Workrave is an open source, cross-platform and freely distributed graphical application implemented in C++ and designed from the offset to act as a tool to assist you in the prevention and recovery of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).

Workrave has been designed to frequently alert the user to take rest breaks when working for long hours and restricts them to their daily limit. The program runs well on GNU/Linux, BSD and Microsoft Windows operating systems.

This is a distributed software that can run simultaneously on multiple computers, keyboard and mouse usage are reported to a central server that stores all the break information in detail for later analysis. A panel/taskbar applet is also available.

Workrave is without no doubt the number one tool for helping Linux users to recover from Repetitive Strain Injury, as well as to prevent it from happening. It boasts a straightforward and intuitive graphical user interface designed with the GTK+ GUI toolkit.

Once configured properly, the software will send visual notifications to the user to take rest breaks and micro-pauses, restricting them to their daily limit. When opened for the first time, the program will automatically inject itself into the system tray area of your desktop environment.

A minimalist window will be displayed on the screen, which shows three timers. The first timer is set to 3 minutes for resting your hands, the second timer is for tea or coffee breaks, and the third one for your daily limit of work at the computer.

The first timer is set to 3 minutes and helps you to take micro-breaks for about 1 minute, every 3 minutes. The second timer is set by default to 50 minutes and helps you to take rest breaks. The third timer is set y default to four hours and will notify you when your daily limit was reached. All timers are stopped automatically if no mouse or keyboard activity is present.