Install on Windows

Blink Blink runs on Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit). It lives in the tray, so breaks keep coming after you close the window.

Download

Most people want the installer. The zip is the same app in a folder, for when you'd rather not install anything.

Version 0.1.0. Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. The app isn't code-signed yet, so Windows may show a warning the first time: what to do. All hashes: SHA256SUMS.txt.

Install

With the installer

1. Open the setup file from your Downloads folder.
2. If Windows shows "Windows protected your PC", choose More info, then Run anyway. Why this appears.
3. Choose whether you want a desktop shortcut, then Install. It installs just for your account, in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Blink Blink, so it doesn't ask for an admin password.
4. Leave Launch Blink Blink ticked and choose Finish.

You'll find Blink Blink in the Start menu afterwards.

With the zip

1. Right-click the zip, choose Extract All, and put the Blink Blink folder somewhere you'll keep, for example C:\Users\you\Apps.
2. Open blink_blink.exe in that folder. Keep every file in the folder together: the app needs them.
3. If Windows shows "Windows protected your PC", see below.

"Windows protected your PC"

Blink Blink isn't code-signed yet. Windows SmartScreen doesn't recognise apps without a signature, so the first time you open it you may see a blue box saying "Windows protected your PC". This is a warning that the publisher is unknown, not a virus finding.

1. Choose More info.
2. Check the app name starts with BlinkBlink or is blink_blink.exe.
3. Choose Run anyway. You only need to do this once per download.

To make sure your file is the one we published, compare its SHA-256 hash with the one in the download section. In PowerShell:

Get-FileHash "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\BlinkBlink-*" -Algorithm SHA256

First run

1. A short onboarding explains the disclaimer, how breaks work and the squeeze step.
2. The last step offers "Open in the tray when I sign in". Say yes if you want breaks from the moment you sign in.
3. Blink Blink starts counting your active time. Your first eye break comes after 20 minutes at the computer.

The tray

Close the window and Blink Blink keeps running in the notification area. Left-click the cat to open the app. Right-click for the menu:

• A status line: "Next break in N min", "Break in progress", "Paused" or "Paused until HH:MM"
• Take a break now
• Pause 30 min, Pause 1 hour, Pause until tomorrow
• Resume (while paused)
• Open Blink Blink
• Quit, the only way to stop it completely

The tray icon changes while reminders are paused. If you can't see the cat, it may be in the hidden icons: click the ^ arrow next to the clock.

Start with Windows

Turn on Start with Windows in Settings (or "Open in the tray when I sign in" during onboarding) and Blink Blink opens quietly in the tray when you sign in. It adds a "Blink Blink" entry to your startup apps. You can also turn it off in Windows Settings › Apps › Startup.

How breaks show up on Windows

• Ten seconds before a break, a small pill appears: "Eye break in 10 s" or "Rest break in 10 s", with Postpone (5 minutes). If you're typing, it waits for you, by up to a minute.
• A minute before a rest break, a notice gives you a heads-up with the same Postpone.
• The break covers the screen. Extra monitors are dimmed.
• While a fullscreen app, presentation mode, a fullscreen game or video, or a call (another app using the microphone or camera) is active, a due break waits, then comes 2 minutes after it ends.

See How it works for the details.

Updating

Download the new version from this site and install it over the old one. The installer closes Blink Blink if it's running and replaces the app. Your settings and break history are stored separately, so they carry over.

Using the zip? Quit from the tray, replace the contents of your Blink Blink folder with the new ones, and open it again.

Uninstall

If you used the installer

Open Windows Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find Blink Blink, and choose Uninstall. The uninstaller closes the app and removes its "Start with Windows" entry.

If you used the zip

1. Turn off Start with Windows in Settings, so no startup entry is left behind.
2. Quit from the tray.
3. Delete the Blink Blink folder.

Either way, your settings and history stay in %APPDATA%\com.blinkblink\blink_blink, so a reinstall picks up where you left off. Delete that folder to remove them too.