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@bashbunni
Created January 4, 2023 16:28
CLI Pomodoro for Linux
# study stream aliases
# Requires https://github.com/caarlos0/timer to be installed. spd-say should ship with your distro
declare -A pomo_options
pomo_options["work"]="45"
pomo_options["break"]="10"
pomodoro () {
if [ -n "$1" -a -n "${pomo_options["$1"]}" ]; then
val=$1
echo $val | lolcat
timer ${pomo_options["$val"]}m
spd-say "'$val' session done"
fi
}
alias wo="pomodoro 'work'"
alias br="pomodoro 'break'"
@brianbert
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Hey! Can someone please explain how exactly to run it?

If you have zsh you have to find your .zshrc file in your home directory, open it with a text editor and paste the code at the bottom.

@bbazsi41
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Thank you. Yes, this is what I did, I copied the code at the bottom of it, saved it and closed it.
But if I wanted to run 'work' or 'break' I got the error message: command not found.

@brianbert
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Thank you. Yes, this is what I did, I copied the code at the bottom of it, saved it and closed it. But if I wanted to run 'work' or 'break' I got the error message: command not found.

did you try running it with wo and br ?

@bbazsi41
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bbazsi41 commented Jan 28, 2023

Yes, but unfortunately I got the same errors:
zsh: command not found: wo
zsh: command not found: br

@brianbert
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Yes, but unfortunately I got the same errors: zsh: command not found: wo zsh: command not found: br

Things you can try:

  1. Close your terminal and open it again, as the changes may not take effect until the terminal is restarted.
  2. Ensure that you have installed all necessary dependencies, such as timer, lolcat, and spd-say.
  3. Verify that the code you pasted is complete.
  4. Restart your system to see if that resolves the issue.
  5. Reinstall zsh and paste the code again.
  6. Realize that you were using Windows all along.
  7. Fall into despair and cry in the shower.
  8. Someone in the future will help you by posting the solution here. (happy ending)

@bbazsi41
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Except the last 3 points I did everyhing and now it is working with 'wo' and 'br'.
Thank you for your help!

@AIMadeScripts
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AIMadeScripts commented Jan 29, 2023

Use with:
./timer.sh work 10
./timer.sh break 10
Will be set in minutes.

Quick install instructions for debian:

sudo apt-get install lolcat
echo 'deb [trusted=yes] https://repo.caarlos0.dev/apt/ /' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/caarlos0.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install timer

#!/bin/bash

clear

declare -A pomo_options
pomo_options["work"]="45"
pomo_options["break"]="10"

pomodoro () {
  if [ -n "$1" -a -n "${pomo_options["$1"]}" ]; then
    val=$1
    if [ -z "$2" ]; then
      minutes=${pomo_options["$val"]}
    else
      minutes=$2
    fi
    echo $val | lolcat
    timer $minutes"m"
    spd-say "'$val' session done"
  else
    echo "Usage: pomodoro <work|break> [minutes]"
  fi
}

if [ "$1" == "work" ]; then
  pomodoro "work" "$2"
elif [ "$1" == "break" ]; then
  pomodoro "break" "$2"
else
  echo "Usage: ./timer.sh <work|break> [minutes]"
fi

#Make sure to install https://github.com/caarlos0/timer
#And make sure to have lolcat installed```

@cornuel
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cornuel commented Jan 31, 2023

So simple yet very useful, thank you! 💪🏻

@hglbrg
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hglbrg commented Feb 14, 2023

I added some artificial intelligense neural network framework library laser surgery hack scripting hackerman logic to this:

# study stream aliases
# Requires https://github.com/caarlos0/timer to be installed. spd-say should ship with your distro

declare -A pomo_options
pomo_options["work"]="45"
pomo_options["break"]="10"

pomodoro () {
  if [ -n "$1" -a -n "${pomo_options["$1"]}" ]; then
  val=$1
  clear
  echo $val | lolcat
  timer ${pomo_options["$val"]}m
  spd-say "'$val' session done"
  fi
}

alias wo="pomodoro 'work'"
alias br="pomodoro 'break'"

which improves it by 405.33 (repeating of course) %

@paolojulian
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This is quite good.

Also, a suggestion of mine is that it would be nice if we can add like a "TODO" list along with it.

@Fonseca004
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How can i add this to my timer, i.e. where should i place this file?

@rosscondie
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I modified the script a bit just to adjust the duration and added a custom .wav that you could replace with whatever you wanted.

repo is here

Not sure if this was the best way to go about it all so if I have done anything in a long winded way I would love some feedback.

@OpenSourceLasagna
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OpenSourceLasagna commented Jun 8, 2025

I made an adjusted version, so you do not have to restart the timer manually and after 4 iterations a longer break is set - and you get notifications :)

pomodoro() {
  typeset -A pomo_options

  pomo_options["work"]=${1:-25}
  pomo_options["break"]=${2:-5}
  pomo_options["long_break"]=${3:-15}

  local current_phase="work"
  if [[ "$1" == "break" ]]; then
    current_phase="break"
  fi

  local pomodoro_count=0

  trap - INT

  while true; do
    local duration_key
    local notification_title
    local notification_text
    local notification_speaker

    if [[ "$current_phase" == "work" ]]; then
      pomodoro_count=$((pomodoro_count + 1))
      duration_key="work"
      notification_title="🍅 Session done"
      notification_text="It is now time to take a <b>BREAK</b>!"
      notification_speaker="Break time"
    else
      if (( (pomodoro_count % 4) == 0 && pomodoro_count > 0 )); then
        echo "Taking a LONG BREAK!" | lolcat
        duration_key="long_break"
      else
        duration_key="break"
      fi
      notification_title="🧘 Break over"
      notification_text="Time to get back to <b>WORK</b>"
      notification_speaker="Work time"
    fi

    echo "$current_phase" | lolcat
    timer ${pomo_options["$duration_key"]}m
    local timer_exit_status=$?

    if [[ "$timer_exit_status" -ne 0 ]]; then
      echo "Pomodoro stopped."
      break
    fi

    notify-send -u normal -t 3000 -i alarm "$notification_title" "$notification_text"
    spd-say -t male3 -r -10 -p -100 "$notification_speaker"

    if [[ "$current_phase" == "work" ]]; then
      current_phase="break"
    else
      current_phase="work"
    fi
  done
  exit
}

alias pomo="pomodoro"
alias wo="pomodoro"
alias br="pomodoro break"

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