I built PomoWatch — a minimal Pomodoro timer for the desktop.

Features:

• Work, short break, and long break timers


• Configurable session durations and cycle count


• Start, pause, and reset controls


• Completed session counter


• Multi themes

Install on Ubuntu:

wget https://github.com/S-Dawn/PomoWatch/releases/download/v0.1.0-1/pomowatch_0.1.0-1_all.deb

sudo apt install ./pomowatch_0.1.0-1_all.deb

pomowatch

Or run from source with uv:

uv run main.py

Beyond the app itself, the repo is also a practical reference for two things that often feel abstract until you work through them hands-on:

Debian packaging — the project includes a full debian/ directory with a working dpkg-buildpackage setup. It covers control files, install rules, changelogs, and how to produce a distributable .deb that installs cleanly via apt.

Docker containerisation of a desktop GUI — the included Dockerfile demonstrates how to run a Tkinter app inside a container by forwarding X11 from the host, including display and audio device passthrough. A useful pattern if you have ever wondered how to containerise GUI apps on Linux.

Both are documented in the README and BUILD_DEB.md if you want to follow along or adapt them to your own projects.

Source code:

👉 https://github.com/S-Dawn/PomoWatch

Open source. Contributions and feedback are welcome.

productivity #opensource #pomodoro #linux #debian #docker #packaging #developers