Timers and breaks
Configure a sustainable work rhythm in Settings → Timers. The default is a Pomodoro-style cycle: 25 minutes of work, 5-minute short breaks, and a 15-minute long break after 4 breaks.
Set your cycle
| Control | What it changes | Default | Settings UI range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work duration | Focus interval | 25 min | 1–60 min |
| Short break | Standard break | 5 min | 1–30 min |
| Long break | Recovery break | 15 min | 1–60 min |
| Breaks until long | Short breaks before a long break | 4 | 2–10 |
Onboarding offers these presets:
| Preset | Work / short / long | Long-break cadence |
|---|---|---|
| Pomodoro | 25 / 5 / 15 min | 4 cycles |
| Deep work | 50 / 10 / 30 min | 3 cycles |
| Sprints | 15 / 3 / 10 min | 4 cycles |
| Custom | Your values | Your value |
Choose a break surface
Fullscreen is the default: Restier takes over the break surface on every connected display. It also unlocks the theme and custom-background controls described in Appearance, sounds, and shortcuts.
Light uses one smaller break surface on a single display. Select its position—top left, top right, bottom right, bottom left, or center—unless you use GNOME, where the position selector is not shown.
The light surface includes Take Full Break. This upgrades the current light break to the full break surface. It is neither a skip nor a snooze, and it remains available even when your discipline mode hides skip or postpone controls.
Select break discipline
| Mode | Available break actions |
|---|---|
| Relaxed | Skip and postpone/snooze |
| Balanced | Postpone/snooze, but not skip |
| Strict | Neither skip nor postpone/snooze |
These controls have different effects:
- Skip ends the current break.
- Postpone 1 minute and Postpone 5 minutes defer the upcoming break by their named durations.
- Light snooze defers the light-break flow using its configured snooze duration (2 minutes by default); it is distinct from the fixed 1- and 5-minute postpone actions.
- Take Full Break changes the surface only; it does not defer or end the break.
Warn before a break
Turn on Pre-break notification to receive a warning before the break starts. It is enabled by default and warns 25 seconds ahead; choose 1–600 seconds. Cursor badge is enabled by default and adds a visual pre-break cue near the pointer.
Use guided breaks
Guided breaks are enabled by default. Choose the categories Restier may use: Movement, Breathing, Vision, and Posture. Keep Allow suggestions switch enabled to let the break surface offer another suggestion; turn it off to keep the selected suggestion fixed.
For non-timer reminders such as hydration, see Posture and wellness reminders. For an exact list of controls and defaults, see the Settings reference.