Stay focused with the Pomodoro technique — but when it's time for a break, a cat takes over your screen.
A productivity timer that actually makes you take breaks. After every focus session, a real cat video appears full-screen in your editor — chroma-keyed for a clean look, with sound you can toggle. Because looking at code 8 hours straight is bad for your eyes, and looking at cats is universally good for your soul.
✨ Features
🍅 Classic Pomodoro — 25 min work / 5 min break / 15 min long break (every 4 sessions)
🐱 Cat takeover — full-screen cat video during every break
🧠 Smart mode (default) — auto-pauses when you're idle or away from VS Code
⏰ 30-second warning before break with snooze option
🔊 Audio toggle — sound on/off, with autoplay fallback
🧘 Auto Zen Mode — distraction-free break (sidebar hidden)
🌐 Bilingual — English (default) + Bahasa Indonesia
⌨️ Keyboard shortcuts — Ctrl/Cmd + Alt + P to toggle, Ctrl/Cmd + Alt + S to skip
🎯 Zero setup — install, click start, done
🚀 Quick Start
Install the extension
Click the 🍅 Cat Pomodoro in the status bar (bottom right) — or press Cmd+Alt+P (Mac) / Ctrl+Alt+P (Win/Linux)
Code for 25 minutes
Cat appears for 5 minutes
Repeat
That's it.
🎬 How it looks
Status bar (work session)
Break panel
🍅 1/4 23:45 — session 1 of 4, 23:45 left
Full-screen cat with countdown + skip button
Every 4th break is a long break (15 minutes). The cat works overtime.
⌨️ Commands & Shortcuts
Action
Shortcut
Command
Start / Stop
Cmd+Alt+P / Ctrl+Alt+P
Cat Pomodoro: Start Timer
Skip phase
Cmd+Alt+S / Ctrl+Alt+S
Cat Pomodoro: Skip to Next Phase
Test cat break
—
Cat Pomodoro: Test Cat Break (3s)
Stop completely
—
Cat Pomodoro: Stop Timer
⚙️ Settings
All settings are under catPomodoro.* in VS Code Settings.
Timing
Setting
Default
Description
workMinutes
25
Work session length
breakMinutes
5
Short break length
longBreakMinutes
15
Long break length
sessionsBeforeLongBreak
4
Sessions before long break
autoStartNext
true
Auto-cycle work ↔ break
startOnLaunch
false
Start timer on VS Code startup
Smart mode
Setting
Default
Description
mode
smart
smart (idle pause + warning) or strict (always run)
idleSeconds
180
Pause after this many idle seconds
warnSecondsBeforeBreak
30
Warning before break (0 = off)
snoozeMinutes
5
Snooze duration
Break experience
Setting
Default
Description
audioMuted
false
Default audio state (toggle still available during break)
audioVolume
0.7
Volume (0.0 - 1.0)
zenModeOnBreak
true
Auto-enable Zen Mode during break
Display
Setting
Default
Description
language
en
en or id
showNotifications
true
Show transition notifications
🧠 Smart vs Strict mode
Smart (default):
Pauses when VS Code loses focus or you're idle for 3 minutes
Resumes automatically when you come back
Shows a 30-second warning before break with a Snooze button
Best for real-world coding (meetings, lunches, reading docs)
Strict:
Timer runs no matter what
Break panel pops the moment work session ends
Best for true Pomodoro discipline
Switch in Settings → catPomodoro.mode.
🐛 Known limits
Audio autoplay: browsers block unmuted autoplay. First break starts muted with an "🔊 Click to enable sound" banner — click once and audio works for the session.
Zen Mode toggle: if you were already in Zen Mode when a break starts, the extension's toggle exits it. Edge case; we recommend zenModeOnBreak: false if you live in Zen Mode.
🤝 Contributing / Issues
Found a bug or want a feature? Reach out to the publisher.
📜 License
MIT License — bundled with the extension.
Built with ❤️ for everyone whose eyes hurt from screens. Take breaks. Pet cats.
