Free & open source · macOS, Windows, Linux · v5.2.5

Study smarter.
For how you think.

Every other study app just tells you to "try the Pomodoro technique." This one figures out how your brain actually works first — then builds an infinite, adaptive study path just for you.

Free forever · No sign-up · Works offline

8+
AI-powered tools
100%
offline & private
adaptive study tasks
$0
forever, no catch
3
platforms supported
Ur Study Bro — Focus Mode
Overview
Home
Calendar
Rewards
Study
Focus Mode
Records
Study Kit
AI
AI Tutor
Focus Mode
Stay in the zone — points awarded on completion
Pomodoro 25
Focus 45
Deep Work 60
Marathon 90
18:45
RUNNING
Calculus — Session 2
+10 pts on finish
Pause
Reset
You've got 18 min left — great work.
What's the chain rule?
dy/dx = f'(g(x)) · g'(x)
Built in the open. Used by real students.
This is a solo open-source project. No paid reviews, no fake quotes. If you use it and like it, drop a star on GitHub — it genuinely helps.
Star on GitHub

Features

Everything you actually need. Nothing you don't.

No subscription. No sign-up. No nonsense. I just wanted a study app that worked, so I built one.

Focus Timers

Pomodoro 25, Focus 45, Deep Work 60, Marathon 90. Animated ring, automatic breaks, custom timers, and Study Points on completion.

Focus Guard

Choose which apps are allowed during a session. Open anything else and the app hides it and brings you back — automatically.

Calendar

Month, week, and list views. Add sessions and meetings with video links. 5-minute native notifications. Meeting invites auto-import from email.

Session Records

Log sessions with subject, rating, and notes. Built-in screen recorder and lecture audio transcription. Everything stored locally.

Email Inbox

Connect Gmail, iCloud, or any IMAP account. Class and meeting invites are detected and added to your Calendar in one click.

Study Analytics

Weekly hours, daily streaks, subject breakdown, and peak focus times — calculated automatically from your real session history.

Study Kit

Paste notes and get a summary, flashcards, and practice questions instantly. Export to Anki. Or generate a full personalised study guide from your cognitive profile.

100% Offline & Private

No cloud, no telemetry, no sign-up. Everything lives on your device. Works on a plane, in a library, anywhere — no internet needed.


🔴 New in v5.2

Record your screen. Capture every lecture. Miss nothing.

Built-in screen recorder right inside the app — no third-party software, no export hassle. Hit record, study, stop. Your session is saved locally and linked directly to your notes.

Ur Study Bro — Meeting Records ● REC 00:04:12
Screen Recorder
Record any window or your full display. Pick your source, hit record — everything saves as a video file you can rewatch anytime.
Source
Entire Screen (Display 1) ✓
Notion — Lecture Notes
■ Stop Recording
Discard
Saved Recordings
Calc Lecture — Week 9
Today · 52 min · 1.2 GB
▶ Play
Bio Lab Demo
Yesterday · 28 min · 650 MB
▶ Play
History Seminar Notes
Mon · 41 min · 890 MB
▶ Play

One-click recording

Select your screen or any open window as the source. Press record — that's it. No setup, no extra software. The video is saved locally the moment you stop.

Stored on your device

Every recording stays on your machine — never uploaded, never shared. Browse, play back, or delete from inside the app at any time.

Audio transcription

Record your mic during a lecture and transcribe it using Whisper or Groq. The full transcript drops straight into your session notes — searchable, copyable, shareable.

Linked to your notes

Recordings appear right inside Meeting Records alongside your written notes, ratings, and session metadata — everything for a class in one place.

Any window, any app

Capture your entire display or just one specific window — your slides, browser, Zoom call, whatever you're studying from. Switch sources between sessions.

Private by default

Screen Recording permission is requested once on first launch. The app never runs the recorder in the background and never transmits any video data off your device.


Artificial Intelligence

AI that actually helps you study.

Runs on Ollama by default — fully local, no API key, no internet required. Cloud providers (Gemini, Claude, GPT-4o, Groq) available if you want them.

AI Tutor

Full chat with memory. Switch between Gemini 2.5 Pro, Claude 4, GPT-4o, and Groq. Ask questions without leaving your timer.

Quick Ask Widget

A floating button on every page — get a quick answer mid-session without switching tabs or breaking focus.

Personalised Study Guide

After your cognitive assessment, generate a full subject guide — phases, daily schedule, techniques matched to your learning style, and weekly targets.

AI Writer

Distraction-free editor with 9 AI actions: Improve, Shorten, Expand, Fix Grammar, Simplify, Summarise, Change Tone, Translate, and Cite Source.

AI Tools

Assignment Checker (grade prediction + gap analysis), AI Detector, and Humanizer — paste any text and get results instantly.

Lecture Transcription

Record mic audio during class and transcribe it via Whisper or Groq. The transcript drops directly into your session notes.

Local (default): Ollama — runs 100% on your machine, no API key needed  ·  Cloud: Google Gemini · Anthropic Claude · OpenAI GPT-4o · Groq — free tiers available on all four.


Study Path

A study path that never ends. And never stops evolving.

Add your subjects. The app builds a personalised task path around them — and keeps generating more forever. No cap, no finish line. It gets harder as you improve and shifts focus toward your weakest areas automatically.

🔥 7 day streak
⚡ 470 XP · Scholar30 to next
Lv 5
🌱 Getting Started
Set Your Space
Write Today's Goal
📖
Deep Read Session
START ▶
🧠
Brain Dump
Daily goal: 3 / 5 tasks
2 more tasks to keep your streak alive 🔥

Infinite & subject-specific

Add your actual subjects (e.g. "AP Calculus", "History Essay"). Every task references your real material — not generic study tips. New batches generate automatically as you complete tasks.

Adapts to your weaknesses

The app tracks which task types you complete most and least. Each new batch skews toward your gaps — more memory drills if you avoid them, harder challenges if you breeze through easy tasks.

Growth tab + auto Focus Mode

See your progress: tasks done, XP earned, days active, type breakdown, milestones. Session tasks automatically open Focus Mode — complete the task and your timer starts instantly.


Cognitive Assessment

A learning profile that's actually about you.

Most apps give you the same generic tips. This one runs six mini-tests first and builds your study plan from the results.

Six mini-tests → one honest look at how you study.

Based on the same methods used in real psychology research, but designed to be quick and (genuinely) kind of fun. Takes about 15 minutes. You get a full report at the end — what your attention looks like, how your memory works, how you learn best, and a personalised study blueprint you can actually use.

Sustained Attention
Impulsivity
Working Memory
Learning Style
Cognitive Flexibility
Mental Load

Tap the Target — Focus & Impulse Control

A reaction game: tap when you see the green circle, hold back when you see red. 120 rounds, about 3 minutes. Measures how well you can focus and stop yourself from making mistakes.

Attention Quiz

6 quick questions about how you normally focus — things like "how often do you lose track of what you're doing?" Totally anonymous, no right answers.

Number Memory

Numbers flash on screen one at a time — type them back in order. Gets longer as you go. Then you do it in reverse order (heard aloud). Surprisingly tricky and kind of addictive.

How You Learn

3 everyday scenarios — pick whichever answer feels most like you. Figures out whether you learn best by seeing, listening, reading, or doing. Your study path is built around your result.

Brain Switcher

Sort coloured shapes by a rule that changes every 5 rounds — without warning. Tests how fast your brain can switch gears. Most people find this one harder than it looks.

Stress Check

Three sliders — brain effort, time pressure, frustration. Takes 30 seconds. The app uses your answers to figure out ideal session length (higher stress = shorter, more frequent sessions).

What you actually get when you finish

🧠
ADHD Risk Score
A composite score (0–100) blending commission errors, omission errors, and ASRS responses — with a plain-English explanation of what it means for your studying.
Attention & Executive Function Narrative
A detailed paragraph interpreting your CPT results — reaction time, false alarms, and missed targets — in the context of real-world focus and impulse control.
💾
Working Memory Profile
Forward and backward span scores with an explanation of the gap between them and what it means for how you should structure your revision.
🎨
Learning Style Analysis
Your VARK breakdown with specific study techniques recommended for your dominant modality — not generic advice, but methods matched to how you actually process information.
🔀
Cognitive Flexibility Score
Your switching cost in milliseconds — how much your brain slows down when a rule changes — plus whether that means you should use single-subject or mixed-subject sessions.
📋
Optimal Study Blueprint
Five personalised cards: ideal session length, environment setup, task sequencing strategy, review method, and one specific warning sign to watch for during study.
🗺️
"Make My Study Plan" button
One click turns your full cognitive profile into a 40-task Duolingo-style path, personalised to your scores. XP, streaks, and daily goals keep you on track.

Rewards & Streaks

Points for doing the thing you were going to do anyway.

Every study session earns points. Set your own rewards, keep your streak alive, unlock badges. Turns out gamification actually works.

🔥 14
day streak
3-day streak+25 pts — claimed
7-day streak+50 pts — claimed
14-day streak+100 pts — claimed
30-day streak+200 pts — keep going
30-Day Activity
ActionPoints
Pomodoro 25 min+10 pts
Focus 45 min+18 pts
Deep Work 60 min+24 pts
Marathon 90 min+36 pts
Manual session log (per 5 min)+1 pt
Generate Study Kit+3 pts
Generate Personalised Study Guide+5 pts
Daily login bonus+5 pts
3 / 7 / 14 / 30-day streak milestones+25 / 50 / 100 / 200 pts

100+ Badges

First Step, Pomodoro Pro, Hot Streak, Unstoppable, Flow State, Scholar, Diamond Mind, and way more to unlock.

Custom Rewards

Set any reward you want — "1 hour of gaming", "boba run", "new shoes". Assign a point cost and unlock it when you've earned it.

Wishlist

Enter any real-world item and its price. The app calculates how many points it costs — bigger rewards take more sessions to unlock.

FAQ

Things people usually ask.

I've tried to answer the obvious ones below. If you've got something else, open a GitHub Issue.

Yes — completely free, forever. No subscription, no free trial, no premium tier. The app is MIT-licensed and open source. You can download it, modify it, and use it however you like.
No account required — ever. The app works entirely offline. Your data stays on your device. An internet connection is only needed when you actively use the AI features (which require an API key you control).
By default the app uses Ollama (local, no key needed). Optionally you can switch to Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT-4o, or Groq in Settings — all have free tiers. Your API key never leaves your device.
macOS: Apple Silicon (arm64 DMG), Intel / 2019 and older (x64 DMG), and a Universal build that runs on both.
Windows: One installer that auto-detects your CPU — works on 64-bit (x64), 32-bit (ia32), and ARM64 devices.
Linux: AppImage for x64 (works on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Deepin, UOS, Kylin, and most other distros) · AppImage for ARM64 · pacman package for Arch / Manjaro / EndeavourOS.

A mobile version for iOS and Android is planned. Not sure which Mac you have? Apple menu → About This Mac. "Apple M1/M2/M3/M4" = arm64. "Intel Core" = x64. If you're unsure, grab the Universal DMG — it works on everything.
The six tests are adapted from well-established clinical instruments used in psychoeducational assessments: Digit Span (WISC/WAIS), AX-CPT, Symbol Search, Matrix Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, and Task Switching. The app is an educational tool, not a medical device — results are not a formal diagnosis. For a clinical assessment, consult a licensed psychologist.
Nope. The app uses Ollama by default — a free, local AI that runs entirely on your machine. No API key, no account, no internet needed for AI. Just install Ollama, pull a model (e.g. ollama pull llama3.2), and every AI feature works out of the box. If you want to use a cloud provider (Gemini, Claude, GPT-4o, Groq) you can switch in Settings — but it's completely optional.
Yes! The project is open source under the MIT License. You can open an issue for bug reports or feature requests, or submit a pull request. All contributions are welcome.
There are a few reasons this can happen — find yours below:

❶ "App is damaged and can't be opened" (most common)
macOS quarantines apps not signed with a paid Apple certificate. Fix: open Terminal and run:
xattr -cr "/Applications/Ur Study Bro.app"
Then open the app normally. Alternatively: right-click the app → Open → click Open in the dialog.

❷ "Ur Study Bro was blocked" in System Settings
Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, and click Open Anyway next to the app name.

❸ App bounces in the Dock and closes immediately
You may be on an Intel Mac running the wrong build. Download the x64 (Intel) version from the releases page — it's a separate DMG labelled x64.dmg.

❹ App opens but instantly crashes / blank window
Make sure you're on macOS 11 Big Sur or later. Electron 35 doesn't support older macOS versions.

❺ Nothing happens when you double-click
Make sure you dragged the app out of the DMG into your Applications folder before opening it. Running it from inside the DMG can cause silent failures.
When you start a timer with Focus Guard on, you choose which apps are allowed (e.g. your notes app, a browser). Every 2 seconds, the system checks which app is in the foreground. If it's not on your allowed list, the app hides it at the system level and brings Ur Study Bro back to the front. On macOS, this uses AppleScript to set the app's visibility. You can only disable Focus Guard by resetting the timer — and sessions ended this way don't earn points.

Value

Replaces 6 apps. Costs $0.

These tools all have free tiers — but their paid plans add up fast. Ur Study Bro bundles everything they offer (and more) for free, forever.

Forest / Focus@Will
free · $5/mo paid
Included
📝
Notion / Obsidian
free · $8–16/mo paid
Included
🎴
Anki / Quizlet
free · $8/mo paid
Included
🎙
Otter.ai / Whisper
free · $10/mo paid
Included
🤖
ChatGPT / Gemini
free · $20/mo paid
Included
🧠
Cognitive Assessment
$200–5,000 (clinical)
Included

* Prices shown are paid/premium tiers. Most have free plans with limitations.

If you went paid on all of the above
$43–5,243/mo → $0
Ur Study Bro · Free forever · Open source · MIT license

🆕 New Feature

Study with your squad.

Add friends, chat while you study, brag about your streaks, and set community goals together — all inside the app.

💬

Friend Chat

Add friends by their username and chat in real time. Share what you're studying, send memes, keep each other accountable.

🏆

Achievement Feed

Finished a 90-minute deep work session? Unlocked a badge? It posts to your friend feed automatically. Brag legally.

🎯

Community Goals

Create a group goal — "everyone studies 2 hours today" — and watch the progress bar fill as friends complete sessions.

👥

Friends List

See who's currently in focus mode, their streak, and their XP. Friendly competition makes studying way less boring.


Contact

Get in touch.

This is a solo project — I built it because I needed it. If you find a bug or have an idea, I genuinely want to know.

Report a Bug

Found something broken? Open a GitHub Issue and I'll look into it as soon as I can.

GitHub Issues →

Request a Feature

Have an idea for something that would make the app better? I'd love to hear it.

GitHub Issues →

GitHub Profile

See other projects, follow for updates, or just say hi on GitHub.

@Mr-Pythoneer →

Contribute

The codebase is open — fork the repo, make your change, and send a pull request.

Open a Pull Request →
🐌
Built by one person, for students.
Ur Study Bro is a solo side project. Response times may vary, but every bug report and feature idea is read. If you find the app useful, the best thing you can do is star the repo and tell a friend.
Star on GitHub
Support the Project

Built for free. Kept alive by people who find it useful.

This is a solo open-source project — no ads, no subscriptions, no investor money. If it's saved you time or helped you study better, a coffee goes a long way.

☕ Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi

100% optional — the app is free forever either way.


Free. Open source. No sign-up.

Download v5.2.5 — now with the psychometric cognitive assessment, Duolingo-style study path, and local AI on your device.

No account required · Free forever · v5.2.5