Documentation

Standard Blocking

Standard Blocking fits most day-to-day use cases. You can block websites, web titles, apps, and window titles in the same plan while still keeping specific exceptions.

Rule Editor

  1. Website URLs

    Enter the website URL you want to block. The wildcard `*` can match any characters.

  2. Web Titles

    Enter web title keywords to block. Matching uses contains semantics by default, and `*` is also supported.

  3. Exceptions

    Enter exception URLs that should stay accessible. Even if a URL matches the Website URLs or window-title blocklist, it will not be blocked.

  4. Applications

    Besides website rules, you can add apps and window titles to the same plan.

  5. Plan Name

    Edit the plan name.

  6. Block all websites

    Block every website, then use exceptions as the list of websites you still allow.

Standard Blocking rule editor screenshot

Website URLs

Enter the website URL you want to block. The wildcard * can match any characters.

  • reddit.com: blocks the entire Reddit website
  • youtube.com/shorts/*: blocks only the YouTube Shorts section
  • youtube.com/watch?v=q5LtyjMs-5c: blocks one specific video page
  • google.com/search?q=*game*: blocks Google search results containing game
  • *game*: blocks any URL or search result containing game

You do not need to type www. or https://. Just enter something like youtube.com, and FocusLeaf will automatically match relevant subdomains and variants.

Web Titles

Enter the web title keywords you want to block. By default, matching uses contains semantics.

If you enter a keyword like game, pages whose titles contain that keyword will be blocked. The wildcard * is also supported for more advanced matching.

  • game: blocks every page whose title contains game
  • facebook: blocks titles such as Facebook - log in or sign up and facebook reels
  • daily game news: blocks only titles that contain the full phrase daily game news
  • *game*guide*: use * when you need ordered matching, such as game appearing before guide

If you want to block one specific site address, use Website URLs instead. Web Titles works better for search terms, article titles, video titles, and other page text.

Exceptions

Enter the exception URLs you want to keep accessible. Even if the URL matches the Website URLs or window-title blocklist, it will not be blocked. This is useful when you want to block an entire video site but still allow one specific study video page.

Keep in mind that plans are independent from one another.

If both Plan A and Plan B block youtube.com, and only Plan A has an exception for a study video, that video is still blocked because it remains restricted by Plan B.

The same rule also applies to Deep Focus plans.

Blocking Apps

  1. Add exe file

    Choose the program or app you want to block from your file system.

  2. Add window title

    Add the window titles you want to block. Any matching window will be closed precisely, which is useful for embedded app windows.

  3. Select from system

    Pick the app you want to block from the currently detected system apps. Avoid blocking core system programs.

App blocking rule editor screenshot

When a window title rule matches, that window is closed immediately. If you want to block webpages with a particular title, use the Web Titles rule instead.

Window title matching is exact by default, so a window is blocked only when its title is exactly the same as what you entered.

  • Enter YouTube: only windows whose title is exactly YouTube are blocked
  • Enter *YouTube*: any window whose title contains YouTube is blocked

On the Open Windows page, you can inspect current window titles to confirm the rule you need.

Plan Name and Block all websites

You can also edit the plan name in this window.

If you enable Block all websites, every website is blocked, and you can use exceptions as the list of websites you still allow.

Blocklist and Imports

  1. Rule help

    Open a short explanation of how the input rules work.

  2. Add to blocklist

    Type what you want to block, then add it to the current list.

  3. Import menu

    Import lists in bulk or add special rules from the import menu.

Standard Blocking list editor screenshot

The import menu supports common workflows such as:

  • Import from Category Library: import built-in website categories or your own URL / web title categories
  • Import from TXT: quickly import a large list of blocked websites from a txt file
  • URLs containing keyword: block every URL containing a specific keyword
  • Import from other plans: bring in blocklists or exceptions from plans you already created