The Awayra guide
A better rhythm
starts here.
From your first download to the settings that fit your day. A practical guide to caring for the person behind the screen.
Download for Windows01 / Install & verify
Start with the official download.
- Download Awayra-Setup-x64.exe from the latest official GitHub release. Awayra supports Windows 10 and Windows 11 on x64 computers.
- Run the installer and follow its steps. It installs for your Windows user; administrator access is not required. The required .NET runtime is included.
- Open Awayra from the Start menu. The dashboard shows the next Eye Reset and Move Break.
About publisher warnings. Current installers are unsigned, so Windows may show a SmartScreen or unknown-publisher warning. Download from the official release and compare its SHA-256 checksum before deciding whether to install. A matching checksum verifies the file against the published checksum; it does not replace a publisher signature.
Download the matching checksum. In PowerShell, run the command below for the installer you downloaded and compare the resulting hash.
Get-FileHash .\Awayra-Setup-x64.exe -Algorithm SHA256
When upgrading, your settings, reminder schedules and statistics are preserved by default. The installer offers an explicit option to remove existing data.
02 / Your first break
See how it feels.
Select Eye Reset Now or Move Break Now on the dashboard. The break overlay appears with a countdown and controls. Try it at a convenient moment so you know what to expect.
During an Eye Reset, look at a distant object and blink naturally. During a Move Break, leave the keyboard and move in a way that is comfortable for you. These are reminders and visual guidance, not medical treatment.
03 / Separate timers
Two reminders. Two schedules.
Open Settings → Reminder timers. Eye Reset and Move Break each have their own Enable reminder, Play sound, Interval and Duration. Interval is in minutes; duration is in seconds. Select Save after making changes.
| Reminder | Default interval | Default duration |
|---|---|---|
| Eye Reset | 20 minutes | 20 seconds |
| Move Break | 45 minutes | 60 seconds |
The schedules are independent. You can use one reminder without the other, or give each one a different pace. Screenshots use demonstration settings; they are not the defaults.
04 / Break controls
You stay in control.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Complete | Finish the current break. |
| Skip | Dismiss the current break when skipping is allowed. |
| Snooze | Postpone the current reminder for your configured snooze duration. |
| Muted / Sound on | Change sound for the break that is currently running. |
| Pause | Pause reminders from the dashboard. Resume when you are ready. |
In Behavior and schedule → Reminder actions, choose Allow skip and Allow snooze. Set Snooze to the number of minutes that works for you. The default is five minutes.
There is no automatic app exclusion list. Before a meeting, game or focused session, use the dashboard's Pause control.
05 / Sound
A gentle cue, or a quiet break.
Enable Play sound separately for Eye Reset and Move Break. Under Break sound and exercise, choose one of six locally generated sounds:
- Soft bell, Gentle chime or Calm drop for a short cue.
- Calm piano for a four-note phrase.
- Morning dew or Still water for softer melodies that fade in from silence.
Adjust Volume and Repeat, then select Preview sound to listen. No music file is downloaded by the app.
Sound repeats during the break and stops when the break ends. There is no separate end-only chime in the current version. The overlay mute control changes only the break that is running.
06 / Work hours & idle
Fit reminders to your day.
Work hours
Under Behavior and schedule → Work hours, enable work hours and set a Start and End time. Outside that window, scheduled reminders wait until work hours resume.
Reset after idle
Enable Reset after idle and set Idle after in minutes. After you have been away for that long, the reminder timers reset rather than treating the time away as uninterrupted screen work.
These are optional settings. Choose values that suit your routine and save your changes.
07 / Appearance & motion
Choose the experience you prefer.
Overlay appearance adjusts the frosted background. Choose Solid for a plain background that avoids display capture. Other settings use a temporary capture held only in memory, never saved or uploaded.
Show the guided exercise animation controls whether the exercise illustration appears. Turn it off for a plain countdown. Reduced motion keeps the illustration but removes its movement.
08 / Windows & tray
Keep Awayra close, without clutter.
Under Appearance and Windows → Windows behavior, choose Run at Windows startup, Start minimized and Close dashboard to tray.
When closing to the tray is enabled, closing the dashboard keeps reminders running. Use Awayra's tray icon to reopen the dashboard. Awayra supports multiple monitors and handles Windows lock, sleep and resume events.
The dashboard keeps today's completed eye rests, completed movement breaks, skipped breaks and snoozed breaks visible. These counts stay on your computer.
09 / Troubleshooting
Something not quite right?
No reminder appears
Check that the reminder is enabled and Awayra is not paused. If work hours are enabled, check the current time window. Idle reset and snooze can also change when a reminder is due.
I cannot hear a sound
Check Play sound for the relevant reminder, the app's volume and your Windows audio output. The current overlay may also be muted. Try Preview sound in Settings when no break is running.
Report a bug or suggest an improvement
Open an issue on GitHub. Include your Awayra version, Windows version, what you expected and what happened. A screenshot or steps to reproduce help. Review screenshots and logs for private information before sharing them.
Local files: settings, statistics and logs are stored under %LocalAppData%\Awayra\. The app installs under %LocalAppData%\Programs\Awayra\.