VeilWin: Dim everything, keep only the window you are working on
VeilWin is a window-level dimming and focus tool for macOS and Windows. When enabled, everything on screen fades into the dark except the window you are working on — the desktop, notifications and other app windows all recede into the background.
Attention belongs to the current window only. Intensity, tint, animation and focus scope are all tunable, and you can configure details like “never dim these apps” or “each display focuses its own window”.
How it differs from the system’s focus features
| Aspect | System Do Not Disturb / Focus | VeilWin |
|---|---|---|
| What it controls | Notifications, badges | Visual: dims everything that is not active |
| Scope | Global, cannot distinguish windows | Window level: the focused window stays bright |
| Configurability | Fixed scenarios, few switches | Intensity / tint / rules / profiles / per-display, all tunable |
| Hotkeys | System combos | Global hotkeys + hold-to-reveal desktop |
VeilWin is a visual spotlight: it does not manage notifications, it decides what you see.
Core capabilities
1. Window dimming
When enabled, everything except the focused window is covered by a semi-transparent veil. Tunable:
- Intensity: 0–100%
- Tint: pure black by default, or any RGB color (warm eye-care presets included)
- Animation: smooth 180ms transitions, or disabled
2. Focus modes
- Single window: only the frontmost window stays bright
- Whole app: all windows of the frontmost app stay bright
- Focus limit: keep the last 1–8 windows or apps bright
3. Profiles
Save intensity, tint, animation and focus settings as a profile, and switch with one hotkey — for example a “Day work” profile and a “Night eye care” profile. Profiles can be tagged for light/dark appearance; with “follow system appearance” enabled, the matching profile activates automatically when the system theme changes.
4. App rules
- Never dim: specified apps (media players, system tools) always stay bright
- Pause when frontmost: dimming pauses entirely while this app is in front
5. Multi-display
Each display focuses its own current window; or dim only the displays without focus. Per-display intensity override and profile binding are supported.
6. Global hotkeys
- Toggle dimming
- Step intensity up and down
- Hold a modifier to temporarily reveal the desktop (Fn on macOS, Ctrl+Alt on Windows by default)
- Switch profiles
7. Eye-care automation
- Scheduled on/off (e.g. 22:00 on, 7:00 off)
- Follow the system light/dark appearance and adjust intensity automatically
- 20-20-20 rest rhythm: a reminder every 20 minutes, with optional forced breaks (screen fully dimmed for a few minutes)
Privacy
VeilWin needs Accessibility permission (macOS) to read window bounds and track focus. Everything runs locally; no data leaves your device. No account, no cloud, no window information is ever uploaded.
Free vs Pro
No feature gating: the free tier allows 2 hours of usage per day (resets at midnight), enough for most daily use. Pro is an $8.59 one-time lifetime license with no time limit for up to 5 devices.
Free download · Pricing · Activate Pro
FAQ
How is VeilWin different from the system’s dimming or focus features?
System focus modes manage notifications; VeilWin manages vision. It works at the window level — the focused window stays bright while everything else fades — with app rules, profiles, per-display control and hotkeys. That granularity does not exist in the system.
Why does it need Accessibility permission?
VeilWin must know in real time which window is focused and where its bounds are, so it can keep exactly one window bright. The permission is used locally only; nothing is transmitted.
Which platforms are supported?
macOS 10.15+ and Windows 10+, with identical feature sets on both.
Next steps
- Getting started — download, grant permission, first dim
- Help center — profiles, hotkeys, rules, eye-care automation
- Pricing · Activate Pro
- Settings reference
Questions or feedback: contact@once.work