Presence scheduling for developers
Idle Pilot gives developers a scheduled availability indicator for one personal Slack workspace or Microsoft Teams account, independent of laptop activity. Choose the hours when you intend to be reachable for questions and reviews, including time spent thinking away from the keyboard. It manages presence only: it does not run code, answer teammates, track output, or establish that a message was read.
Illustrative situation
Illustrative scenario: design work between code reviews
Consider a developer who implements a change, sketches an approach on paper, then reviews a colleague's pull request. They remain reachable during an agreed overlap window, although typing is intermittent. This scenario is illustrative, not a customer account or a conclusion from developer research.
They set Work Hours around that window with a lunch break. Availability maintenance continues if the laptop sleeps during design work. The developer still reads questions, reviews code personally, and explains when a detailed answer will be delayed.
For unavailable focus time, they pause Work Hours before choosing a workplace status. An active schedule may override a manually selected Away state. At the saved finish time, Idle Pilot stops maintaining availability and the workplace app handles presence normally.
Where a saved availability schedule helps
-
Set a reachable overlap window
Choose when teammates can contact you about reviews, technical questions, or releases. Configure those hours per day. The schedule cannot infer whether coding, meetings, or an incident makes you unavailable.
-
Let thinking time happen away from the keyboard
Reading a design or drawing a data flow does not require continuous input. Cloud scheduling can maintain availability with the laptop closed; your actual work and arrangements for receiving messages remain separate.
-
Pause when focus means being unavailable
Turn Work Hours off when you do not intend to be reachable. Saved hours remain. To choose Away, pause first and set it in the workplace app. Closing Idle Pilot's tab does not stop scheduling.
Set it up for your own account
- Link your own workplace account on desktop Chrome Open Idle Pilot in desktop Google Chrome and choose Slack or Microsoft Teams. Follow the extension steps for your intended account and wait for confirmation. Remove the extension after linking if you wish; it need not run beside your editor.
- Apply your daily availability hours Go to Dashboard → Work Hours → Edit. Select the days, set From and To, and choose Apply to N days. Edit an individual day separately when its hours differ. Review the saved rows and turn on Work Hours for the schedule to run.
- Make the break and zone explicit Enable Lunch break in Edit Work Hours, choose Break start and Break end inside the window, and apply. Reopen Dashboard → Work Hours → Edit and choose the current time-zone button to select the schedule's time zone. Each day supports one same-day window and one optional break, rather than a calendar of arbitrary focus blocks.
- Review status and manage later from mobile Check Dashboard for the intended account, status, and any Re-link warning. After desktop linking, edit hours or pause from your phone. The cloud schedule runs with the computer off; it does not keep local builds or development environments running.
What it does not do
- It does not integrate with a code host, review pull requests, or mark development tasks complete.
- It does not keep a build machine awake, execute scripts, simulate typing, or move your pointer.
- It does not read chat content, measure developer productivity, or acknowledge incident messages.
It fits when
- You want personal availability during defined hours when teammates can actually reach you.
- You alternate between computer work and offline thinking while remaining available for contact.
- You can manage exceptions manually and need only one Slack workspace or Teams account active.
Choose something else when
- You need on-call rotations, incident escalation, or a guarantee that somebody will answer.
- You want presence to change automatically with commits, meetings, reviews, or build results.
- You need several independent focus blocks, overnight shifts, or a local computer kept awake.
FAQ
Can I use this while doing design work away from my laptop?
Yes. After linking, cloud scheduling follows enabled Work Hours with the laptop asleep or off. Choose hours when you intend to remain reachable; it cannot verify what you are doing.
Does Idle Pilot keep my builds or development server running?
No. It maintains Slack or Teams availability, not your computer's power state. Local builds, terminals, and servers have separate requirements; continued presence does not mean a local process continues.
What should I do before an unavailable focus block?
Turn Dashboard → Work Hours off, then choose your workplace status and communicate response expectations. Turn Work Hours back on when reachable. Signing out alone does not pause it.
Can I link Slack for one project and Teams for another?
You can switch, but Freedom Pass maintains one Slack workspace or one Teams account at a time. It does not maintain both simultaneously or schedule automatic switches between projects.
How do I handle a day off?
Pause Work Hours or disable the day, then restore it when returning. Slack-only Vacation Mode checks selected status presets at session start, not continuously. Teams does not have that feature.
Is there a separate developer plan or price?
No. Freedom Pass costs $9 per month or $60 per year for the same individual plan. Both choices cover presence scheduling for one active workplace connection, without code-host integration.
Related guides
Other work situations
Last updated:
