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.