[ The problem ]
Every clock app on macOS is the same SwiftUI Text label.
The split-flap boards from old train stations and airport timetables are some of the most viscerally satisfying objects in the world. Nobody had built a serious native Mac version. The half-decent web ports run at 30Hz with janky CSS transforms, the existing Mac apps are abandoned skeumorphic shells from 2014.
Klakboard is the version I wanted to use. A real flip engine that runs at native 60Hz/120Hz, sharp tile typography that scales to fullscreen without compositing artifacts, and the modes you actually want — clock, messages, weather, Pomodoro — without bloat or telemetry.
[ Approach ]
Native Swift + Metal-backed flip engine, not a web view.
The tile flip is the product. I built a custom FlipEngine in Swift that drives each tile's animation independently with sub-frame timing — half the tiles flipping mid-stride looks dramatically more alive than a synced board. The screensaver and Mini-Board reuse the same engine; the desktop widget is a separate App Group target sharing flip state via shared UserDefaults.
Native Liquid Glass settings UI on macOS 26+, falls back gracefully to standard chrome on older systems. Boards mode lets you save messages — type once, watch the flip animation forever ("HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ❤❤❤" is the demo board). The IAP unlocks themes, custom transitions, and weather — the free tier ships a usable clock so the App Store reviewer can't reject for "demo-ware."
[ Product shots ]
[ Stack ]
[ Scope ]
9 days
Solo build sprint
7 modes
Clock · Boards · Weather · Pomodoro · Schedule · Mini · Screensaver
$14.99
Lifetime IAP w/ 7-day trial