dimdim

A ultra-lightweight break reminder and eye-strain protector for Windows, written in Rust and packaged as an npm CLI.

How it works

dimdim runs in the background and overlays a semi-transparent black screen periodically to remind you to blink and rest your eyes (following the 20-20-20 rule).

• Zero Resource Overhead: Built with native Rust and Win32 APIs (only ~1.2 MB).
• Single Instance Lock: Ensures only one fader runs at a time using a local mutex.
• Auto-run on Startup: Registers itself to run automatically when Windows boots via Task Scheduler.

Installation

Install globally via npm:

npm install -g dimdim

Usage

1. Start the service

Start the background fader. You can customize the interval and fade duration:

# Start with defaults (20 minutes interval, 20 seconds fade)
dimdim start

# Start with custom settings (e.g. 10 minutes interval, 10 seconds fade)
dimdim start --interval 600 --fade 10

Note: This will also automatically register dimdim to run on Windows logon with these exact settings.

2. Check Status

Check if dimdim is currently running in the background:

dimdim status

3. Stop the service

Stop the background fader process:

dimdim stop

Configuration Options (for dimdim start)

| Option | Shorthand | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | --interval <seconds> | -i | 1200 | The time (in seconds) between break screens. | | --fade <seconds> | -f | 20 | How long the screen stays faded. |

License

MIT