Reflex monitors your cognitive load in real time — watching typing rhythm, mouse behavior, and context switching. It learns your patterns, then tells you exactly when to step away. No wearable. No cloud. 100% private.
Watch how Reflex silently monitors your work session, detects overload, and triggers a smart break — all without interrupting your flow.
Every signal Reflex monitors translates directly to mental fatigue. Six data streams, one clear number — and smart breaks when you need them.
A live 0–100 score updated every 5 seconds. Six weighted signals — typing variance, error rate, context switches, mouse jitter, pause frequency, and scroll chaos — are fused into a single number via exponential moving average smoothing.
Reflex spends 15 minutes learning your normal typing and mouse patterns. Scores are always relative to your baseline — not a generic population average.
Lives quietly in your menu bar. One click opens a popover with your live load ring, real-time metric tiles with trend arrows, quick break actions, and a link to the full dashboard.
When overload persists, Reflex triggers a cinematic break sequence: a cursor-following countdown orb → a slide-in notification with snooze/skip options → a fullscreen overlay with a guided 4-4-4 breathing exercise. It knows when to step in — and when to step back.
The full dashboard shows session history with inline charts, a weekly load trend, a 24-hour focus heatmap, and personalized insights. Export all your data to CSV any time you like.
Typing rhythm variance · Backspace error rate · Inter-key pause frequency · Mouse jitter & velocity variance · Scroll chaos (direction reversals) · App context-switch rate. No key content is ever captured — only timing and movement patterns.
Adjust sensitivity from relaxed to aggressive. Set break intervals (10–30 min) and durations (2–10 min). Toggle the breathing exercise, launch at login, and dock visibility. Reflex adapts to your workflow.
No account. No config. No wearable. Just install, grant one permission, and let Reflex work.
Download the DMG. Drag to Applications. Launch Reflex — it lives in your menu bar, never your Dock unless you want it to.
Reflex only needs macOS Accessibility access to observe input event timing globally. One tap in System Settings is all it takes.
Just work normally. In about 15 minutes Reflex has learned your personal typing and mouse rhythms, and starts scoring relative to your baseline — not anyone else's.
When your load climbs and stays elevated, Reflex gently nudges you with a cursor-following countdown, a snooze-able notification, or a full guided breathing break.
Reflex combines behavioral signals that correlate with cognitive fatigue, weighted by their predictive significance.
Erratic inter-keystroke timing is the earliest indicator of mental strain.
Correction rate spikes when working memory is overloaded.
Rapid app switching fragments attention and deepens fatigue.
High velocity variance reflects physical tension and reduced motor control.
Long thinking pauses between keystrokes indicate heavy cognitive processing.
Rapid scroll direction reversals suggest confusion or information overload.
Reflex was designed from the ground up with a simple law: your data never leaves your Mac. No account, no cloud sync, no telemetry — ever.
~/Library/Application Support/Reflex/. You own it — delete it any time.
macOS requires Accessibility permission to monitor input events globally. This is the same permission used by apps like Raycast and Bartender. You can revoke it any time in System Settings.
Reflex is a free, unsigned app — macOS will flag it the first time. Here's exactly what to do.
Click the Download button on this page. The file is Reflex-1.2.1.dmg. It will download to your Downloads folder.
Double-click to open the DMG. Drag Reflex.app to the Applications shortcut in the same window.
Find Reflex in Applications. Right-click it → Open — do NOT just double-click. macOS shows a warning about an unidentified developer.
If macOS still refuses to open it, go to:
Reflex will prompt you to grant Accessibility access. This is the only permission it needs. Click Open System Settings → toggle Reflex on in Privacy & Security → Accessibility.
Reflex appears in your menu bar as a small brain icon showing your current load score. It starts learning your baseline immediately. In about 15 minutes it'll be fully calibrated.
Join the humans who've stopped guessing how tired their brain is.
First time opening? See the installation guide above for macOS security instructions.