Pomofocus Alternative: OBS Overlay + Desktop Widget

Pomofocus is the default recommendation when someone asks what Pomodoro tool to use. Open a browser tab, start the timer. No account, no install, no friction. For a solo session at your desk, it does the job.

Two things break the moment you try to use it on stream: there is no OBS overlay, and there is no desktop app. The timer lives in a browser tab that viewers cannot see. You end up with your Pomodoro session and your stream running as two separate, unconnected things.

Focusdoro is the direct answer to that gap. Same core technique. Adds the OBS overlay, the native desktop widget, streak tracking, and task display.

The Gap Pomofocus Leaves

Pomofocus was built for personal use at a desk. That is its whole design surface: a clean web page with a countdown, a task list, and a session counter. It executes that well.

The problems show up the moment your workflow goes beyond a single browser tab:

• No OBS output. Pomofocus has no browser-source URL you can drop into OBS. Your timer is invisible to your stream audience. You can try screen-capturing the Pomofocus tab, but that breaks the moment you switch windows. It also captures the entire tab, not a clean timer widget.
• No desktop app. Pomofocus lives in a browser tab. Switch to your code editor and the timer is buried behind other windows. Many developers end up ignoring it entirely because checking the remaining time requires a full context switch.
• No streak tracking. Every session on Pomofocus starts fresh. There is no running count of consecutive days, no session history, nothing that tells you whether your focus habits are improving or slipping. Consistency is the whole point of Pomodoro. The tool does not measure it.
• No task display for viewers. Pomofocus has a task list, but it is private. Viewers on a coding stream or study stream see whatever is on your screen. They cannot see what you are working on unless you tell them verbally.

None of this is a criticism. Pomofocus is built for what it is. If you are streaming or working from a desktop environment where you want the timer always visible, you need something else.

Pomofocus vs Focusdoro: Side-by-Side

What Focusdoro Adds That Pomofocus Cannot

The core Pomodoro mechanic (25/5 cycle, task list, session counter) is nearly identical between the two tools. The meaningful differences are in what Focusdoro surfaces outside the browser tab.

• Live OBS overlay. Focusdoro generates a personal overlay URL. Drop it into OBS as a browser source and your timer, current phase (focus or break), and active task appear on stream automatically. No screen capture, no manual updates, no second app. See the OBS Pomodoro setup guide for the full walkthrough.
• Desktop widget that floats above your editor. The Focusdoro desktop widget is a native Tauri app that stays on top of your other windows. Check remaining time without leaving your code editor. Adjust opacity so it sits over your screen without blocking code.
• Streak and history tracking. Focusdoro tracks your current streak, best streak, and session log over time. You can see which days you actually focused versus which ones got eaten by meetings or interruptions. Pomofocus gives you a session counter for the current day. Nothing persists.
• Task display on stream. Set your active task before starting a session and your viewers see it on the overlay. No need to say "I'm working on the dashboard bug" at the start of every Pomodoro. The overlay shows it.

How to Switch from Pomofocus

Switching is four steps and takes under five minutes. You do not need to uninstall anything. Pomofocus is a browser tab, not an installed app.

1. Sign in to focusdoro.app. Use your Google account. Your overlay URL is created automatically on first sign-in.
2. Copy your overlay URL. Click the Overlay URL button in the header. The URL is copied to your clipboard.
3. Add it to OBS as a browser source. Click + in the Sources panel, choose Browser, paste the URL. Set width to 220, height to 140. Add body { background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); margin: 0px auto; overflow: hidden; } in the Custom CSS field to make the background transparent.
4. Start your session on focusdoro.app. Click Start. The overlay in OBS updates in real time. Type your task in the task field before starting and it will appear on stream immediately.

For detailed positioning, sizing, and multi-scene setups, see the complete OBS Pomodoro setup guide.

Who Should Stay on Pomofocus

Pomofocus is the right tool if your situation matches one of these:

• You are trying Pomodoro for the first time. Zero friction, no account, no install. Start a timer in 10 seconds and see if the technique suits you. If it sticks, move to a tool with more features.
• You work on a machine where you cannot install software. A corporate laptop with restrictions, a shared computer, a Chromebook. A browser-only tool is the practical choice in those cases.
• You use Pomofocus as a quick one-off timer. A single session to get through a task, not a daily practice. At that frequency, the overhead of signing into another app is not worth it.

If you run Pomodoro sessions consistently and want OBS overlay output, a native desktop app, or streak tracking, Pomofocus will not cover those cases. It was not designed to.

For more options across stream timer and Pomodoro tools, see the best Pomodoro timers for streamers roundup or the Pomodoro timer for OBS overview. If you are also evaluating StreamElements for your stream timers, the StreamElements vs Focusdoro comparison covers that gap directly. For off-stream developer use cases, the Pomodoro technique for developers guide has more on fitting Pomodoro into a coding workflow.