemon script	/usr/local/bin/app_blocker_daemon.sh
Launch config	~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.appblocker.plist
Blocked apps	~/.blocked_apps/
Activity log	/tmp/appblocker.log
Error log	/tmp/appblocker.err

🛡️ How It Works

The blocker uses a two-layer approach:

1. Moves apps to a hidden folder (~/.blocked_apps) during work hours
2. Kills processes every 120 seconds if they somehow start (optional, enabled by default)

This works within macOS security constraints without disabling System Integrity Protection.

📝 Scripts Included

Script	Purpose
install_daemon.sh	Sets up automatic blocking
uninstall_daemon.sh	Removes everything cleanly
app_blocker_daemon.sh	Main daemon (runs in background)
block_apps.sh	Manually block apps
unblock_apps.sh	Manually unblock apps
com.user.appblocker.plist	macOS launch configuration

💡 Ideas for Enhancement

• 📅 Skip weekends automatically
• 🎯 Different schedules for different days
• 📱 Menu bar app for quick control
• 🔔 Notifications when blocking/unblocking
• 🌐 Block websites too (modify /etc/hosts)

⚠️ Important Notes

• Apps must be in /Applications/ folder
• The daemon checks every 120 seconds (configurable via --interval)
• Process killing is enabled by default (disable with --no-kill)
• All blocked apps are safely stored, never deleted
• Uninstalling restores everything to normal

🤝 Contributing

Feel free to modify for your needs! The code is straightforward bash scripting designed to be easy to understand and customize.

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Quick Start: chmod +x *.sh && ./install_daemon.sh 🚀