Question 1

What is BentoBoard, in one line?

Accepted Answer

One screen with your timer, tasks, habits and music on it, and Bo, a little ghost who floats over whatever you are working on and keeps an eye on your day. You lock in, everything you need stays in reach, and you never leave your work to check on any of it.

Question 2

Who is Bo?

Accepted Answer

Your desk buddy, free for everyone. He lives in the corner of your screen, above your other apps. His face becomes your focus timer, he rings when a task starts, counts you down to your next event, gets thirsty when you have not had water in a while, and offers a quick review when flashcards are due. Hover him for your timer, music and what is next; click him to switch how the board shows up. Rather not have him around? Turn him off in Settings.

Question 3

Why not just keep a browser tab open?

Accepted Answer

Because a tab is somewhere you have to go. Every time you switch windows to look at a timer you pay to get back into what you were doing, and that toll is what turns three hours at the desk into one hour of work. Bo sits on top of your work instead, with the time on his face and your cards a hover away, so a glance costs you nothing. With Pro, any of your blocks can float there too.

Question 4

Is this just another Notion?

Accepted Answer

No, and it is not trying to be. Notion is a second brain you build and then maintain. BentoBoard is a surface you glance at: timer, tasks, habits and music already laid out, usable in five minutes, no setup weekend. If you keep a wiki, keep it. This is the thing that stays open on top of it.

Question 5

What do I actually get for free?

Accepted Answer

The whole study loop. Up to 6 blocks, the pomodoro timer, tasks, habit tracking, your Pulse score, the music player, themes, stickers and aesthetic exports, and Bo with everything he does, including the focus check for the apps you work in. On Windows, macOS and the web. Free forever, not a trial, and no card to find out.

Question 6

What does Pro change?

Accepted Answer

Pro is where BentoBoard stops being a window you open and becomes the thing that stays with you. Phantom mode is Pro: any of your blocks floating on top of whatever you are doing, switched on from Bo without leaving the document. That is the part nothing else on your machine does. Under it you also get unlimited blocks and boards, work websites for Bo's focus check, Bo's screen colours, cloud sync so the same setup opens on every device you own, Google and iCloud calendar sync, the full focus stats and streak analytics behind your Pulse score, flashcards with no 20 card cap, the YouTube player, Notion and native notifications. Cancel whenever.

Question 7

Does Bo's focus check watch my screen?

Accepted Answer

No. It is off until you switch it on, and it only runs during a focus session you start. Even then it looks at one thing: which app is in front, and, if you have listed work websites, the address of your browser's current tab. That check happens on your computer. Nothing is recorded, saved or sent anywhere, it never sees what is on your screen, and it blocks nothing: if you wander off, Bo just gives you a look. macOS asks your permission before he can read a browser's tab.

Question 8

Will Bo slow my computer down?

Accepted Answer

No. He is built to be light: his body is drawn once and kept as a picture, and only the dots of his face are redrawn as he moves, a few milliseconds at a time. He sits in a small window of his own and leaves the rest of your screen alone.

Question 9

Will I spend more time decorating this than studying?

Accepted Answer

The default board works out of the box without touching a single setting, so you can be studying inside five minutes and customise later if you feel like it. Dynamic mode also re-sorts your blocks by what is actually urgent, so the board keeps itself in order instead of asking you to.

Question 10

Where does my data live?

Accepted Answer

On your machine. BentoBoard is local first: your board is stored on your own device by default and nothing is uploaded unless you turn on cloud sync, which is a Pro feature. On the desktop app you can work with no internet connection at all.

Question 11

Do I need an account?

Accepted Answer

Not for the desktop app. Download it and start, no sign up. The web version gives you the full board for 15 minutes before asking for a free account, which is what lets us keep your work between sessions.

Question 12

What happens to my board if I stop paying for Pro?

Accepted Answer

Nothing is deleted. Your board stays on your device and stays readable. You drop back to the free limits, 6 blocks on one board and no cloud sync, and everything above that is still there waiting if you come back.

Question 13

Is there a mobile app?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. iOS is in progress and we are not going to put a fake date on it. BentoBoard is built for the screen you actually study in front of, which is the one your work is already open on.

Question 14

Windows and macOS both, really?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Both are native desktop builds from the same codebase, shipped together on every release, currently v1.3. Not a browser tab in a wrapper. Bo lives on both; his focus check is macOS only for now, with Windows on the way.

The aesthetic study dashboard