Recess

Help.

Activation, moving a license, the trial, a lost key, and what to check when something looks wrong. If this page doesn't settle it, write to a person.

Activate a license

Your key arrives by email from licenses@doomscrolling.sucks right after checkout and looks like DOOM-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. It belongs to the doomscrolling.sucks suite and unlocks every tool in it.

  1. Click the Recess countdown in the menu bar and open Settings.
  2. Go to License, paste the key and click Activate.

Apart from a daily update check (a request for doomscrolling.sucks/recess/latest.json that carries only the app version, and that you can turn off in Settings), activation is the only time Recess talks to the network. It sends the key, a SHA-256 hash of your Mac's hardware UUID (never the UUID itself), the Mac's name as set in System Settings, and the app version, and stores a signed token that is checked offline from then on.

Move a license to another Mac

One license runs on one Mac at a time.

  1. On the old Mac: Settings ▸ License ▸ Deactivate this Mac.
  2. On the new Mac: install Recess, then activate with the same key.

Sold or lost the old Mac before deactivating? Recover your license: the email you get includes a one-time link that frees the license from every Mac.

After the trial

Every feature is free for 14 days. The clock starts the first time the blocking service runs, so reinstalling the app does not reset it.

When the trial ends, blocking continues exactly as configured. Only finishing setup and saving changes in Settings require a license. Letting the trial lapse is not a way out, and it was never meant to be.

Lost key, or lost the Mac it was on

Search your mail for licenses@doomscrolling.sucks first. If the email is gone, recover your license: enter the address you bought with and you get your key again, plus a one-time link that frees the license from every Mac. That covers the sold, lost or wiped Mac case too, no support needed.

If that doesn't work either, write to contact@doomscrolling.sucks from the address you used at purchase. Keep the email once you have it: the key is the only proof of purchase you need.

Troubleshooting

A warning sign next to the countdown, or "daemon is not running"

The blocking service has stopped answering. Run the installer package again: it repairs the service and keeps your configuration, password and trial. The service log is at /Library/Logs/Recess/daemon.log.

A site still loads during focus time

Blocking is per domain and deterministic: every site on your list gets the same treatment. Check in this order.

  1. In Terminal, run /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/recessd status. The Enforcing now: line lists every hostname blocked at this moment. If a site is missing there, it is not in your list.
  2. Run dscacheutil -q host -a name youtube.com (with your site). It must answer 0.0.0.0. If it does, the system-level block is working and the browser is serving leftovers: already-open tabs and warm connections can coast for a moment after a transition. Recess closes tabs on blocked sites every two seconds; if it doesn't, allow Recess under System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Automation for that browser (or Accessibility for browsers without tab scripting, such as Firefox). A fresh private window is always a clean test.
  3. Check the browser isn't using a forced DNS-over-HTTPS resolver (Firefox's "Max Protection", for example). Such browsers never ask the Mac to look names up.
  4. Connected to a VPN? recessd status must say VPN DNS: intercepting VPN resolver. If it says NOT intercepted, the log says why; almost always something else holds port 53 on localhost. Reconnecting the VPN re-triggers the interception.

A subdomain or a platform's video CDN still resolves

ls /etc/resolver must list the blocked domains (the files start with # Recess managed). If the directory is empty, the filtering resolver is not listening, which is the same port-53 question as above.

A blocked app closes but reopens

Expected. It is quit again within about two seconds, every time, until its block ends.

Postponing seems ignored

A postponement applies to the next upcoming break only, and editing the schedule clears pending ones. recessd status lists active postponements.

The setup wizard says the service is not installed

Run the installer package. The app alone cannot write any system state.

"Start at login" fails

It needs the installed copy at /Applications/Recess.app, not a copy run from somewhere else.