A gentle alternative to the Forest app
Forest made a simple idea popular: plant a virtual tree, stay focused, and watch it grow. It's a lovely way to make attention visible, and it has helped many people put their phone down.
AuraGarden starts from a similar feeling and takes it in a different direction: a whole garden that grows from your focus, your habits and your reflections, with nothing that dies when you're interrupted.
Plant your gardenWhat Forest does well
Forest is a focus app for phones. While the timer runs, a tree grows; leaving the app to check something else can make it wither, which is a strong nudge to stay away from distractions. Over time your sessions build a forest, and the company behind it has also funded the planting of real trees.
If what you need most is a firm reason not to touch your phone, that design is effective.
Where AuraGarden is different
AuraGarden is for people who want the same sense of growth with a softer approach, and more than focus.
- Nothing withers. If you stop a session early, you keep what you did. Every 25 minutes of attention counts as a full moment of care for one of your plants.
- Focus is one part of a bigger garden. Your habits are plants too, and your journal reflections change the garden's weather.
- Soundscapes are generated live in your browser: soft rain and wind that can follow your garden's weather.
- Circles let you share a garden with friends or a team, with no rankings or comparisons.
- It runs in any browser, on phone or computer, with no install, and it's free during the beta.
An honest note
AuraGarden doesn't block other apps or lock your phone. If strict blocking is what you need, a dedicated blocker or Forest itself may suit you better. If you'd rather build focus without fear of losing something, AuraGarden is designed for you.
How a focus session works
Choose a plant to keep you company, pick a duration and start. While you focus, you see the plant wake from the mist and unfold. When you finish, the time is saved and your plant receives its water. If you'd rather log a session you already did away from the screen, you can do that too.
Frequently asked questions
- Is AuraGarden made by the creators of Forest?
- No. AuraGarden is an independent project and isn't affiliated with Forest or its creators.
- Does AuraGarden work on my phone?
- Yes. It works in your phone's browser and on computers, with nothing to install. You can add it to your home screen for quick access.
- Do I lose progress if I get interrupted?
- No. You can pause, finish early or save the session, and the time you spent still counts. Nothing in your garden ever shrinks.
Your garden is waiting for its first seed
Free during the beta. No card, no ads.
Create my garden, it's free