Crane exists because the posture app that should exist did not. So it got built.
After years of long coding sessions, the consequences of poor posture became impossible to ignore — chronic neck stiffness, upper back tension, and the kind of forward head posture that comes from leaning toward monitors for 8+ hours a day.
The search for a solution was frustrating. Existing posture apps fell into three categories: subscription-based services that cost $5-10 per month for a glorified timer, cloud-dependent tools that required uploading webcam footage to remote servers, and simple break reminder apps that had no awareness of actual posture.
None of them were acceptable. A posture app should be free to use, smart enough to detect real posture problems, and private enough to run without sending a single byte of data anywhere. When that app did not exist, building it became the only option.
Crane started as a Python script with a system tray icon. It evolved into a full Electron application with real-time AI posture detection, 15 research-backed ergonomic profiles, and support for 21 languages. It is still built and maintained by one developer.
The crane is one of the most elegant birds in nature — known for its upright posture, perfect balance, and graceful stillness. A crane standing in water is the embodiment of poise: alert, aligned, and effortlessly balanced.
The name is also a nod to crane pose in yoga (Bakasana), which requires core strength, balance, and body awareness — exactly the qualities that desk workers gradually lose after years of sedentary work.
Crane (the app) aspires to be like its namesake: quiet, balanced, and always watching — but never intrusive.
Crane has no cloud backend, no telemetry, and no analytics. Your webcam feed is processed locally and discarded immediately. This is not a feature that can be changed in a future update — the architecture does not support sending data anywhere. There is no server to send it to.
Every ergonomic profile in Crane is based on peer-reviewed research in occupational health, ergonomics, and work physiology. The posture detection algorithms use established signal processing techniques (EMA smoothing, confidence gating) rather than ad-hoc thresholds. Over 30 academic citations informed the profile designs.
Crane never steals window focus, never plays sounds by default, and never forces you to interact with a notification. The entire notification system is designed around the principle that your work comes first. Posture reminders should be peripheral — noticed when you are ready, invisible when you are deep in thought.
Every feature of Crane — AI posture detection, breathing exercises, ergonomic cycle timer, custom profiles, dark mode, 21 languages — is unlocked for a full 7 days, no restrictions. After that, a one-time $54.99 payment (not a subscription) keeps it running and funds continued development.
Crane is built with modern, open-source technologies:
No vendor lock-in. No proprietary dependencies. The entire application runs on your machine without any external service.
Have questions, feedback, or just want to say hello? Visit the contact page to reach out.