Cue

Cue is a free macOS app that turns your headphones into a focus switch. Put your AirPods in and your Mac turns on your Focus mode, blocks distracting sites and starts a timer in the notch; take them out and it is break time, with your sites coming back. It runs on macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later and the download is built for Apple Silicon, and it is made for anyone who wants to start and stop focusing without opening yet another app. Most focus tools wait for you to open them, pick a mode and start a session manually. Cue takes the opposite approach: it starts when you put your headphones in and ends when you take them out, so there is nothing to remember. The problem it addresses is the friction between deciding to focus and actually being in a focused state: the small habits of opening an app, choosing a timer length and remembering to stop are exactly the moments where distraction creeps back in. Because triggering focus is tied to a physical action you already perform, putting earbuds in, the switch happens automatically and consistently. Cue also notes that macOS has no public way to set a Focus mode, so it sets up its own shortcuts once and switches Focus for you with no more prompts. The core of Cue is the link between your ears and your Mac. When AirPods are detected in your ears, your Focus mode turns on, distracting sites are blocked and the timer starts. The blocker covers social, video and news lists plus any sites you add yourself; you can paste a comma-separated list and Cue splits it. Apps you list are asked to quit while you focus. Both the blocked sites and the quit apps come back when you take a break. Take your AirPods out and, after a 10-second grace period in case you are only adjusting a bud, Focus turns off and your sites return. The break ends after 15 minutes by default, and you can set it anywhere from 5 to 60 minutes in Settings. AirPods Pro, Max, 3 and 4 are the most precise because they report when they are in your ears, but any Bluetooth headphones work, with other headphones starting the session when they connect. Cue lives in the notch: a small dot and a timer sit next to the camera cutout, and you point at it to open it, tap to pin it, and hover to see your day. There is no Dock icon and no window in the way. On Macs without a cutout, such as the MacBook Air M1, iMac, Mac mini and Mac Studio, Cue draws a floating 190 x 32 pill instead, and the same pill floats at the top of the screen when you are plugged into an external monitor. The notch serves as a compact surface for your session: now playing appears with artwork and play, next and previous controls for whatever is playing, from Spotify to a YouTube tab. Notifications from any app land in the notch instead of the corner and tuck away by themselves. Volume and brightness show in the notch rather than as a big box mid-screen. You can give the notch your own colors by picking from presets such as Peach, Lilac, Mint, Sunset and Aurora, or using Mix, which blends three to five colors you choose into three gradient options so you keep the one you like. Battery information appears when you open your AirPods case, showing each bud's battery with one-tap connect. Small islands cover extras such as keep awake, a caps lock indicator and a nudge to unplug at full charge, and a single switch hides the notch from recordings. Two tiny mascot buddies hang under the notch and react to what you do. They run while you focus, nap on your break, dance when music plays and blush when you point at them. New in version 2.6, outside a focus session the buddies leave the notch and roam your whole screen, walking on windows, climbing their sides, hanging from the menu bar and jumping between them. You can pick one up and throw it or click it to cheer. A loop button sprays 20 to 30 buddies out of the notch, and the power button adds ten more per tap up to 60; tap loop again and they all go home. The skin you pick is worn on screen too, with seventeen outfits free from day one and eleven dance moves that change with each phrase and stay smooth on the beat. The buddies also react to your music, volume, notifications, AirPods and face. When they are on the notch they bob to the volume level, cover their ears when it is loud and squint when it is bright. Cue says two roaming buddies cost no more than the notch alone. Cue's approach is built on three steps and one workaround. First, you put your headphones in and focus starts: your Focus mode turns on, sites get blocked and the timer starts. Second, you take them out and a break starts: after the 10-second grace period Focus turns off and your sites come back, with the break ending after a configurable 5 to 60 minutes. Third, you see your day: today against your goal, your streak and the last seven days all appear in one place. Because macOS provides no public way to set a Focus mode, Cue sets up its own shortcuts once and then switches Focus for you with no more prompts. The app is also deliberately private: there are no accounts and no analytics, and your data stays on your Mac. It sends only feedback you write yourself, an optional update check that is off by default, and two anonymous one-time setup signals (opened, ready). It is written in Swift only and is described as light as a feather. The result is a focus routine that starts with a physical habit rather than a decision. You do not have to remember to open an app or start a timer, and you do not have to remember to stop either, because taking your earbuds out ends the session and returns your blocked sites and quit apps. The notch keeps session information, media controls, notifications and system levels out of the middle of your screen, so nothing is in the way while you work. The optional Face Unlock, for Macs without Touch ID, lets the buddies look at the camera while Cue scans your face and wave a welcome back once you are unlocked; Cue itself notes this is for convenience, not security, since a photo of you could open it. Cue also greets you by name and reminds you to drink water and rest, and you can wear any of the seventeen free skins on the notch. Use cases follow the rhythm of a working day. When you sit down with earbuds in, Cue quietly starts a focus session, blocks the social, video and news sites you listed, quits the apps you asked to quit and begins the timer in the notch. While you work, the notch carries what is playing, incoming notifications and your session timer, so the middle of the screen stays clear. If you need to check something, you can take one bud out; the 10-second grace period covers the case where you are only adjusting, so a quick adjustment does not end the session, and then you settle back in. At break time, sites and apps return for the length you configured. At the end of the day you can open the Today tab to see minutes against your daily goal, your streak, your longest session, sessions today and the last seven days. Cue also supports other headphones: any Bluetooth headphones work and Cue tells them apart, with AirPods starting when in your ears and other headphones when connected. Cue is aimed at Mac users who want to reduce friction around focusing, particularly people who already wear AirPods or other Bluetooth headphones while they work. It requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later and the download is built for Apple Silicon. It is free: there are no ads, no accounts and no paid tiers, and all seventeen buddy outfits are free from day one. Installation involves downloading the DMG, dragging Cue to Applications and completing a one-screen setup; because Cue is a free hobby app and is not notarized by Apple (which requires a paid developer account), macOS asks you to confirm once through Privacy & Security before it opens. During setup you click Start, enter your password once for the site blocking helper, allow Motion, and turn Cue on in Privacy & Security to Accessibility; Full Disk Access is optional and lets you pick your own Focus modes. The app is written in Swift, and the maker describes it as vibe-coded by one person and Claude. A feedback form accepts feature requests, feedback, bug reports and notes, and an optional email list announces new versions. The site is available in English and Vietnamese. In short, Cue turns a pair of headphones into the simplest possible focus switch for the Mac: in means focus, out means break, with site blocking, a notch timer, media and system controls, playful mascots and a private, account-free design. For anyone who wants focus to start on its own rather than from an app they have to remember to open, Cue makes the transition automatic and keeps everything it needs to show you in the notch.