Show HN: AlarmK – a mission alarm for iPhone, built on iOS 26's AlarmKit

Rings through Silent and Focus — it runs on iOS 26 AlarmKit. Eight missions (QR, math, squats) end only when you're out of bed. No ads, no in-app purchases.

The morning before an exam, the first day at a new job, a 6 AM flight — some mornings you simply can't sleep through.

AlarmK is a mission-based wake-up alarm built on iOS 26 AlarmKit. Because it uses system-level alarms, it rings through Silent and Focus modes. To dismiss it, you complete a mission — scan a QR code by your bathroom door, solve a math problem, or shake the phone — something that actually requires you to be out of bed.

▶ Why AlarmK

- AlarmKit-based system alarms: same permission model as Apple's Clock app, rings through Silent and Focus

- Mission wake-up: QR/barcode, math, memory, typing, shake, squats, walk, photo — 8 missions (chain up to 5, with a practice mode)

- Deny the system alarm permission and AlarmK won't save an alarm it can't ring — it says why and takes you to Settings

- Wake Report: 7-day wake patterns, mission success rate, streaks

▶ Critical Mode for the mornings that matter

An eight-item night-before checklist: AlarmKit permission, iPhone charging, Silent mode, Focus mode, a saved QR/barcode for this alarm, Apple Watch pairing, a Clock-app backup alarm, and notification permission. iOS gives apps no way to read the ringer switch, and AlarmK doesn't read your Focus status, so those two rows tell you how tomorrow's alarm will be delivered instead. The Clock backup is yours to make — AlarmK never creates one; tick that row once you have. The reliability score appears every time you open the checklist, counting only the rows that settled on a clear pass or fail, your Clock-backup tick included. Anything not ready says so on the spot.

▶ Live Activity & Dynamic Island

As the alarm gets close, a countdown appears on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. When it fires, tap the secondary button to jump straight into your mission. The same countdown appears in the Apple Watch Smart Stack.

▶ Widgets · Siri · Shift work

- Home and Lock Screen widgets show your next alarm and countdown

- Siri & Shortcuts: set alarms, check the next one, start a nap timer, skip an occurrence — without opening the app

- Shift rotations (N days on / M days off), optional Korean public-holiday skip, and a fixed-instant option for dated alarms

- An optional bedtime reminder and the wake check guard both ends of the night

▶ iCloud sync

Your alarm definitions sync via your own iCloud (private database). Switch iPhones and your alarms come with you. Your alarm data is never sent to our servers, and we can't see it.

▶ Honest about the limits

- A phone that's powered off, has 0% battery, or has alarm permissions denied — no alarm app can wake you. AlarmK focuses on flagging those risks before they bite.

- If the system alarm permission is denied, AlarmK refuses to save or switch on a new alarm rather than let it fail quietly at 6 AM. Alarms saved before the permission was turned off keep trying as notifications — with the ringer switch on Silent they may make no sound, and a Lock Screen card tells you where you stand.

▶ Privacy

- Camera and motion permissions are used only during missions

- QR scans are verified on-device, never transmitted

- No third-party analytics — no Google Analytics, no Facebook SDK

- QR secrets sync end-to-end encrypted in your iCloud Keychain (device-only if you turn iCloud Keychain off)

▶ FAQ

Q. What is AlarmKit?

A. The system alarm API Apple introduced in iOS 26. Uses the same permission model as the Clock app, so it rings through Silent and Focus.

Q. What happens if I turn off iCloud?

A. Alarms work only on this device and won't sync to your other devices.

Q. My alarm didn't fire.

A. First check that the system alarm permission, notification permission, and notification sound are all on. Opening the Critical Mode checklist reviews those plus battery and charging, Silent mode and Focus, and points at whatever isn't ready.

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Support: https://alarmk.com/help

I want to say that I really like this app. It has successfully gotten me out of bed most days. However, I feel like there are some possible bugs. My alarms always go off 30 minutes early, and makes me do all the missions. I may have a setting toggled but I search the entire app and couldn’t find anyway to change this. Lastly sometimes it doesn’t make me do all the missions. Other than that, it works great for me.

Best Alarm app ever!!

barbie darb

This app is so easy to use! I’ve had it for the past few months and there hasn’t been one day I’ve struggled to get out of bed. It makes waking up so much easier! Highly recommend!

Developer Response

Thank you so much for the wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear that AlarmK has made waking up easier and helped you get out of bed consistently. Knowing that it has made a real difference to your mornings means a lot to us. Thank you for recommending AlarmK!

Missing feature

Dylan tumpek

App does not show up in the app list which allows AlarmK to breakthrough when focus mode is activated

Developer Response

Thanks for reporting this — you were right, and it's fixed in 1.2.0.On iOS 26 we scheduled alarms through AlarmKit and never requested notificationpermission, so AlarmK stayed unlisted in Settings › Notifications — and the Focus"Allowed Notifications › Apps" picker reads that same list. Alarms did still ringthrough Focus, but you had no way to see or control that, which is a fair thing tocall missing.The app now registers for notifications so it appears in that list, and there's abanner in the alarm list for anyone who set the app up before the change.Sorry for the confusion. If it still misbehaves after updating, our support addressis on the product page and we read everything that comes in.

END AI SLOP!!!!

🖤📱 the #amazing ISFP 📓🖤

AI slop app. What are you gonna say to that, AI responding to everyone’s reviews? How about you reply to this with an explanation as to why AI is bad for you! Come on… chop chop…

Developer Response

Fair point 😅 This is the developer speaking.AlarmK is built and maintained by me, a solo developer. I do use AI as a tool — especially to help with English since it’s not my first language — but I personally read every review and make all decisions about the app.Thanks for the feedback. And yes, I appreciate the irony of replying to this one. 😅

This update started with a report: a 7:00 alarm ringing at 6:30, with no way to switch that off. You can now choose the early alerts yourself, and we tidied up the behavior around them.

Critical Mode early alerts

● Settings › Behavior › Critical Mode early alerts lets you pick 30 and 10 minutes before, 10 minutes only, or off. Until now both always rang, and the only way to stop them was to turn Critical Mode off entirely.

● The Critical Mode text in the alarm editor now states what it actually schedules: the evening prep reminder, the early alerts, and the re-ring if the alarm is never stopped. There is a link straight to the setting.

Evening prep reminder

● The night-before reminder rang as an alarm. It now arrives as a quiet notification, carrying tomorrow's alarm time, the mission, and what to check.

● You can choose when it arrives: off, 8 PM, 9 PM, or 10 PM.

● Tapping it opens the night-before checklist instead of the ringing screen.

Early alerts and Stop

● Pressing Stop on an early alert opened the mission screen, and finishing that mission could also switch off the alarm itself for that morning. This affected specific-date and quick alarms. Stop on an early alert now stops only that early alert.

● The wake check went through the same path. It now just records the check.

● Alarms scheduled before this update keep the behavior they were scheduled with. If you have any, a one-time notice appears at the top of the list, and Apply now re-registers them.

Language

● The title and buttons on the Lock Screen alarm alert appeared in English regardless of the device language.

● Siri phrases were missing in French, German, Portuguese, and Japanese.

● Wording was revised across the app.

Everything else

● The app could quit if the Report tab was selected while the tab bar was set to the glass pill.

● Built and checked against iOS 27. iOS 26 is still supported.

Version 1.3.2

The developer, eazler, inc, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Accessibility

The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More

Information

Seller

eazler, inc

Size

32.9 MB