Why I’m Building a Dopamine Tracker

[Lomanu4]

In early 2025, I realized something uncomfortable: I was spending hours every day switching between tabs, endlessly scrolling, and jumping between distractions — and I didn’t even realize how often it was happening.

Like many developers and students, I use a computer all day. But I noticed a pattern of compulsive behavior that wasn’t productive. I wasn’t just “working online.” I was switching contexts 50+ times an hour — email, YouTube, Reddit, docs, social media, GitHub… repeat.

The idea


I wanted to understand my dopamine loops — those invisible triggers and habits that push me to seek micro-hits of pleasure instead of focusing on deep work.

That’s why I started building Dopamine Tracker — a minimal, privacy-focused tool that:

• tracks online behavior via a browser extension,
• stores it in a Supabase backend,
• and visualizes patterns through a React dashboard.

It’s not about guilt or blocking websites — it’s about insight and agency.

What it does (so far)


Right now, the extension logs:

• Active tab time
• App switches and focus changes
• Time-of-day usage
• Top “dopamine drivers” (based on frequency + context)

Everything is stored locally in local storage as for the alpha stage.

Why build it in public?


I’m sharing this journey to:

• document the technical process (React, Supabase, browser APIs),
• reflect on design choices and architecture,
• connect with others working on similar problems.

If you’ve ever found yourself working but not really working — this project might speak to you.

What’s next


In the coming weeks, I’ll share devlogs on:

• implementing dopamine tracking and scoring algorithms
• designing the extension UI,
• building the analytics dashboard,

Thanks for following along. Let’s see where this goes.

Stay mindful, stay focused.

— Pietrell

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