Building Aion: A Context-Aware Auto-Quit Manager for macOS

Description and use

Aion — конный менеджер автовыключения для macOS, который проверяет, является ли приложение действительно неактивным перед его закрытием. Защищает загрузки, воспроизведение медиа, использование микрофона и камеры, несохранённую работу и локальную автоматизацию. Поддерживает пер­­­­е­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Problem

Apps left open after their work is done, where a timer alone is not enough because an app that looks idle may still be downloading a file, playing audio, or keeping a call alive.

Outcome

Aion solves the problem of apps left open after their work is done by checking whether an app is truly idle before quitting it, protecting downloads, media playback, microphone and camera use, unsaved work, and local automation, with per-app timeouts and context-specific rules configurable.

Workflow

• Set per-app timeouts and different rules for work, meetings, and personal time
• Aion checks whether an app is truly idle before quitting it
• Protected activities (downloads, media playback, microphone and camera use, unsaved work, local automation) are recognized and preserved
• The reason an app was protected is made visible to the user

Evidence

I built Aion to solve a small but persistent Mac problem: apps left open after their work is done. A timer alone is not enough — an app that looks idle may still be downloading a file, playing audio, or keeping a call alive.

Source

Aion checks whether an app is truly idle before quitting it. It protects downloads, media playback, microphone and camera use, unsaved work, and local automation.

Source

You can set per-app timeouts and different rules for work, meetings, and personal time.

Source

The checks run locally on your Mac; app activity history is not uploaded.

Source

Aion is for macOS 14+ (Intel and Apple Silicon), with a free tier and a one-time Pro purchase. It is also available on Setapp.

Source