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My ADHD vs. the AlarmKit API

Under the hood of Apple's latest framework ⏰

Jacob Bartlett

Jul 28

∙

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It’s no exaggeration to say that alarms run my life.

Without setting alarms for literally everything, I would be reduced to a gibbering, suppurating, boneless puddle that barely qualifies as a human being. My wife would also leave me*.

*she told me to add this

But, wielding my alarms (and a little “confidence”), I’m a 10x superhuman capable of delivering at a Series A startup, raising 2 small children, and growing a nascent blogging business.

So imagine my excitement when Apple announced at WWDC 2025 that they are going to expose system functionality to us mere mortals, enabling us to create timers and alarms of our own accord!

Today, we’re going to look at the new AlarmKit API:

First, we’ll learn how AlarmKit works under the hood.
Next, we’ll understand how to use it:
- Authorisation
- Scheduling alarms
- Customising alarm UI and sounds
Finally, we’re going to build the new CEO of my life: my new, open-source ADHDAlarms app, even more convenient and powerful than the system Clock app. I’m talking:
- Daily alarms (standup, taking meds)
- Weekly alarms (putting the bins out, cat flea medicine)
- Spammy alarms (really annoying tasks you’re putting off, like shaving, or returning a bin to B&Q because it’s the wrong shape. Right, so not to get into it but ChatGPT explained to me that a curved edge is ideal for preventing the bag ripping when taking the bins out, which is by far my biggest pain point, but my wife had already bought the rectangle bin because it’s the same one we had before, and I got quite distracted before I could tell her not to, but now we can’t find the receipt and so now we just have a mildly expensive bin in the hallway that we don’t want and can’t return)

Sorry, what were we talking about again?

Right on. AlarmKit.

This post is pretty long, so it may be cut off in some email clients. Read the full article uninterrupted, on my website.

Read on my website

Live Activity stuff and Dynamic Island malarkey are huge rabbit holes, so I will cover them another time, where I can give Widgets and ActivityKit the love they deserve.

On with the show.

How AlarmKit works under the hood

If you’ve ever suffered from sleep paralysis, AlarmKit is largely powered by the same thing under the hood: Daemons.

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