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Orwell

Block and unblock websites at the DNS level to maximize productivity.

Compatible with Linux (tested on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS) and MacOS (tested on MacOS Ventura).

I wrote this program for personal use and there might be bugs; feel free to add an issue or pull request.

Usage

There are two blacklists, the togglable one (accessed using -a and -t) and the permanent one (accessed using -x). The permanent one is always active; the toggleable one can be enabled and disabled with the -t flag. This is useful if you want to allow some sites sometimes while always blocking others.

Orwell operates on the DNS level (see Warning), so it can't block individual pages on a website. For instance, you can't block individual groups on Facebook; you have to either block Facebook entirely or leave it unblocked.

Options

Use flag -a to add URL(s) to the toggleable blacklist (use -t to enable/disable).

  • Usage: orwell.sh -a <URL> <URL> ...
  • Example: orwell.sh -a www.google.com adds google.com to the blacklist.

Use flag -x to add URL(s) to the permanent blacklist.

  • Usage: orwell.sh -x <URL> <URL> ...
  • Example: orwell.sh -x www.google.com adds google.com to the permanent blacklist.

Use flag -d to delete URL(s) from both blacklists.

  • Usage: orwell.sh -d <URL> <URL> ...
  • Example: orwell.sh -d www.google.com deletes google.com from any blacklist where it is present.

Use flag -e to empty either or both blacklists.

  • Usage: orwell.sh -e blacklist to empty the toggleable blacklist
  • orwell.sh -e p-blacklist to empty the permanent blacklist
  • orwell.sh -e all to empty both blacklists

Use flag -l to output the contents of either or both blacklists.

  • Usage: orwell.sh -l or orwell.sh -l all to output both blacklists' contents
  • orwell.sh -l blacklist to output the contents of the toggleable blacklist
  • orwell.sh -l p-blacklist to output the contents of the permanent blacklist

Use flag -t to toggle toggleable blacklist status (enforced or not enforced).

Use flag -s to show toggleable blacklist status (enforced or not enforced).

Use flag -v to display current version number.

Use flag -h to show the help message.

Examples

Let's say you're easily distracted while working. You can block your favorite news and social media sites:

orwell.sh -a nytimes.com msnbc.com foxnews.com wsj.com reddit.com instagram.com

Maybe you're trying to shake an online shopping habit. You can keep certain sites blocked always:

orwell.sh -x amazon.com ebay.com etsy.com temu.com

When you open your laptop to get something done, you can block your favorite sites by toggling the first blacklist:

orwell.sh -t

(You might have to restart your browser and/or wait a few minutes.)

Later, you can re-enable them:

orwell.sh -t

If you can't remember what sites are blocked, you can print them to the console:

orwell.sh -l

And so on. Use it however you want.

Why does Orwell ask for my password?

Orwell uses your password to flush the DNS cache and edit /etc/hosts (see Warning below). This program doesn't gather or store any of your information or data.

Installation

Download the source code and move orwell.sh somewhere safe, like /usr/local/bin. You may need to run chmod +x orwell.sh to make the program executable.

Warning

Orwell works by modifying your /etc/hosts file and flushing the DNS cache. This should be generally harmless, but there is a small chance something could go wrong.

Orwell stores a backup of your /etc/hosts file in ~/.config/orwell/backup_file. If you need to, you can use this file to restore /etc/hosts to its original state.

To uninstall Orwell, just delete it. You may also want to delete its configuration files, which are stored in ~/.config/orwell. All modifications made to /etc/hosts are preceded with a comment that says "Orwell config", so if you want/need to delete those modifications, you can open /etc/hosts using sudo nano or another text editor program.