App Timer (Parental Control)

Control apps usage time with a command line application.

The python daemon will watch for the apps runtime (with ps) and store timing information about it's usage. It can block (kill) an app if the usage is off limits.

I'm using this at a raspberry pi gaming station to enforce usage limits.

Config

how often should the script check for apps runtime?

check-interval: 1

timers: list of apps that will be watched

timers: # the app name (list key) gaming: # list of the app executables apps: - retroarch - minecraft # how many minutes of usage time-limit: 60 # within how many hours of interval limit-interval: 12

Installation

There's a systemd service file ready for use.

cp ./timer.service /etc/systemd/system/app-timer.service systemctl enable app-timer

Update this file to point ExecStart into your setup folder.