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macOS Focus Filters (Do Not Disturb)

When you turn on a macOS Focus (Do Not Disturb, Work, Sleep, and so on), you can have 2Do automatically hide and mute its own alarm cards, then bring them back the moment the Focus ends. This keeps 2Do's attention-grabbing alarm window quiet during meetings, deep work, or sleep — without changing anything about your alarms themselves.

This is not the in-app "Focus Filter"

2Do has an unrelated feature also called Focus Filter — a Sort Bar toggle that narrows the task list to just what matters right now. That has nothing to do with alarms or with macOS Focus modes. This page is about silencing 2Do's alarm cards during a system Focus. For the task-list view toggle, see Focus Filter.

Add 2Do to a Focus​

This uses Apple's system Focus Filters and requires macOS 13 or later.

  1. Open System Settings > Focus.
  2. Select the Focus you want to affect (for example Do Not Disturb or Work).
  3. Scroll to Focus Filters and click Add Filter.
  4. Choose 2Do from the list of app filters. macOS also offers a suggested 2Do filter automatically.
  5. Turn on Silence 2Do Alarms ("Hide and silence custom 2Do alarm windows while this Focus is active.").

That's all that's needed. The per-Focus filter works on its own — there is no preference to set inside 2Do, and it does not require Focus-status permission, because 2Do simply reacts to the filter that macOS runs.

What Happens While the Focus Is Active​

When a Focus with this filter turns on, 2Do's custom alarm cards are hidden and silenced:

  • The floating alarm stack is hidden.
  • The repeating-sound timer stops.
  • Any alarms that fire while the Focus is active are still recorded — they are simply withheld, not lost.

When the Focus ends, 2Do reveals the alarm stack again, and one deferred sound plays so you know something came in while you were heads-down.

Silence During Any Focus​

If you'd rather not add the filter to every Focus one by one, 2Do can silence its alarms whenever any Focus is active. In 2Do > Settings > Alerts, under 2Do Notifications, turn on Silence custom alarms during any Focus.

The pane sums it up:

When on, 2Do silences its alarms whenever your Mac is in a Focus Mode.

This broad switch is off by default — leave it off if you only want alarms silenced in Focus modes where you've added the 2Do Focus Filter. When you turn it on, 2Do needs Focus-status permission (macOS asks the first time it's used); if that permission is denied, the setting has no effect. The result is the same as the per-Focus filter: alarm cards are hidden and silenced during a Focus, then revealed with one deferred sound when the Focus ends.

note

The per-Focus filter and this "any Focus" switch are two routes to the same behavior:

  • Silence 2Do Alarms filter — the narrow route. Affects only the Focus modes you add it to. No extra permission needed.
  • Silence custom alarms during any Focus — the broad route. Affects every Focus. Needs Focus-status permission.

Use one or the other depending on how selective you want to be.

What It Does Not Change​

Both of these controls affect only 2Do's own custom alarm method — the floating alarm cards. They have no effect on alerts delivered through macOS Notification Center. If you've chosen Notification Center as your notification method in 2Do > Settings > Alerts, macOS's own Focus rules govern whether those notifications are shown, not 2Do.

note

Because this only touches the 2Do alarm cards, it requires the 2Do notification method (Settings > Alerts > Notifications method). Under the Notification Center method there are no 2Do alarm cards to silence, and the Silence custom alarms during any Focus switch appears grayed out.

Tips​

tip

Add Silence 2Do Alarms to your Sleep Focus so overnight alarms don't wake you, but still surface with a single sound the moment your day's Focus turns off.

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