ttym 3.0: fix terminal and config bugs, fold terminal-only patches into base

Correctness fixes:
  - restore the terminal on SIGQUIT and SIGHUP. atexit never runs on an
    uncaught fatal signal, so Ctrl+\ left the cursor hidden and autowrap
    disabled.
  - drop the unconditional newline in restore_tty. Every run emitted a
    stray blank line, including piped output.
  - treat EINTR as an interruption rather than a poll() failure, which
    delayed Ctrl+C by up to one 100ms frame.

config-file patch:
  - make comment stripping quote-aware so a value may contain '#', and
    strip one matched pair of quotes. bar_fill = "#" was silently dropped,
    despite '#' being the glyph of the hash style this build ships.
  - resolve bar_fill/bar_empty inside resolve_bar and clear them on --bar,
    so command-line flags beat the config file as documented. Previously
    config glyphs silently overrode --bar.
  - report unknown keys, unparseable booleans and malformed lines on
    stderr. flash = enabled silently meant off.
  - never write to disk. --dump-config prints a commented template on
    stdout instead of the binary creating ~/.config/ttym/config on first
    run.

Patch set:
  - fold persist-alert, flash and bar-styles into the base. The base is
    now terminal-only: it opens /dev/tty, draws and exits, with no file
    writes and no subprocesses. Everything still in patches/ changes what
    the program touches.
  - seven patches become four; config-file's prerequisites drop from six
    patches to one (notify), so it is regenerable mechanically.
  - regenerate every patch. All apply with zero fuzz and compile.

Source:
  - rewrite argv in place rather than into a malloc'd copy (C99
    5.1.2.2.1), removing die(), four free() calls and <stdarg.h>.
  - fold the duplicated elapsed-time expression into elapsed().
  - drop dead code: have_any, (void)cfg, and an unreachable branch in
    parse_duration.
  - replace hand-counted padding with \033[K.

Docs and build:
  - timer.1: -c is the third hook argument, not the fourth. Add EXIT
    STATUS (a stopwatch always exits 130 -- it has no natural end) and
    ENVIRONMENT. Document config precedence and quoting.
  - wire VERSION into a dist target; it was defined and never used.
  - track .gitignore, which previously ignored itself, so a fresh clone
    had no ignore rules.

Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01APLBs8RB1FcUaC4viVkzbP

17 files changed, 1056 insertions, 1195 deletions

diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..81b9c00
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# build artifacts -- regenerate with `make`
+config.h
+*.o
+timer
+ttym-*.tar.gz
+
+# local Claude Code settings
+CLAUDE.md
+.claude/settings.local.json
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index fd103de..72b5053 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -23,11 +23,19 @@ $(BIN): $(OBJ)
 	$(CC) -o $@ $(OBJ) $(LDFLAGS)
 
 clean:
-	rm -f $(BIN) $(OBJ)
+	rm -f $(BIN) $(OBJ) ttym-$(VERSION).tar.gz
 
 distclean: clean
 	rm -f config.h
 
+dist: clean
+	mkdir -p ttym-$(VERSION)
+	cp -R LICENSE Makefile README.md config.def.h config.mk timer.1 ttym.c \
+	      patches ttym-$(VERSION)
+	tar -cf ttym-$(VERSION).tar ttym-$(VERSION)
+	gzip ttym-$(VERSION).tar
+	rm -rf ttym-$(VERSION)
+
 install: all
 	mkdir -p $(DESTDIR)$(PREFIX)/bin
 	cp -f $(BIN) $(DESTDIR)$(PREFIX)/bin/$(BIN)
@@ -40,4 +48,4 @@ uninstall:
 	rm -f $(DESTDIR)$(PREFIX)/bin/$(BIN)
 	rm -f $(DESTDIR)$(MANPREFIX)/man1/timer.1
 
-.PHONY: all clean distclean install uninstall
+.PHONY: all clean distclean dist install uninstall
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a8ebce5..5c0e3ea 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2,17 +2,21 @@ ttym - terminal countdown / stopwatch
 =====================================
 
 A small countdown timer and stopwatch in C. Single binary, libc-only,
-no daemon. Default build is intentionally minimal:
+no daemon. The base build is terminal-only -- it writes no files and
+spawns no processes:
 
-    T-24:13 +00:47 [>>>>>>>>>>------------------------------]  25%
+    T-24:13 +00:47 [████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░]  25%
 
   - countdown when given a duration; stopwatch when not
   - pause/resume with [space], quit with [q] or Ctrl+C
-  - ASCII progress bar
-  - one-shot terminal bell on completion
+  - progress bar with eight styles (`--bar`, auto-detected by locale)
+  - alert until keypress on completion (`--no-persist` to disable),
+    with an optional reverse-video flash (`--flash on|off`)
 
-Anything beyond that is an optional patch under patches/. See
-patches/README for the available set and apply order.
+Every feature that touches the filesystem, runs a subprocess or needs
+an external binary is an optional patch under patches/ -- desktop
+notifications, session logging, hooks and a runtime config file. See
+patches/README for the set and apply order.
 
 
 Requirements
@@ -54,6 +58,9 @@ Usage
     FLAGS:
       -q              no sound
       -s              silent
+      --no-persist    skip alert-until-keypress loop
+      --flash on|off  terminal flash during alert loop
+      --bar STYLE     bar style: unicode|ascii|hash|dots|line|block|arrow|minimal
       --              end of options
       -h              help
 
diff --git a/config.def.h b/config.def.h
index af19705..2038fc9 100644
--- a/config.def.h
+++ b/config.def.h
@@ -3,3 +3,19 @@
 /* progress bar glyphs (ASCII default) */
 static const char *const BAR_FILL  = ">";
 static const char *const BAR_EMPTY = "-";
+
+/* persistent alert: keep ringing the bell until any key is pressed.
+ * Foreground-only; backgrounded runs always fall through.
+ * Override per-run with --no-persist.
+ */
+static const int ALERT_PERSIST = 1;
+
+/* reverse-video flash during the alert loop.
+ * Override per-run with --flash on|off.
+ */
+static const int FLASH = 1;
+
+/* default bar style: "" autodetects (unicode if locale is UTF-8, else ascii).
+ * Available: unicode | ascii | hash | dots | line | block | arrow | minimal.
+ */
+static const char *const BAR_STYLE = "";
diff --git a/config.mk b/config.mk
index f07e004..53a270d 100644
--- a/config.mk
+++ b/config.mk
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # ttym version
-VERSION = 2.0
+VERSION = 3.0
 
 # paths
 PREFIX    = /usr/local
diff --git a/patches/README b/patches/README
index cd4e12a..51595b9 100644
--- a/patches/README
+++ b/patches/README
@@ -4,31 +4,48 @@ ttym patches
 Each patch is a unified diff against the pristine base. Apply with:
 
     cd ttym
-    patch -p1 < patches/ttym-<name>-2.0.diff
+    patch -p1 < patches/ttym-<name>-3.0.diff
 
 Then rebuild:
 
     rm -f config.h ; make
 
 To get every feature at once, skip the individual patches entirely and
-apply ttym-full-2.0.diff -- one combined diff, no conflicts to resolve.
+apply ttym-full-3.0.diff -- one combined diff, no conflicts to resolve.
 See "The full build" below.
 
 
+What is in the base
+-------------------
+
+The base build is terminal-only: it opens /dev/tty, draws, and exits.
+It does not write files, spawn processes or depend on anything outside
+libc. That includes the progress-bar styles, the alert loop and the
+terminal flash, which were separate patches through 2.0:
+
+  - countdown and stopwatch, pause/resume, quit
+  - progress bar with eight built-in styles (--bar, BAR_STYLE)
+  - alert-until-keypress on completion (--no-persist, ALERT_PERSIST)
+  - reverse-video flash during that alert (--flash, FLASH)
+
+Every remaining patch changes what the program *touches* -- the
+filesystem, subprocesses, or external binaries. That is the line the
+split is drawn on.
+
+
 The full build
 --------------
 
-  ttym-full-2.0.diff
-      Every feature in a single patch: persist-alert, flash, notify,
-      logging, hooks, bar-styles and config-file, with all inter-patch
-      conflicts already resolved. Apply it to the pristine base and
-      rebuild:
+  ttym-full-3.0.diff
+      Every feature in a single patch: notify, logging, hooks and
+      config-file, with all inter-patch conflicts already resolved.
+      Apply it to the pristine base and rebuild:
 
-          patch -p1 < patches/ttym-full-2.0.diff
+          patch -p1 < patches/ttym-full-3.0.diff
           rm -f config.h ; make
 
       This is the recommended route to the full-featured build. It is
-      equivalent to stacking all seven feature patches below and hand-
+      equivalent to stacking the four feature patches below and hand-
       resolving every collision, but deterministic and conflict-free.
       Use the individual patches only when you want a specific subset.
 
@@ -36,86 +53,68 @@ The full build
 Available patches
 -----------------
 
-  ttym-persist-alert-2.0.diff
-      After a countdown completes, keep ringing the bell every ~1.5s
-      until any key is pressed. Foreground-only; backgrounded runs
-      fall through. Adds: --no-persist flag, ALERT_PERSIST knob.
-
-  ttym-flash-2.0.diff                              [requires persist-alert]
-      Add reverse-video terminal flash to the persistent alert loop.
-      Adds: --flash on|off flag, FLASH knob.
-
-  ttym-notify-2.0.diff
+  ttym-notify-3.0.diff
       One-shot desktop notification and sound on countdown completion,
       plus a MESSAGE positional argument piped through {title}/{msg}
-      placeholders. Adds: TITLE, NOTIFY_CMD, SOUND_CMD knobs.
+      placeholders. Spawns notify-send and a sound player.
+      Adds: TITLE, NOTIFY_CMD, SOUND_CMD knobs.
 
-  ttym-logging-2.0.diff
+  ttym-logging-3.0.diff
       TSV log at ~/.config/ttym/ttym.log, +tag extraction, the -r
       reader (-n, --raw), and --stats (today|week|month|all). Adds
       one-shot directory migration from ~/.config/timer/.
       Adds: -c TEXT flag.
 
-  ttym-hooks-2.0.diff
+  ttym-hooks-3.0.diff
       Optional executables at ~/.config/ttym/hooks/{on_start,on_done,
       on_quit} invoked with: mode duration_seconds comment.
       Adds: -c TEXT flag (passed as 3rd hook arg).
 
-  ttym-bar-styles-2.0.diff
-      Eight built-in bar styles (unicode, ascii, hash, dots, line,
-      block, arrow, minimal) with locale-aware auto-detect.
-      Adds: --bar STYLE flag, BAR_STYLE knob.
-
-  ttym-config-file-2.0.diff               [capstone -- see Dependencies]
-      Runtime config at ~/.config/ttym/config (key = value), auto-
-      generated and self-documenting on first run. Exposes eight keys:
+  ttym-config-file-3.0.diff                       [requires notify]
+      Runtime config read from /etc/ttym.conf, then
+      ~/.config/ttym/config (key = value). Exposes eight keys:
       bar_fill, bar_empty, bar_style, flash, alert_persist, title,
-      notify_cmd, sound_cmd. A system-wide /etc/ttym.conf is read
-      first. Because it wires up knobs owned by other patches, it must
-      be applied LAST.
+      notify_cmd, sound_cmd. Unknown keys and unparseable values are
+      reported on stderr. Nothing is written to disk: --dump-config
+      prints a commented template on stdout, so a user does
 
+          timer --dump-config > ~/.config/ttym/config
 
-Dependencies
-------------
+      It needs notify only for the title / notify_cmd / sound_cmd
+      keys; the bar and alert keys it exposes now live in the base.
 
-flash depends on persist-alert.
 
-config-file is the capstone: it reads knobs introduced by persist-
-alert, flash, notify, logging and bar-styles, and extends a usage()
-line added by hooks -- so all six must be applied before it. Apply
-config-file last.
+Dependencies
+------------
 
-All other patches are independent of each other and of the base.
+config-file requires notify. Everything else is independent of the
+base and of each other.
 
 
 Stacking
 --------
 
-The simplest route to the full build is ttym-full-2.0.diff (see "The
+The simplest route to the full build is ttym-full-3.0.diff (see "The
 full build" above). The notes here apply only when stacking the
 feature patches by hand to assemble a subset.
 
 Every patch in this directory applies and compiles cleanly against the
-pristine base -- except flash, which builds on persist-alert, and
-config-file, the capstone, which builds on six other patches (see
-Dependencies). That is the property the verification step guarantees.
+pristine base -- except config-file, which builds on notify.
 
 Combining multiple optional patches will produce conflicts at shared
 regions: the Config struct, usage(), the getopt() option string, and
 in some cases #include lines. This is normal suckless territory --
-resolve by hand, or apply ttym-full-2.0.diff instead. The base is laid
-out so most patches add their new code in fresh sections (before
-usage(), before main()) where they do not collide; the inevitable
-collisions are in points where every patch must add a line or field.
+resolve by hand, or apply ttym-full-3.0.diff instead. Two known
+collisions when stacking logging with hooks: both own the -c flag, so
+keep one Config member and one usage() line for it.
 
 Recommended order when stacking:
 
-    persist-alert  ->  flash  ->  notify  ->  logging  ->  hooks  ->
-    bar-styles     ->  config-file
+    notify  ->  logging  ->  hooks  ->  config-file
 
-config-file must come last -- after bar-styles in particular, since it
-overrides the resolved bar glyphs. Apply, resolve any .rej files,
-rebuild.
+config-file must come last -- it overrides the resolved bar glyphs and
+extends usage() with lines the other patches also touch. Apply,
+resolve any .rej files, rebuild.
 
 
 Authoring new patches
@@ -129,5 +128,5 @@ Match the discipline used here:
   - Verify with `patch -p1` against a fresh copy of the base -- or,
     for a patch with prerequisites, the base plus those -- and confirm
     the result compiles before publishing.
-  - When the patch set changes, regenerate ttym-full-2.0.diff so the
+  - When the patch set changes, regenerate ttym-full-3.0.diff so the
     one-shot full build stays in sync.
diff --git a/patches/ttym-bar-styles-2.0.diff b/patches/ttym-bar-styles-2.0.diff
deleted file mode 100644
index 2653cf5..0000000
--- a/patches/ttym-bar-styles-2.0.diff
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,155 +0,0 @@
-diff -ruN a/config.def.h b/config.def.h
---- a/config.def.h	2026-05-20 12:05:11.699957443 +0200
-+++ b/config.def.h	2026-05-20 12:05:11.703957526 +0200
-@@ -3,3 +3,8 @@
- /* progress bar glyphs (ASCII default) */
- static const char *const BAR_FILL  = ">";
- static const char *const BAR_EMPTY = "-";
-+
-+/* default bar style: "" autodetects (unicode if locale is UTF-8, else ascii).
-+ * Available: unicode | ascii | hash | dots | line | block | arrow | minimal.
-+ */
-+static const char *const BAR_STYLE = "";
-diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
---- a/ttym.c	2026-05-20 12:05:11.699957443 +0200
-+++ b/ttym.c	2026-05-20 12:06:26.161496315 +0200
-@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
- #include <ctype.h>
- #include <errno.h>
- #include <fcntl.h>
-+#include <locale.h>
- #include <poll.h>
- #include <signal.h>
- #include <stdarg.h>
-@@ -23,6 +24,7 @@
- typedef struct {
- 	int quiet;            /* -q: suppress completion bell */
- 	int silent;           /* -s: no bell, no extras */
-+	char bar_style[32];   /* --bar STYLE */
- } Config;
- 
- static struct termios oldtios;
-@@ -186,7 +188,8 @@
- /* ===== drawing ===== */
- 
- static void
--draw_countdown(long total, long elapsed_ms, int paused, int barw)
-+draw_countdown(long total, long elapsed_ms, int paused, int barw,
-+               const char *fill_glyph, const char *empty_glyph, int minimal)
- {
- 	if (total <= 0) return;
- 	long total_ms = total * 1000L;
-@@ -207,8 +210,15 @@
- 	const char *status = paused ? "PAUSED " : "       ";
- 
- 	printf("\r%sT-%s\033[0m \033[2m+%s\033[0m [", color, rem, el);
--	for (int i = 0; i < fill;  i++) fputs(BAR_FILL,  stdout);
--	for (int i = 0; i < empty; i++) fputs(BAR_EMPTY, stdout);
-+	if (minimal) {
-+		fputs("\033[7m", stdout);
-+		for (int i = 0; i < fill;  i++) fputc(' ', stdout);
-+		fputs("\033[27m", stdout);
-+		for (int i = 0; i < empty; i++) fputc(' ', stdout);
-+	} else {
-+		for (int i = 0; i < fill;  i++) fputs(fill_glyph,  stdout);
-+		for (int i = 0; i < empty; i++) fputs(empty_glyph, stdout);
-+	}
- 	printf("] %3ld%% %s", pct, status);
- 	fflush(stdout);
- }
-@@ -226,6 +236,55 @@
- 	fflush(stdout);
- }
- 
-+/* ===== bar styles ===== */
-+
-+typedef struct { const char *name, *fill, *empty; } BarStyle;
-+
-+static const BarStyle bar_styles[] = {
-+	{ "unicode", "\xe2\x96\x88", "\xe2\x96\x91" },  /* U+2588 U+2591 */
-+	{ "ascii",   "=",            "-"            },
-+	{ "hash",    "#",            "."            },
-+	{ "dots",    "\xe2\x80\xa2", "\xc2\xb7"     },  /* U+2022 U+00B7 */
-+	{ "line",    "\xe2\x94\x81", "\xe2\x94\x80" },  /* U+2501 U+2500 */
-+	{ "block",   "\xe2\x96\x93", "\xe2\x96\x91" },  /* U+2593 U+2591 */
-+	{ "arrow",   "\xe2\x96\xb6", "\xe2\x96\xb7" },  /* U+25B6 U+25B7 */
-+	{ "minimal", "",             ""             },
-+	{ NULL,      NULL,           NULL           }
-+};
-+
-+static const BarStyle *
-+find_bar_style(const char *name)
-+{
-+	if (!name || !*name) return NULL;
-+	for (int i = 0; bar_styles[i].name; i++)
-+		if (!strcmp(bar_styles[i].name, name)) return &bar_styles[i];
-+	return NULL;
-+}
-+
-+static int
-+is_utf8(void)
-+{
-+	const char *l = setlocale(LC_CTYPE, "");
-+	if (!l) return 0;
-+	return strstr(l, "UTF-8") || strstr(l, "utf8") || strstr(l, "utf-8");
-+}
-+
-+static void
-+resolve_bar(const Config *c, const char **fill, const char **empty, int *minimal)
-+{
-+	*minimal = 0;
-+	const char *name = (c->bar_style[0]) ? c->bar_style : BAR_STYLE;
-+	const BarStyle *s = find_bar_style(name);
-+	if (!s) s = find_bar_style(is_utf8() ? "unicode" : "ascii");
-+	if (s && !strcmp(s->name, "minimal")) {
-+		*minimal = 1;
-+		*fill = " "; *empty = " ";
-+		return;
-+	}
-+	*fill  = s ? s->fill  : BAR_FILL;
-+	*empty = s ? s->empty : BAR_EMPTY;
-+}
-+
- /* ===== usage =====
-  * Patches MUST update this in lockstep with new flags so -h always
-  * reflects the build.
-@@ -243,6 +302,7 @@
- "FLAGS:\n"
- "  -q              no sound\n"
- "  -s              silent\n"
-+"  --bar STYLE     bar style: unicode|ascii|hash|dots|line|block|arrow|minimal\n"
- "  --              end of options\n"
- "  -h              help\n"
- "\n"
-@@ -259,6 +319,10 @@
- 	int barw = cols - 40;
- 	if (barw < 10) barw = 10;
- 
-+	const char *fill_glyph, *empty_glyph;
-+	int minimal = 0;
-+	resolve_bar(cfg, &fill_glyph, &empty_glyph, &minimal);
-+
- 	ttyfd = open("/dev/tty", O_RDONLY);
- 	if (ttyfd >= 0 && isatty(ttyfd)) {
- 		if (tcgetattr(ttyfd, &oldtios) == 0) {
-@@ -300,7 +364,8 @@
- 				draw_stopwatch(elapsed_ms, paused);
- 		} else {
- 			if (out_tty)
--				draw_countdown(total, elapsed_ms, paused, barw);
-+				draw_countdown(total, elapsed_ms, paused, barw,
-+				               fill_glyph, empty_glyph, minimal);
- 			if (!paused && elapsed_ms >= total * 1000L) break;
- 		}
- 
-@@ -399,6 +464,10 @@
- 			new_argv[new_argc++] = argv[i];
- 			continue;
- 		}
-+		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--bar") && i + 1 < argc) {
-+			snprintf(cfg.bar_style, sizeof(cfg.bar_style), "%s", argv[++i]);
-+			continue;
-+		}
- 		new_argv[new_argc++] = argv[i];
- 	}
- 	new_argv[new_argc] = NULL;
diff --git a/patches/ttym-config-file-2.0.diff b/patches/ttym-config-file-2.0.diff
deleted file mode 100644
index 422d724..0000000
--- a/patches/ttym-config-file-2.0.diff
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,237 +0,0 @@
-diff -ruN a/config.def.h b/config.def.h
---- a/config.def.h	2026-05-20 13:18:06.149571116 +0200
-+++ b/config.def.h	2026-05-20 13:19:12.046956614 +0200
-@@ -1,23 +1,29 @@
- /* See LICENSE file for copyright and license details. */
- 
--/* progress bar glyphs (ASCII default) */
-+/* progress bar glyphs (ASCII default).
-+ * Runtime config file ~/.config/ttym/config can override these via
-+ * bar_fill / bar_empty keys.
-+ */
- static const char *const BAR_FILL  = ">";
- static const char *const BAR_EMPTY = "-";
- 
- /* persistent alert: keep ringing the bell until any key is pressed.
-  * Foreground-only; backgrounded runs always fall through.
-- * Override per-run with --no-persist.
-+ * Override per-run with --no-persist, or via the alert_persist key
-+ * in the runtime config file (~/.config/ttym/config).
-  */
- static const int ALERT_PERSIST = 1;
- 
- /* reverse-video flash during the alert loop.
-- * Override per-run with --flash on|off.
-+ * Override per-run with --flash on|off, or via the flash key in the
-+ * runtime config file (~/.config/ttym/config).
-  */
- static const int FLASH = 1;
- 
- /* desktop notification on countdown completion.
-  * Tokens are split on whitespace; placeholders {title} and {msg} are expanded.
-  * Set NULL or "" to disable.
-+ * The runtime config file can override these via title / notify_cmd keys.
-  */
- static const char *const TITLE      = "Timer";
- static const char *const NOTIFY_CMD = "notify-send -u critical {title} {msg}";
-@@ -25,6 +31,7 @@
- /* sound on countdown completion. If SOUND_CMD is "" the binary autodetects
-  * a player (paplay/aplay/mpv/ffplay) and plays a default freedesktop sound.
-  * SOUND_CMD is split on whitespace; same token rules as NOTIFY_CMD.
-+ * The runtime config file can override this via the sound_cmd key.
-  */
- static const char *const SOUND_CMD  = "";
- 
-@@ -35,5 +42,6 @@
- 
- /* default bar style: "" autodetects (unicode if locale is UTF-8, else ascii).
-  * Available: unicode | ascii | hash | dots | line | block | arrow | minimal.
-+ * The runtime config file can override this via the bar_style key.
-  */
- static const char *const BAR_STYLE = "";
-diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
---- a/ttym.c	2026-05-20 13:18:06.149571116 +0200
-+++ b/ttym.c	2026-05-20 13:19:12.046956614 +0200
-@@ -30,10 +30,12 @@
- 	int alert_persist;    /* alert loop until keypress; --no-persist disables */
- 	int flash;            /* reverse-video flash during alert loop */
- 	char comment[512];    /* -c TEXT: logged with each entry */
-+	char bar_fill[16];    /* override (utf-8 ok); from runtime config */
-+	char bar_empty[16];   /* override */
- 	char bar_style[32];   /* --bar STYLE */
--	const char *title;
--	const char *notify_cmd;
--	const char *sound_cmd;
-+	char title[256];      /* override; from runtime config */
-+	char notify_cmd[512]; /* override; from runtime config */
-+	char sound_cmd[512];  /* override; from runtime config */
- 	char msg[1024];
- } Config;
- 
-@@ -409,7 +411,7 @@
- static void
- notify_and_sound(const Config *c)
- {
--	if (c->notify_cmd && c->notify_cmd[0] && command_exists("notify-send")) {
-+	if (c->notify_cmd[0] && command_exists("notify-send")) {
- 		char **a;
- 		if (build_argv(c->notify_cmd, c, &a) > 0) {
- 			spawn_bg(a);
-@@ -417,7 +419,7 @@
- 		}
- 	}
- 	if (!c->quiet) {
--		if (c->sound_cmd && c->sound_cmd[0]) {
-+		if (c->sound_cmd[0]) {
- 			char **a;
- 			if (build_argv(c->sound_cmd, c, &a) > 0) {
- 				spawn_bg(a);
-@@ -832,6 +834,112 @@
- 	}
- }
- 
-+/* ===== runtime config file (~/.config/ttym/config) =====
-+ * key = value lines; '#' comments. Unknown keys ignored.
-+ */
-+
-+static void
-+trim(char *s)
-+{
-+	char *p = s;
-+	while (*p && isspace((unsigned char)*p)) p++;
-+	if (p != s) memmove(s, p, strlen(p) + 1);
-+	size_t n = strlen(s);
-+	while (n > 0 && isspace((unsigned char)s[n-1])) s[--n] = '\0';
-+}
-+
-+static void
-+ensure_default_config_file(const char *path)
-+{
-+	if (access(path, F_OK) == 0) return;
-+	char dir[512];
-+	snprintf(dir, sizeof(dir), "%s", path);
-+	char *slash = strrchr(dir, '/');
-+	if (slash) { *slash = '\0'; mkdir_p(dir, 0700); }
-+	FILE *f = fopen(path, "w");
-+	if (!f) return;
-+	fputs(
-+"# ttym configuration file\n"
-+"#\n"
-+"# Location : ~/.config/ttym/config   (/etc/ttym.conf is read first, if present)\n"
-+"# Syntax   : key = value   -- one entry per line; '#' begins a comment.\n"
-+"#            A commented-out or absent key keeps its built-in default.\n"
-+"#            Command-line flags override anything set in this file.\n"
-+"#\n"
-+"# Every key below is recognised by this build. Uncomment and edit to taste.\n"
-+"# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------\n"
-+"\n"
-+"# Progress-bar glyphs. Set BOTH or NEITHER -- mismatched display widths\n"
-+"# break bar alignment. Multi-byte UTF-8 is fine. These override bar_style.\n"
-+"# bar_fill  = >\n"
-+"# bar_empty = -\n"
-+"\n"
-+"# Named progress-bar style. One of:\n"
-+"#   unicode  ascii  hash  dots  line  block  arrow  minimal\n"
-+"# Leave unset to auto-detect (unicode on a UTF-8 locale, otherwise ascii).\n"
-+"# bar_style = unicode\n"
-+"\n"
-+"# Reverse-video flash during the completion alert.   on | off\n"
-+"# flash = on\n"
-+"\n"
-+"# Persistent alert: keep ringing the bell until a key is pressed\n"
-+"# (foreground runs only).                            on | off\n"
-+"# alert_persist = on\n"
-+"\n"
-+"# Desktop-notification title.\n"
-+"# title = Timer\n"
-+"\n"
-+"# Desktop-notification command run when a countdown finishes. Tokens are\n"
-+"# split on whitespace; {title}/{msg} placeholders expand. Empty disables.\n"
-+"# notify_cmd = notify-send -u critical {title} {msg}\n"
-+"\n"
-+"# Sound played when a countdown finishes. Leave unset to auto-detect a\n"
-+"# player (paplay/aplay/mpv/ffplay) and play a default system sound.\n"
-+"# Tokens are split on whitespace; {title}/{msg} placeholders expand.\n"
-+"# sound_cmd = paplay /usr/share/sounds/freedesktop/stereo/complete.oga\n",
-+	f);
-+	fclose(f);
-+	chmod(path, 0600);
-+}
-+
-+static void
-+load_config_file(Config *c, const char *path)
-+{
-+	FILE *f = fopen(path, "r");
-+	if (!f) return;
-+	char line[1024];
-+	while (fgets(line, sizeof(line), f)) {
-+		char *hash = strchr(line, '#');
-+		if (hash) *hash = '\0';
-+		char *eq = strchr(line, '=');
-+		if (!eq) continue;
-+		*eq = '\0';
-+		char *k = line, *v = eq + 1;
-+		trim(k); trim(v);
-+		if (!*k) continue;
-+		if      (!strcmp(k, "bar_fill"))      snprintf(c->bar_fill,  sizeof(c->bar_fill),  "%s", v);
-+		else if (!strcmp(k, "bar_empty"))     snprintf(c->bar_empty, sizeof(c->bar_empty), "%s", v);
-+		else if (!strcmp(k, "bar_style"))     snprintf(c->bar_style, sizeof(c->bar_style), "%s", v);
-+		else if (!strcmp(k, "flash"))         c->flash         = parse_bool_str(v);
-+		else if (!strcmp(k, "alert_persist")) c->alert_persist = parse_bool_str(v);
-+		else if (!strcmp(k, "title"))         snprintf(c->title,      sizeof(c->title),      "%s", v);
-+		else if (!strcmp(k, "notify_cmd"))    snprintf(c->notify_cmd, sizeof(c->notify_cmd), "%s", v);
-+		else if (!strcmp(k, "sound_cmd"))     snprintf(c->sound_cmd,  sizeof(c->sound_cmd),  "%s", v);
-+	}
-+	fclose(f);
-+}
-+
-+static void
-+load_config(Config *c)
-+{
-+	load_config_file(c, "/etc/ttym.conf");
-+	char path[512];
-+	if (build_config_path(path, sizeof(path), "config") == 0) {
-+		ensure_default_config_file(path);
-+		load_config_file(c, path);
-+	}
-+}
-+
- /* ===== bar styles ===== */
- 
- typedef struct { const char *name, *fill, *empty; } BarStyle;
-@@ -908,7 +1016,8 @@
- "  -h              help\n"
- "\n"
- "controls:  [space] pause/resume   [q | Ctrl+C] quit\n"
--"hooks:     ~/.config/ttym/hooks/{on_start,on_done,on_quit}  (executable)\n");
-+"hooks:     ~/.config/ttym/hooks/{on_start,on_done,on_quit}  (executable)\n"
-+"config:    ~/.config/ttym/config  (auto-generated on first run)\n");
- }
- 
- /* ===== run loop ===== */
-@@ -924,6 +1033,10 @@
- 	const char *fill_glyph, *empty_glyph;
- 	int minimal = 0;
- 	resolve_bar(cfg, &fill_glyph, &empty_glyph, &minimal);
-+	/* explicit per-glyph overrides from the runtime config file
-+	 * (bar_fill / bar_empty) win over the named --bar style. */
-+	if (cfg->bar_fill[0])  fill_glyph  = cfg->bar_fill;
-+	if (cfg->bar_empty[0]) empty_glyph = cfg->bar_empty;
- 
- 	ttyfd = open("/dev/tty", O_RDONLY);
- 	if (ttyfd >= 0 && isatty(ttyfd)) {
-@@ -1075,10 +1188,11 @@
- 	Config cfg = {0};
- 	cfg.alert_persist = ALERT_PERSIST;
- 	cfg.flash         = FLASH;
--	cfg.title      = TITLE;
--	cfg.notify_cmd = NOTIFY_CMD;
--	cfg.sound_cmd  = SOUND_CMD;
-+	snprintf(cfg.title,      sizeof(cfg.title),      "%s", TITLE      ? TITLE      : "");
-+	snprintf(cfg.notify_cmd, sizeof(cfg.notify_cmd), "%s", NOTIFY_CMD ? NOTIFY_CMD : "");
-+	snprintf(cfg.sound_cmd,  sizeof(cfg.sound_cmd),  "%s", SOUND_CMD  ? SOUND_CMD  : "");
- 	snprintf(cfg.msg, sizeof(cfg.msg), "%s", "Time is up");
-+	load_config(&cfg);
- 
- 	/* Pre-strip long-form flags before getopt. Stop at "--". */
- 	int new_argc = 0;
diff --git a/patches/ttym-config-file-3.0.diff b/patches/ttym-config-file-3.0.diff
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..031f105
--- /dev/null
+++ b/patches/ttym-config-file-3.0.diff
@@ -0,0 +1,293 @@
+diff -ruN a/config.def.h b/config.def.h
+--- a/config.def.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.738123728 +0200
++++ b/config.def.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.738123728 +0200
+@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
+ /* See LICENSE file for copyright and license details. */
+ 
++/* Defaults below are compile-time. Many can be overridden at runtime by
++ * /etc/ttym.conf and ~/.config/ttym/config; command-line flags override
++ * both. Run `timer --dump-config` for a commented template. See timer(1).
++ */
++
+ /* progress bar glyphs (ASCII default) */
+ static const char *const BAR_FILL  = ">";
+ static const char *const BAR_EMPTY = "-";
+diff -ruN a/config.h b/config.h
+--- a/config.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.738123728 +0200
++++ b/config.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.738123728 +0200
+@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
+ /* See LICENSE file for copyright and license details. */
+ 
++/* Defaults below are compile-time. Many can be overridden at runtime by
++ * /etc/ttym.conf and ~/.config/ttym/config; command-line flags override
++ * both. Run `timer --dump-config` for a commented template. See timer(1).
++ */
++
+ /* progress bar glyphs (ASCII default) */
+ static const char *const BAR_FILL  = ">";
+ static const char *const BAR_EMPTY = "-";
+Binary files a/timer and b/timer differ
+diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
+--- a/ttym.c	2026-08-25 17:18:15.738123728 +0200
++++ b/ttym.c	2026-08-25 17:18:15.738123728 +0200
+@@ -25,13 +25,15 @@
+ typedef struct {
+ 	int quiet;            /* -q: suppress completion bell */
+ 	int silent;           /* -s: no bell, no extras */
+-	const char *title;
+-	const char *notify_cmd;
+-	const char *sound_cmd;
++	char title[256];      /* runtime config may override */
++	char notify_cmd[512]; /* runtime config may override */
++	char sound_cmd[512];  /* runtime config may override */
+ 	char msg[1024];
+ 	int alert_persist;    /* alert loop until keypress; --no-persist disables */
+ 	int flash;            /* reverse-video flash during alert loop */
+ 	char bar_style[32];   /* --bar STYLE */
++	char bar_fill[16];    /* runtime config: explicit glyph, beats bar_style */
++	char bar_empty[16];   /* runtime config: explicit glyph, beats bar_style */
+ } Config;
+ 
+ static struct termios oldtios;
+@@ -352,7 +354,7 @@
+ static void
+ notify_and_sound(const Config *c)
+ {
+-	if (c->notify_cmd && c->notify_cmd[0] && command_exists("notify-send")) {
++	if (c->notify_cmd[0] && command_exists("notify-send")) {
+ 		char **a;
+ 		if (build_argv(c->notify_cmd, c, &a) > 0) {
+ 			spawn_bg(a);
+@@ -360,7 +362,7 @@
+ 		}
+ 	}
+ 	if (!c->quiet) {
+-		if (c->sound_cmd && c->sound_cmd[0]) {
++		if (c->sound_cmd[0]) {
+ 			char **a;
+ 			if (build_argv(c->sound_cmd, c, &a) > 0) {
+ 				spawn_bg(a);
+@@ -469,6 +471,178 @@
+ 	}
+ 	*fill  = s ? s->fill  : BAR_FILL;
+ 	*empty = s ? s->empty : BAR_EMPTY;
++	/* explicit glyphs from the config file beat the named style; --bar
++	 * clears them so a flag always wins over the file. */
++	if (c->bar_fill[0])  *fill  = c->bar_fill;
++	if (c->bar_empty[0]) *empty = c->bar_empty;
++}
++
++/* ===== runtime config file =====
++ * key = value lines. '#' starts a comment only at the start of a line or
++ * after whitespace, and never inside quotes. Quote a value to protect
++ * surrounding space or a leading '#'; one matched pair is stripped. Unknown keys and
++ * unparseable values are reported on stderr rather than silently dropped.
++ * Precedence: command-line flags > ~/.config/ttym/config > /etc/ttym.conf
++ * > the compile-time defaults in config.h.
++ */
++
++static int
++build_cfg_path(char *buf, size_t bufsz, const char *name)
++{
++	const char *xdg  = getenv("XDG_CONFIG_HOME");
++	const char *home = getenv("HOME");
++	if (xdg && *xdg)        snprintf(buf, bufsz, "%s/ttym/%s", xdg, name);
++	else if (home && *home) snprintf(buf, bufsz, "%s/.config/ttym/%s", home, name);
++	else                    return -1;
++	return 0;
++}
++
++static void
++trim(char *s)
++{
++	char *p = s;
++	while (*p && isspace((unsigned char)*p)) p++;
++	if (p != s) memmove(s, p, strlen(p) + 1);
++	size_t n = strlen(s);
++	while (n > 0 && isspace((unsigned char)s[n - 1])) s[--n] = '\0';
++}
++
++static void
++strip_comment(char *s)
++{
++	int q = 0;
++	for (char *p = s; *p; p++) {
++		if (q) {
++			if (*p == q) q = 0;
++		} else if (*p == '"' || *p == '\'') {
++			q = *p;
++		} else if (*p == '#' && (p == s || isspace((unsigned char)p[-1]))) {
++			*p = '\0';
++			return;
++		}
++	}
++}
++
++static void
++unquote(char *s)
++{
++	size_t n = strlen(s);
++	if (n >= 2 && (s[0] == '"' || s[0] == '\'') && s[n - 1] == s[0]) {
++		memmove(s, s + 1, n - 2);
++		s[n - 2] = '\0';
++	}
++}
++
++static int
++cfg_bool(const char *path, int ln, const char *k, const char *v, int cur)
++{
++	if (!strcasecmp(v, "true")  || !strcasecmp(v, "yes") ||
++	    !strcasecmp(v, "on")    || !strcmp(v, "1"))  return 1;
++	if (!strcasecmp(v, "false") || !strcasecmp(v, "no") ||
++	    !strcasecmp(v, "off")   || !strcmp(v, "0"))  return 0;
++	fprintf(stderr, "%s:%d: %s: expected on or off, got: %s\n", path, ln, k, v);
++	return cur;
++}
++
++static void
++load_config_file(Config *c, const char *path)
++{
++	FILE *f = fopen(path, "r");
++	if (!f) return;
++	char line[1024];
++	int ln = 0;
++	while (fgets(line, sizeof(line), f)) {
++		ln++;
++		strip_comment(line);
++		char *eq = strchr(line, '=');
++		if (!eq) {
++			trim(line);
++			if (*line)
++				fprintf(stderr, "%s:%d: not key = value: %s\n", path, ln, line);
++			continue;
++		}
++		*eq = '\0';
++		char *k = line, *v = eq + 1;
++		trim(k); trim(v); unquote(v);
++		if (!*k) {
++			fprintf(stderr, "%s:%d: missing key\n", path, ln);
++			continue;
++		}
++		if      (!strcmp(k, "bar_fill"))   snprintf(c->bar_fill,   sizeof(c->bar_fill),   "%s", v);
++		else if (!strcmp(k, "bar_empty"))  snprintf(c->bar_empty,  sizeof(c->bar_empty),  "%s", v);
++		else if (!strcmp(k, "title"))      snprintf(c->title,      sizeof(c->title),      "%s", v);
++		else if (!strcmp(k, "notify_cmd")) snprintf(c->notify_cmd, sizeof(c->notify_cmd), "%s", v);
++		else if (!strcmp(k, "sound_cmd"))  snprintf(c->sound_cmd,  sizeof(c->sound_cmd),  "%s", v);
++		else if (!strcmp(k, "flash"))         c->flash         = cfg_bool(path, ln, k, v, c->flash);
++		else if (!strcmp(k, "alert_persist")) c->alert_persist = cfg_bool(path, ln, k, v, c->alert_persist);
++		else if (!strcmp(k, "bar_style")) {
++			if (find_bar_style(v))
++				snprintf(c->bar_style, sizeof(c->bar_style), "%s", v);
++			else
++				fprintf(stderr, "%s:%d: unknown bar style: %s\n", path, ln, v);
++		}
++		else fprintf(stderr, "%s:%d: unknown key: %s\n", path, ln, k);
++	}
++	fclose(f);
++}
++
++static void
++load_config(Config *c)
++{
++	load_config_file(c, "/etc/ttym.conf");
++	char path[512];
++	if (build_cfg_path(path, sizeof(path), "config") == 0)
++		load_config_file(c, path);
++}
++
++/* Written to stdout by --dump-config; ttym never creates this file itself.
++ *     timer --dump-config > ~/.config/ttym/config
++ */
++static void
++dump_config(FILE *f)
++{
++	fputs(
++"# ttym configuration\n"
++"#\n"
++"# Read from /etc/ttym.conf first, then ~/.config/ttym/config\n"
++"# (honours $XDG_CONFIG_HOME). Command-line flags override both; an absent\n"
++"# or commented-out key keeps the compile-time default from config.h.\n"
++"#\n"
++"# Syntax: key = value. '#' begins a comment at the start of a line or after\n"
++"# whitespace. Quote a value to keep surrounding spaces or a leading '#';\n"
++"# one matched pair of quotes is stripped.\n"
++"# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------\n"
++"\n"
++"# Progress-bar glyphs. Set BOTH or NEITHER -- mismatched display widths\n"
++"# break bar alignment. Multi-byte UTF-8 is fine. These beat bar_style,\n"
++"# but --bar on the command line beats them.\n"
++"# bar_fill  = >          # a '#' glyph must be quoted:  bar_fill = \"#\"\n"
++"# bar_empty = -\n"
++"\n"
++"# Named progress-bar style. One of:\n"
++"#   unicode  ascii  hash  dots  line  block  arrow  minimal\n"
++"# Leave unset to auto-detect (unicode on a UTF-8 locale, otherwise ascii).\n"
++"# bar_style = unicode\n"
++"\n"
++"# Reverse-video flash during the completion alert.   on | off\n"
++"# flash = on\n"
++"\n"
++"# Persistent alert: keep ringing the bell until a key is pressed\n"
++"# (foreground runs only).                            on | off\n"
++"# alert_persist = on\n"
++"\n"
++"# Desktop-notification title.\n"
++"# title = Timer\n"
++"\n"
++"# Desktop-notification command run when a countdown finishes. Tokens are\n"
++"# split on whitespace; {title}/{msg} placeholders expand. Empty disables.\n"
++"# notify_cmd = notify-send -u critical {title} {msg}\n"
++"\n"
++"# Sound played when a countdown finishes. Leave unset to auto-detect a\n"
++"# player (paplay/aplay/mpv/ffplay) and play a default system sound.\n"
++"# Tokens are split on whitespace; {title}/{msg} placeholders expand.\n"
++"# sound_cmd = paplay /usr/share/sounds/freedesktop/stereo/complete.oga\n",
++	f);
+ }
+ 
+ /* ===== usage =====
+@@ -491,10 +665,12 @@
+ "  --no-persist    skip alert-until-keypress loop\n"
+ "  --flash on|off  terminal flash during alert loop\n"
+ "  --bar STYLE     bar style: unicode|ascii|hash|dots|line|block|arrow|minimal\n"
++"  --dump-config   print a commented config template on stdout and exit\n"
+ "  --              end of options\n"
+ "  -h              help\n"
+ "\n"
+-"controls:  [space] pause/resume   [q | Ctrl+C] quit\n");
++"controls:  [space] pause/resume   [q | Ctrl+C] quit\n"
++"config:    /etc/ttym.conf, then ~/.config/ttym/config  (--dump-config)\n");
+ }
+ 
+ /* ===== run loop ===== */
+@@ -633,12 +809,13 @@
+ main(int argc, char **argv)
+ {
+ 	Config cfg = {0};
+-	cfg.title      = TITLE;
+-	cfg.notify_cmd = NOTIFY_CMD;
+-	cfg.sound_cmd  = SOUND_CMD;
++	snprintf(cfg.title,      sizeof(cfg.title),      "%s", TITLE      ? TITLE      : "");
++	snprintf(cfg.notify_cmd, sizeof(cfg.notify_cmd), "%s", NOTIFY_CMD ? NOTIFY_CMD : "");
++	snprintf(cfg.sound_cmd,  sizeof(cfg.sound_cmd),  "%s", SOUND_CMD  ? SOUND_CMD  : "");
+ 	snprintf(cfg.msg, sizeof(cfg.msg), "%s", "Time is up");
+ 	cfg.alert_persist = ALERT_PERSIST;
+ 	cfg.flash         = FLASH;
++	load_config(&cfg);
+ 
+ 	/* Pre-strip long-form flags before getopt. Stop at "--". */
+ 	int nargc = 0, past_dd = 0;
+@@ -659,8 +836,13 @@
+ 		}
+ 		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--bar") && i + 1 < argc) {
+ 			snprintf(cfg.bar_style, sizeof(cfg.bar_style), "%s", argv[++i]);
++			cfg.bar_fill[0] = cfg.bar_empty[0] = '\0';
+ 			continue;
+ 		}
++		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--dump-config")) {
++			dump_config(stdout);
++			return 0;
++		}
+ 		argv[nargc++] = argv[i];
+ 	}
+ 	argv[nargc] = NULL;
diff --git a/patches/ttym-flash-2.0.diff b/patches/ttym-flash-2.0.diff
deleted file mode 100644
index 0ee30b5..0000000
--- a/patches/ttym-flash-2.0.diff
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,113 +0,0 @@
-diff -ruN a/config.def.h b/config.def.h
---- a/config.def.h	2026-05-20 12:14:52.639963552 +0200
-+++ b/config.def.h	2026-05-20 12:14:52.639963552 +0200
-@@ -9,3 +9,8 @@
-  * Override per-run with --no-persist.
-  */
- static const int ALERT_PERSIST = 1;
-+
-+/* reverse-video flash during the alert loop.
-+ * Override per-run with --flash on|off.
-+ */
-+static const int FLASH = 1;
-diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
---- a/ttym.c	2026-05-20 12:14:52.639963552 +0200
-+++ b/ttym.c	2026-05-20 12:17:37.203364538 +0200
-@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
- #include <stdio.h>
- #include <stdlib.h>
- #include <string.h>
-+#include <strings.h>
- #include <sys/ioctl.h>
- #include <termios.h>
- #include <time.h>
-@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@
- 	int quiet;            /* -q: suppress completion bell */
- 	int silent;           /* -s: no bell, no extras */
- 	int alert_persist;    /* alert loop until keypress; --no-persist disables */
-+	int flash;            /* reverse-video flash during alert loop */
- } Config;
- 
- static struct termios oldtios;
-@@ -81,6 +83,13 @@
- 	interrupted = 1;
- }
- 
-+static int
-+parse_bool_str(const char *v)
-+{
-+	return !strcasecmp(v, "true") || !strcasecmp(v, "yes") ||
-+	       !strcmp(v, "1")        || !strcasecmp(v, "on");
-+}
-+
- static void
- restore_tty(void)
- {
-@@ -88,7 +97,7 @@
- 		tcsetattr(ttyfd, TCSANOW, &oldtios);
- 	rawset = 0;
- 	if (out_tty)
--		fputs("\033[?7h\033[?25h", stdout);  /* re-enable wrap, show cursor */
-+		fputs("\033[?5l\033[?7h\033[?25h", stdout);  /* clear reverse, re-enable wrap, show cursor */
- 	fputc('\n', stdout);
- 	fflush(stdout);
- }
-@@ -241,14 +250,17 @@
- }
- 
- static void
--alert_loop(void)
-+alert_loop(int flash)
- {
- 	fputs("\033[?25h\033[?7h", stdout);
- 	int ticks = 0;
- 	while (!interrupted) {
- 		fputc('\a', stdout);
-+		if (flash) fputs("\033[?5h", stdout);
- 		fflush(stdout);
- 		sleep_ms(150);
-+		if (flash) fputs("\033[?5l", stdout);
-+		fflush(stdout);
- 
- 		int acked = 0;
- 		for (int i = 0; i < 15 && !interrupted; i++) {
-@@ -287,6 +299,7 @@
- "  -q              no sound\n"
- "  -s              silent\n"
- "  --no-persist    skip alert-until-keypress loop\n"
-+"  --flash on|off  terminal flash during alert loop\n"
- "  --              end of options\n"
- "  -h              help\n"
- "\n"
-@@ -421,7 +434,7 @@
- 		}
- 		if (!cfg->silent && cfg->alert_persist && is_foreground()) {
- 			interrupted = 0;
--			alert_loop();
-+			alert_loop(cfg->flash);
- 		}
- 	}
- 
-@@ -436,6 +449,7 @@
- {
- 	Config cfg = {0};
- 	cfg.alert_persist = ALERT_PERSIST;
-+	cfg.flash         = FLASH;
- 
- 	/* Pre-strip long-form flags before getopt. Stop at "--". */
- 	int new_argc = 0;
-@@ -452,6 +466,14 @@
- 			cfg.alert_persist = 0;
- 			continue;
- 		}
-+		if (!past_dd && !strncmp(argv[i], "--flash=", 8)) {
-+			cfg.flash = parse_bool_str(argv[i] + 8);
-+			continue;
-+		}
-+		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--flash") && i + 1 < argc) {
-+			cfg.flash = parse_bool_str(argv[++i]);
-+			continue;
-+		}
- 		new_argv[new_argc++] = argv[i];
- 	}
- 	new_argv[new_argc] = NULL;
diff --git a/patches/ttym-full-2.0.diff b/patches/ttym-full-3.0.diff
index a344275..166c869 100644
--- a/patches/ttym-full-2.0.diff
+++ b/patches/ttym-full-3.0.diff
@@ -1,34 +1,57 @@
 diff -ruN a/config.def.h b/config.def.h
---- a/config.def.h	2026-05-20 14:08:08.221029371 +0200
-+++ b/config.def.h	2026-05-20 14:08:08.221029371 +0200
-@@ -1,5 +1,47 @@
+--- a/config.def.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.750123947 +0200
++++ b/config.def.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.750123947 +0200
+@@ -1,9 +1,32 @@
  /* See LICENSE file for copyright and license details. */
  
--/* progress bar glyphs (ASCII default) */
-+/* progress bar glyphs (ASCII default).
-+ * Runtime config file ~/.config/ttym/config can override these via
-+ * bar_fill / bar_empty keys.
++/* Defaults below are compile-time. Many can be overridden at runtime by
++ * /etc/ttym.conf and ~/.config/ttym/config; command-line flags override
++ * both. Run `timer --dump-config` for a commented template. See timer(1).
 + */
++
+ /* progress bar glyphs (ASCII default) */
  static const char *const BAR_FILL  = ">";
  static const char *const BAR_EMPTY = "-";
+ 
++/* desktop notification on countdown completion.
++ * Tokens are split on whitespace; placeholders {title} and {msg} are expanded.
++ * Set NULL or "" to disable.
++ */
++static const char *const TITLE      = "Timer";
++static const char *const NOTIFY_CMD = "notify-send -u critical {title} {msg}";
++
++/* sound on countdown completion. If SOUND_CMD is "" the binary autodetects
++ * a player (paplay/aplay/mpv/ffplay) and plays a default freedesktop sound.
++ * SOUND_CMD is split on whitespace; same token rules as NOTIFY_CMD.
++ */
++static const char *const SOUND_CMD  = "";
 +
-+/* persistent alert: keep ringing the bell until any key is pressed.
-+ * Foreground-only; backgrounded runs always fall through.
-+ * Override per-run with --no-persist, or via the alert_persist key
-+ * in the runtime config file (~/.config/ttym/config).
++/* log location is ~/.config/ttym/ttym.log (honours $XDG_CONFIG_HOME).
++ * One-shot migration: ~/.config/timer/ -> ~/.config/ttym/ if the new
++ * directory doesn't already exist; legacy log file inside is renamed.
 + */
-+static const int ALERT_PERSIST = 1;
 +
-+/* reverse-video flash during the alert loop.
-+ * Override per-run with --flash on|off, or via the flash key in the
-+ * runtime config file (~/.config/ttym/config).
+ /* persistent alert: keep ringing the bell until any key is pressed.
+  * Foreground-only; backgrounded runs always fall through.
+  * Override per-run with --no-persist.
+diff -ruN a/config.h b/config.h
+--- a/config.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.750123947 +0200
++++ b/config.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.750123947 +0200
+@@ -1,9 +1,32 @@
+ /* See LICENSE file for copyright and license details. */
+ 
++/* Defaults below are compile-time. Many can be overridden at runtime by
++ * /etc/ttym.conf and ~/.config/ttym/config; command-line flags override
++ * both. Run `timer --dump-config` for a commented template. See timer(1).
 + */
-+static const int FLASH = 1;
 +
+ /* progress bar glyphs (ASCII default) */
+ static const char *const BAR_FILL  = ">";
+ static const char *const BAR_EMPTY = "-";
+ 
 +/* desktop notification on countdown completion.
 + * Tokens are split on whitespace; placeholders {title} and {msg} are expanded.
 + * Set NULL or "" to disable.
-+ * The runtime config file can override these via title / notify_cmd keys.
 + */
 +static const char *const TITLE      = "Timer";
 +static const char *const NOTIFY_CMD = "notify-send -u critical {title} {msg}";
@@ -36,7 +59,6 @@ diff -ruN a/config.def.h b/config.def.h
 +/* sound on countdown completion. If SOUND_CMD is "" the binary autodetects
 + * a player (paplay/aplay/mpv/ffplay) and plays a default freedesktop sound.
 + * SOUND_CMD is split on whitespace; same token rules as NOTIFY_CMD.
-+ * The runtime config file can override this via the sound_cmd key.
 + */
 +static const char *const SOUND_CMD  = "";
 +
@@ -45,149 +67,45 @@ diff -ruN a/config.def.h b/config.def.h
 + * directory doesn't already exist; legacy log file inside is renamed.
 + */
 +
-+/* default bar style: "" autodetects (unicode if locale is UTF-8, else ascii).
-+ * Available: unicode | ascii | hash | dots | line | block | arrow | minimal.
-+ * The runtime config file can override this via the bar_style key.
-+ */
-+static const char *const BAR_STYLE = "";
+ /* persistent alert: keep ringing the bell until any key is pressed.
+  * Foreground-only; backgrounded runs always fall through.
+  * Override per-run with --no-persist.
+Binary files a/timer and b/timer differ
 diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
---- a/ttym.c	2026-05-20 14:08:08.221029371 +0200
-+++ b/ttym.c	2026-05-20 14:08:08.221029371 +0200
-@@ -5,13 +5,17 @@
- #include <ctype.h>
- #include <errno.h>
- #include <fcntl.h>
-+#include <locale.h>
- #include <poll.h>
- #include <signal.h>
- #include <stdarg.h>
- #include <stdio.h>
- #include <stdlib.h>
+--- a/ttym.c	2026-08-25 17:18:15.750123947 +0200
++++ b/ttym.c	2026-08-25 17:18:15.750123947 +0200
+@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@
  #include <string.h>
-+#include <strings.h>
+ #include <strings.h>
  #include <sys/ioctl.h>
++#include <sys/wait.h>
++#include <sys/stat.h>
 +#include <sys/stat.h>
 +#include <sys/wait.h>
  #include <termios.h>
  #include <time.h>
  #include <unistd.h>
-@@ -23,6 +27,16 @@
+@@ -24,9 +28,16 @@
  typedef struct {
  	int quiet;            /* -q: suppress completion bell */
  	int silent;           /* -s: no bell, no extras */
-+	int alert_persist;    /* alert loop until keypress; --no-persist disables */
-+	int flash;            /* reverse-video flash during alert loop */
-+	char comment[512];    /* -c TEXT: logged with each entry */
-+	char bar_fill[16];    /* override (utf-8 ok); from runtime config */
-+	char bar_empty[16];   /* override */
-+	char bar_style[32];   /* --bar STYLE */
-+	char title[256];      /* override; from runtime config */
-+	char notify_cmd[512]; /* override; from runtime config */
-+	char sound_cmd[512];  /* override; from runtime config */
++	char title[256];      /* runtime config may override */
++	char notify_cmd[512]; /* runtime config may override */
++	char sound_cmd[512];  /* runtime config may override */
 +	char msg[1024];
++	char comment[512];    /* -c TEXT: logged, and passed as 3rd arg to hooks */
+ 	int alert_persist;    /* alert loop until keypress; --no-persist disables */
+ 	int flash;            /* reverse-video flash during alert loop */
+ 	char bar_style[32];   /* --bar STYLE */
++	char bar_fill[16];    /* runtime config: explicit glyph, beats bar_style */
++	char bar_empty[16];   /* runtime config: explicit glyph, beats bar_style */
  } Config;
  
  static struct termios oldtios;
-@@ -80,6 +94,13 @@
- 	interrupted = 1;
- }
- 
-+static int
-+parse_bool_str(const char *v)
-+{
-+	return !strcasecmp(v, "true") || !strcasecmp(v, "yes") ||
-+	       !strcmp(v, "1")        || !strcasecmp(v, "on");
-+}
-+
- static void
- restore_tty(void)
- {
-@@ -87,7 +108,7 @@
- 		tcsetattr(ttyfd, TCSANOW, &oldtios);
- 	rawset = 0;
- 	if (out_tty)
--		fputs("\033[?7h\033[?25h", stdout);  /* re-enable wrap, show cursor */
-+		fputs("\033[?5l\033[?7h\033[?25h", stdout);  /* clear reverse, re-enable wrap, show cursor */
- 	fputc('\n', stdout);
+@@ -236,6 +247,540 @@
  	fflush(stdout);
  }
-@@ -186,7 +207,8 @@
- /* ===== drawing ===== */
  
- static void
--draw_countdown(long total, long elapsed_ms, int paused, int barw)
-+draw_countdown(long total, long elapsed_ms, int paused, int barw,
-+               const char *fill_glyph, const char *empty_glyph, int minimal)
- {
- 	if (total <= 0) return;
- 	long total_ms = total * 1000L;
-@@ -207,8 +229,15 @@
- 	const char *status = paused ? "PAUSED " : "       ";
- 
- 	printf("\r%sT-%s\033[0m \033[2m+%s\033[0m [", color, rem, el);
--	for (int i = 0; i < fill;  i++) fputs(BAR_FILL,  stdout);
--	for (int i = 0; i < empty; i++) fputs(BAR_EMPTY, stdout);
-+	if (minimal) {
-+		fputs("\033[7m", stdout);
-+		for (int i = 0; i < fill;  i++) fputc(' ', stdout);
-+		fputs("\033[27m", stdout);
-+		for (int i = 0; i < empty; i++) fputc(' ', stdout);
-+	} else {
-+		for (int i = 0; i < fill;  i++) fputs(fill_glyph,  stdout);
-+		for (int i = 0; i < empty; i++) fputs(empty_glyph, stdout);
-+	}
- 	printf("] %3ld%% %s", pct, status);
- 	fflush(stdout);
- }
-@@ -226,6 +255,740 @@
- 	fflush(stdout);
- }
- 
-+/* ===== alert loop =====
-+ * Bell + poll for keypress, ~1.5s per beat; 4-min safety cap.
-+ */
-+
-+static int
-+is_foreground(void)
-+{
-+	if (!isatty(STDIN_FILENO) || !isatty(STDOUT_FILENO)) return 0;
-+	pid_t pgrp = tcgetpgrp(STDIN_FILENO);
-+	if (pgrp < 0) return 0;
-+	return pgrp == getpgrp();
-+}
-+
-+static void
-+alert_loop(int flash)
-+{
-+	fputs("\033[?25h\033[?7h", stdout);
-+	int ticks = 0;
-+	while (!interrupted) {
-+		fputc('\a', stdout);
-+		if (flash) fputs("\033[?5h", stdout);
-+		fflush(stdout);
-+		sleep_ms(150);
-+		if (flash) fputs("\033[?5l", stdout);
-+		fflush(stdout);
-+
-+		int acked = 0;
-+		for (int i = 0; i < 15 && !interrupted; i++) {
-+			if (ttyfd < 0) { sleep_ms(100); continue; }
-+			struct pollfd pfd = { .fd = ttyfd, .events = POLLIN };
-+			int pr = poll(&pfd, 1, 100);
-+			if (pr > 0 && (pfd.revents & POLLIN)) {
-+				char ch;
-+				ssize_t rd = read(ttyfd, &ch, 1);
-+				if (rd >= 0) { acked = 1; break; }
-+			} else if (pr < 0) {
-+				sleep_ms(100);
-+			}
-+		}
-+		if (acked) break;
-+		if (++ticks > 160) break;
-+	}
-+	fflush(stdout);
-+}
-+
 +/* ===== subprocess + placeholder expansion =====
 + * Tokens split on whitespace; {title} and {msg} expanded within each token.
 + * No shell involved — argv stays argv.
@@ -722,10 +640,39 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
 +	}
 +}
 +
-+/* ===== runtime config file (~/.config/ttym/config) =====
-+ * key = value lines; '#' comments. Unknown keys ignored.
+ /* ===== alert loop =====
+  * Bell + poll for keypress, ~1.5s per beat; 4-min safety cap.
+  */
+@@ -328,6 +873,178 @@
+ 	}
+ 	*fill  = s ? s->fill  : BAR_FILL;
+ 	*empty = s ? s->empty : BAR_EMPTY;
++	/* explicit glyphs from the config file beat the named style; --bar
++	 * clears them so a flag always wins over the file. */
++	if (c->bar_fill[0])  *fill  = c->bar_fill;
++	if (c->bar_empty[0]) *empty = c->bar_empty;
++}
++
++/* ===== runtime config file =====
++ * key = value lines. '#' starts a comment only at the start of a line or
++ * after whitespace, and never inside quotes. Quote a value to protect
++ * surrounding space or a leading '#'; one matched pair is stripped. Unknown keys and
++ * unparseable values are reported on stderr rather than silently dropped.
++ * Precedence: command-line flags > ~/.config/ttym/config > /etc/ttym.conf
++ * > the compile-time defaults in config.h.
 + */
 +
++static int
++build_cfg_path(char *buf, size_t bufsz, const char *name)
++{
++	const char *xdg  = getenv("XDG_CONFIG_HOME");
++	const char *home = getenv("HOME");
++	if (xdg && *xdg)        snprintf(buf, bufsz, "%s/ttym/%s", xdg, name);
++	else if (home && *home) snprintf(buf, bufsz, "%s/.config/ttym/%s", home, name);
++	else                    return -1;
++	return 0;
++}
++
 +static void
 +trim(char *s)
 +{
@@ -733,33 +680,119 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
 +	while (*p && isspace((unsigned char)*p)) p++;
 +	if (p != s) memmove(s, p, strlen(p) + 1);
 +	size_t n = strlen(s);
-+	while (n > 0 && isspace((unsigned char)s[n-1])) s[--n] = '\0';
++	while (n > 0 && isspace((unsigned char)s[n - 1])) s[--n] = '\0';
 +}
 +
 +static void
-+ensure_default_config_file(const char *path)
++strip_comment(char *s)
 +{
-+	if (access(path, F_OK) == 0) return;
-+	char dir[512];
-+	snprintf(dir, sizeof(dir), "%s", path);
-+	char *slash = strrchr(dir, '/');
-+	if (slash) { *slash = '\0'; mkdir_p(dir, 0700); }
-+	FILE *f = fopen(path, "w");
++	int q = 0;
++	for (char *p = s; *p; p++) {
++		if (q) {
++			if (*p == q) q = 0;
++		} else if (*p == '"' || *p == '\'') {
++			q = *p;
++		} else if (*p == '#' && (p == s || isspace((unsigned char)p[-1]))) {
++			*p = '\0';
++			return;
++		}
++	}
++}
++
++static void
++unquote(char *s)
++{
++	size_t n = strlen(s);
++	if (n >= 2 && (s[0] == '"' || s[0] == '\'') && s[n - 1] == s[0]) {
++		memmove(s, s + 1, n - 2);
++		s[n - 2] = '\0';
++	}
++}
++
++static int
++cfg_bool(const char *path, int ln, const char *k, const char *v, int cur)
++{
++	if (!strcasecmp(v, "true")  || !strcasecmp(v, "yes") ||
++	    !strcasecmp(v, "on")    || !strcmp(v, "1"))  return 1;
++	if (!strcasecmp(v, "false") || !strcasecmp(v, "no") ||
++	    !strcasecmp(v, "off")   || !strcmp(v, "0"))  return 0;
++	fprintf(stderr, "%s:%d: %s: expected on or off, got: %s\n", path, ln, k, v);
++	return cur;
++}
++
++static void
++load_config_file(Config *c, const char *path)
++{
++	FILE *f = fopen(path, "r");
 +	if (!f) return;
++	char line[1024];
++	int ln = 0;
++	while (fgets(line, sizeof(line), f)) {
++		ln++;
++		strip_comment(line);
++		char *eq = strchr(line, '=');
++		if (!eq) {
++			trim(line);
++			if (*line)
++				fprintf(stderr, "%s:%d: not key = value: %s\n", path, ln, line);
++			continue;
++		}
++		*eq = '\0';
++		char *k = line, *v = eq + 1;
++		trim(k); trim(v); unquote(v);
++		if (!*k) {
++			fprintf(stderr, "%s:%d: missing key\n", path, ln);
++			continue;
++		}
++		if      (!strcmp(k, "bar_fill"))   snprintf(c->bar_fill,   sizeof(c->bar_fill),   "%s", v);
++		else if (!strcmp(k, "bar_empty"))  snprintf(c->bar_empty,  sizeof(c->bar_empty),  "%s", v);
++		else if (!strcmp(k, "title"))      snprintf(c->title,      sizeof(c->title),      "%s", v);
++		else if (!strcmp(k, "notify_cmd")) snprintf(c->notify_cmd, sizeof(c->notify_cmd), "%s", v);
++		else if (!strcmp(k, "sound_cmd"))  snprintf(c->sound_cmd,  sizeof(c->sound_cmd),  "%s", v);
++		else if (!strcmp(k, "flash"))         c->flash         = cfg_bool(path, ln, k, v, c->flash);
++		else if (!strcmp(k, "alert_persist")) c->alert_persist = cfg_bool(path, ln, k, v, c->alert_persist);
++		else if (!strcmp(k, "bar_style")) {
++			if (find_bar_style(v))
++				snprintf(c->bar_style, sizeof(c->bar_style), "%s", v);
++			else
++				fprintf(stderr, "%s:%d: unknown bar style: %s\n", path, ln, v);
++		}
++		else fprintf(stderr, "%s:%d: unknown key: %s\n", path, ln, k);
++	}
++	fclose(f);
++}
++
++static void
++load_config(Config *c)
++{
++	load_config_file(c, "/etc/ttym.conf");
++	char path[512];
++	if (build_cfg_path(path, sizeof(path), "config") == 0)
++		load_config_file(c, path);
++}
++
++/* Written to stdout by --dump-config; ttym never creates this file itself.
++ *     timer --dump-config > ~/.config/ttym/config
++ */
++static void
++dump_config(FILE *f)
++{
 +	fputs(
-+"# ttym configuration file\n"
++"# ttym configuration\n"
 +"#\n"
-+"# Location : ~/.config/ttym/config   (/etc/ttym.conf is read first, if present)\n"
-+"# Syntax   : key = value   -- one entry per line; '#' begins a comment.\n"
-+"#            A commented-out or absent key keeps its built-in default.\n"
-+"#            Command-line flags override anything set in this file.\n"
++"# Read from /etc/ttym.conf first, then ~/.config/ttym/config\n"
++"# (honours $XDG_CONFIG_HOME). Command-line flags override both; an absent\n"
++"# or commented-out key keeps the compile-time default from config.h.\n"
 +"#\n"
-+"# Every key below is recognised by this build. Uncomment and edit to taste.\n"
++"# Syntax: key = value. '#' begins a comment at the start of a line or after\n"
++"# whitespace. Quote a value to keep surrounding spaces or a leading '#';\n"
++"# one matched pair of quotes is stripped.\n"
 +"# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------\n"
 +"\n"
 +"# Progress-bar glyphs. Set BOTH or NEITHER -- mismatched display widths\n"
-+"# break bar alignment. Multi-byte UTF-8 is fine. These override bar_style.\n"
-+"# bar_fill  = >\n"
++"# break bar alignment. Multi-byte UTF-8 is fine. These beat bar_style,\n"
++"# but --bar on the command line beats them.\n"
++"# bar_fill  = >          # a '#' glyph must be quoted:  bar_fill = \"#\"\n"
 +"# bar_empty = -\n"
 +"\n"
 +"# Named progress-bar style. One of:\n"
@@ -786,101 +819,10 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
 +"# Tokens are split on whitespace; {title}/{msg} placeholders expand.\n"
 +"# sound_cmd = paplay /usr/share/sounds/freedesktop/stereo/complete.oga\n",
 +	f);
-+	fclose(f);
-+	chmod(path, 0600);
-+}
-+
-+static void
-+load_config_file(Config *c, const char *path)
-+{
-+	FILE *f = fopen(path, "r");
-+	if (!f) return;
-+	char line[1024];
-+	while (fgets(line, sizeof(line), f)) {
-+		char *hash = strchr(line, '#');
-+		if (hash) *hash = '\0';
-+		char *eq = strchr(line, '=');
-+		if (!eq) continue;
-+		*eq = '\0';
-+		char *k = line, *v = eq + 1;
-+		trim(k); trim(v);
-+		if (!*k) continue;
-+		if      (!strcmp(k, "bar_fill"))      snprintf(c->bar_fill,  sizeof(c->bar_fill),  "%s", v);
-+		else if (!strcmp(k, "bar_empty"))     snprintf(c->bar_empty, sizeof(c->bar_empty), "%s", v);
-+		else if (!strcmp(k, "bar_style"))     snprintf(c->bar_style, sizeof(c->bar_style), "%s", v);
-+		else if (!strcmp(k, "flash"))         c->flash         = parse_bool_str(v);
-+		else if (!strcmp(k, "alert_persist")) c->alert_persist = parse_bool_str(v);
-+		else if (!strcmp(k, "title"))         snprintf(c->title,      sizeof(c->title),      "%s", v);
-+		else if (!strcmp(k, "notify_cmd"))    snprintf(c->notify_cmd, sizeof(c->notify_cmd), "%s", v);
-+		else if (!strcmp(k, "sound_cmd"))     snprintf(c->sound_cmd,  sizeof(c->sound_cmd),  "%s", v);
-+	}
-+	fclose(f);
-+}
-+
-+static void
-+load_config(Config *c)
-+{
-+	load_config_file(c, "/etc/ttym.conf");
-+	char path[512];
-+	if (build_config_path(path, sizeof(path), "config") == 0) {
-+		ensure_default_config_file(path);
-+		load_config_file(c, path);
-+	}
-+}
-+
-+/* ===== bar styles ===== */
-+
-+typedef struct { const char *name, *fill, *empty; } BarStyle;
-+
-+static const BarStyle bar_styles[] = {
-+	{ "unicode", "\xe2\x96\x88", "\xe2\x96\x91" },  /* U+2588 U+2591 */
-+	{ "ascii",   "=",            "-"            },
-+	{ "hash",    "#",            "."            },
-+	{ "dots",    "\xe2\x80\xa2", "\xc2\xb7"     },  /* U+2022 U+00B7 */
-+	{ "line",    "\xe2\x94\x81", "\xe2\x94\x80" },  /* U+2501 U+2500 */
-+	{ "block",   "\xe2\x96\x93", "\xe2\x96\x91" },  /* U+2593 U+2591 */
-+	{ "arrow",   "\xe2\x96\xb6", "\xe2\x96\xb7" },  /* U+25B6 U+25B7 */
-+	{ "minimal", "",             ""             },
-+	{ NULL,      NULL,           NULL           }
-+};
-+
-+static const BarStyle *
-+find_bar_style(const char *name)
-+{
-+	if (!name || !*name) return NULL;
-+	for (int i = 0; bar_styles[i].name; i++)
-+		if (!strcmp(bar_styles[i].name, name)) return &bar_styles[i];
-+	return NULL;
-+}
-+
-+static int
-+is_utf8(void)
-+{
-+	const char *l = setlocale(LC_CTYPE, "");
-+	if (!l) return 0;
-+	return strstr(l, "UTF-8") || strstr(l, "utf8") || strstr(l, "utf-8");
-+}
-+
-+static void
-+resolve_bar(const Config *c, const char **fill, const char **empty, int *minimal)
-+{
-+	*minimal = 0;
-+	const char *name = (c->bar_style[0]) ? c->bar_style : BAR_STYLE;
-+	const BarStyle *s = find_bar_style(name);
-+	if (!s) s = find_bar_style(is_utf8() ? "unicode" : "ascii");
-+	if (s && !strcmp(s->name, "minimal")) {
-+		*minimal = 1;
-+		*fill = " "; *empty = " ";
-+		return;
-+	}
-+	*fill  = s ? s->fill  : BAR_FILL;
-+	*empty = s ? s->empty : BAR_EMPTY;
-+}
-+
+ }
+ 
  /* ===== usage =====
-  * Patches MUST update this in lockstep with new flags so -h always
-  * reflects the build.
-@@ -236,17 +999,25 @@
+@@ -340,20 +1057,26 @@
  {
  	fprintf(f,
  "usage:\n"
@@ -896,35 +838,21 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
 +"  -c TEXT         comment for log (+tag tokens are extracted)\n"
  "  -q              no sound\n"
  "  -s              silent\n"
-+"  --bar STYLE     bar style: unicode|ascii|hash|dots|line|block|arrow|minimal\n"
-+"  --no-persist    skip alert-until-keypress loop\n"
-+"  --flash on|off  terminal flash during alert loop\n"
+ "  --no-persist    skip alert-until-keypress loop\n"
+ "  --flash on|off  terminal flash during alert loop\n"
+ "  --bar STYLE     bar style: unicode|ascii|hash|dots|line|block|arrow|minimal\n"
++"  --dump-config   print a commented config template on stdout and exit\n"
  "  --              end of options\n"
  "  -h              help\n"
  "\n"
 -"controls:  [space] pause/resume   [q | Ctrl+C] quit\n");
 +"controls:  [space] pause/resume   [q | Ctrl+C] quit\n"
 +"hooks:     ~/.config/ttym/hooks/{on_start,on_done,on_quit}  (executable)\n"
-+"config:    ~/.config/ttym/config  (auto-generated on first run)\n");
++"config:    /etc/ttym.conf, then ~/.config/ttym/config  (--dump-config)\n");
  }
  
  /* ===== run loop ===== */
-@@ -259,6 +1030,14 @@
- 	int barw = cols - 40;
- 	if (barw < 10) barw = 10;
- 
-+	const char *fill_glyph, *empty_glyph;
-+	int minimal = 0;
-+	resolve_bar(cfg, &fill_glyph, &empty_glyph, &minimal);
-+	/* explicit per-glyph overrides from the runtime config file
-+	 * (bar_fill / bar_empty) win over the named --bar style. */
-+	if (cfg->bar_fill[0])  fill_glyph  = cfg->bar_fill;
-+	if (cfg->bar_empty[0]) empty_glyph = cfg->bar_empty;
-+
- 	ttyfd = open("/dev/tty", O_RDONLY);
- 	if (ttyfd >= 0 && isatty(ttyfd)) {
- 		if (tcgetattr(ttyfd, &oldtios) == 0) {
-@@ -280,6 +1059,9 @@
+@@ -393,6 +1116,9 @@
  	if (out_tty)
  		fputs("\033[?25l\033[?7l", stdout);
  
@@ -934,55 +862,40 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
  	long start_ms    = now_ms();
  	long pause_accum = 0;
  	long pause_start = 0;
-@@ -300,7 +1082,8 @@
- 				draw_stopwatch(elapsed_ms, paused);
- 		} else {
- 			if (out_tty)
--				draw_countdown(total, elapsed_ms, paused, barw);
-+				draw_countdown(total, elapsed_ms, paused, barw,
-+				               fill_glyph, empty_glyph, minimal);
- 			if (!paused && elapsed_ms >= total * 1000L) break;
- 		}
- 
-@@ -356,6 +1139,7 @@
- 			printf("\r\033[32mSTOP %s%*s\033[0m\n", el, 30, "");
+@@ -457,6 +1183,7 @@
+ 			printf("\r\033[32mSTOP %s\033[0m\033[K\n", el);
  		else
  			printf("STOP %s\n", el);
 +		run_hook("on_quit", "stopwatch", elapsed_s, cfg->comment);
  	} else if (user_quit) {
  		char el[24];
  		fmt_clock(elapsed_s, el, sizeof(el));
-@@ -363,6 +1147,7 @@
- 			printf("\r\033[33mQUIT at %s%*s\033[0m\n", el, 30, "");
+@@ -464,6 +1191,7 @@
+ 			printf("\r\033[33mQUIT at %s\033[0m\033[K\n", el);
  		else
  			printf("QUIT at %s\n", el);
 +		run_hook("on_quit", "countdown", elapsed_s, cfg->comment);
  	} else {
  		char tb[24];
  		fmt_clock(total, tb, sizeof(tb));
-@@ -370,14 +1155,21 @@
- 			printf("\r\033[32mDONE %s 100%%%*s\033[0m\n", tb, 20, "");
+@@ -471,6 +1199,8 @@
+ 			printf("\r\033[32mDONE %s 100%%\033[0m\033[K\n", tb);
  		else
  			printf("DONE %s 100%%\n", tb);
-+		run_hook("on_done", "countdown", total, cfg->comment);
 +		if (!cfg->silent) notify_and_sound(cfg);
++		run_hook("on_done", "countdown", total, cfg->comment);
  		if (!cfg->silent && !cfg->quiet && out_tty) {
  			fputc('\a', stdout);
  			fflush(stdout);
- 			sleep_ms(50);
+@@ -482,6 +1212,7 @@
  		}
-+		if (!cfg->silent && cfg->alert_persist && is_foreground()) {
-+			interrupted = 0;
-+			alert_loop(cfg->flash);
-+		}
  	}
  
- 	(void)cfg;
 +	write_log(elapsed_s, cfg->comment);
  	return user_quit ? 130 : 0;
  }
  
-@@ -386,7 +1178,21 @@
+@@ -490,9 +1221,21 @@
  int
  main(int argc, char **argv)
  {
@@ -994,52 +907,43 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
 +		return cmd_stats(argc - 2, argv + 2);
 +
  	Config cfg = {0};
-+	cfg.alert_persist = ALERT_PERSIST;
-+	cfg.flash         = FLASH;
 +	snprintf(cfg.title,      sizeof(cfg.title),      "%s", TITLE      ? TITLE      : "");
 +	snprintf(cfg.notify_cmd, sizeof(cfg.notify_cmd), "%s", NOTIFY_CMD ? NOTIFY_CMD : "");
 +	snprintf(cfg.sound_cmd,  sizeof(cfg.sound_cmd),  "%s", SOUND_CMD  ? SOUND_CMD  : "");
 +	snprintf(cfg.msg, sizeof(cfg.msg), "%s", "Time is up");
+ 	cfg.alert_persist = ALERT_PERSIST;
+ 	cfg.flash         = FLASH;
 +	load_config(&cfg);
  
  	/* Pre-strip long-form flags before getopt. Stop at "--". */
- 	int new_argc = 0;
-@@ -399,15 +1205,32 @@
- 			new_argv[new_argc++] = argv[i];
+ 	int nargc = 0, past_dd = 0;
+@@ -513,17 +1256,23 @@
+ 		}
+ 		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--bar") && i + 1 < argc) {
+ 			snprintf(cfg.bar_style, sizeof(cfg.bar_style), "%s", argv[++i]);
++			cfg.bar_fill[0] = cfg.bar_empty[0] = '\0';
  			continue;
  		}
-+		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--no-persist")) {
-+			cfg.alert_persist = 0;
-+			continue;
-+		}
-+		if (!past_dd && !strncmp(argv[i], "--flash=", 8)) {
-+			cfg.flash = parse_bool_str(argv[i] + 8);
-+			continue;
-+		}
-+		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--flash") && i + 1 < argc) {
-+			cfg.flash = parse_bool_str(argv[++i]);
-+			continue;
-+		}
-+		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--bar") && i + 1 < argc) {
-+			snprintf(cfg.bar_style, sizeof(cfg.bar_style), "%s", argv[++i]);
-+			continue;
++		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--dump-config")) {
++			dump_config(stdout);
++			return 0;
 +		}
- 		new_argv[new_argc++] = argv[i];
+ 		argv[nargc++] = argv[i];
  	}
- 	new_argv[new_argc] = NULL;
+ 	argv[nargc] = NULL;
  
  	int opt;
--	while ((opt = getopt(new_argc, new_argv, "qsh")) != -1) {
-+	while ((opt = getopt(new_argc, new_argv, "qsc:h")) != -1) {
+-	while ((opt = getopt(nargc, argv, "qsh")) != -1) {
++	while ((opt = getopt(nargc, argv, "qsc:h")) != -1) {
  		switch (opt) {
  		case 'q': cfg.quiet  = 1; break;
  		case 's': cfg.silent = 1; break;
 +		case 'c': snprintf(cfg.comment, sizeof(cfg.comment), "%s", optarg); break;
- 		case 'h': usage(stdout); free(new_argv); return 0;
- 		default:  usage(stderr); free(new_argv); return 1;
+ 		case 'h': usage(stdout); return 0;
+ 		default:  usage(stderr); return 1;
  		}
-@@ -424,6 +1247,16 @@
- 			free(new_argv);
+@@ -539,6 +1288,16 @@
+ 			fprintf(stderr, "bad duration: %s\n", rem_argv[0]);
  			return 1;
  		}
 +		if (rem_argc > 1) {
@@ -1054,4 +958,4 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
 +		}
  	}
  
- 	int rc = run(total, stopwatch, &cfg);
+ 	return run(total, stopwatch, &cfg);
diff --git a/patches/ttym-hooks-2.0.diff b/patches/ttym-hooks-3.0.diff
index dbb4f6a..fd505c9 100644
--- a/patches/ttym-hooks-2.0.diff
+++ b/patches/ttym-hooks-3.0.diff
@@ -1,24 +1,25 @@
+Binary files a/timer and b/timer differ
 diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
---- a/ttym.c	2026-05-20 12:02:00.123998202 +0200
-+++ b/ttym.c	2026-05-20 12:24:33.731972801 +0200
-@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@
- #include <stdlib.h>
+--- a/ttym.c	2026-08-25 17:18:15.722123437 +0200
++++ b/ttym.c	2026-08-25 17:18:15.726123510 +0200
+@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
  #include <string.h>
+ #include <strings.h>
  #include <sys/ioctl.h>
 +#include <sys/stat.h>
 +#include <sys/wait.h>
  #include <termios.h>
  #include <time.h>
  #include <unistd.h>
-@@ -23,6 +25,7 @@
+@@ -24,6 +26,7 @@
  typedef struct {
  	int quiet;            /* -q: suppress completion bell */
  	int silent;           /* -s: no bell, no extras */
 +	char comment[512];    /* passed as 3rd arg to hooks */
- } Config;
- 
- static struct termios oldtios;
-@@ -226,6 +229,43 @@
+ 	int alert_persist;    /* alert loop until keypress; --no-persist disables */
+ 	int flash;            /* reverse-video flash during alert loop */
+ 	char bar_style[32];   /* --bar STYLE */
+@@ -236,6 +239,43 @@
  	fflush(stdout);
  }
  
@@ -59,16 +60,18 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
 +	}
 +}
 +
- /* ===== usage =====
-  * Patches MUST update this in lockstep with new flags so -h always
-  * reflects the build.
-@@ -241,12 +281,14 @@
+ /* ===== alert loop =====
+  * Bell + poll for keypress, ~1.5s per beat; 4-min safety cap.
+  */
+@@ -345,6 +385,7 @@
  "\n"
  "DURATION:  25m | 90s | 2h | 1h30m | 01:30:00 | 25:00\n"
  "FLAGS:\n"
 +"  -c TEXT         comment, passed as 3rd arg to hooks\n"
  "  -q              no sound\n"
  "  -s              silent\n"
+ "  --no-persist    skip alert-until-keypress loop\n"
+@@ -353,7 +394,8 @@
  "  --              end of options\n"
  "  -h              help\n"
  "\n"
@@ -78,7 +81,7 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
  }
  
  /* ===== run loop ===== */
-@@ -280,6 +322,9 @@
+@@ -393,6 +435,9 @@
  	if (out_tty)
  		fputs("\033[?25l\033[?7l", stdout);
  
@@ -88,40 +91,40 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
  	long start_ms    = now_ms();
  	long pause_accum = 0;
  	long pause_start = 0;
-@@ -356,6 +401,7 @@
- 			printf("\r\033[32mSTOP %s%*s\033[0m\n", el, 30, "");
+@@ -457,6 +502,7 @@
+ 			printf("\r\033[32mSTOP %s\033[0m\033[K\n", el);
  		else
  			printf("STOP %s\n", el);
 +		run_hook("on_quit", "stopwatch", elapsed_s, cfg->comment);
  	} else if (user_quit) {
  		char el[24];
  		fmt_clock(elapsed_s, el, sizeof(el));
-@@ -363,6 +409,7 @@
- 			printf("\r\033[33mQUIT at %s%*s\033[0m\n", el, 30, "");
+@@ -464,6 +510,7 @@
+ 			printf("\r\033[33mQUIT at %s\033[0m\033[K\n", el);
  		else
  			printf("QUIT at %s\n", el);
 +		run_hook("on_quit", "countdown", elapsed_s, cfg->comment);
  	} else {
  		char tb[24];
  		fmt_clock(total, tb, sizeof(tb));
-@@ -370,6 +417,7 @@
- 			printf("\r\033[32mDONE %s 100%%%*s\033[0m\n", tb, 20, "");
+@@ -471,6 +518,7 @@
+ 			printf("\r\033[32mDONE %s 100%%\033[0m\033[K\n", tb);
  		else
  			printf("DONE %s 100%%\n", tb);
 +		run_hook("on_done", "countdown", total, cfg->comment);
  		if (!cfg->silent && !cfg->quiet && out_tty) {
  			fputc('\a', stdout);
  			fflush(stdout);
-@@ -404,10 +452,11 @@
- 	new_argv[new_argc] = NULL;
+@@ -520,10 +568,11 @@
+ 	argv[nargc] = NULL;
  
  	int opt;
--	while ((opt = getopt(new_argc, new_argv, "qsh")) != -1) {
-+	while ((opt = getopt(new_argc, new_argv, "qsc:h")) != -1) {
+-	while ((opt = getopt(nargc, argv, "qsh")) != -1) {
++	while ((opt = getopt(nargc, argv, "qsc:h")) != -1) {
  		switch (opt) {
  		case 'q': cfg.quiet  = 1; break;
  		case 's': cfg.silent = 1; break;
 +		case 'c': snprintf(cfg.comment, sizeof(cfg.comment), "%s", optarg); break;
- 		case 'h': usage(stdout); free(new_argv); return 0;
- 		default:  usage(stderr); free(new_argv); return 1;
+ 		case 'h': usage(stdout); return 0;
+ 		default:  usage(stderr); return 1;
  		}
diff --git a/patches/ttym-logging-2.0.diff b/patches/ttym-logging-3.0.diff
index d654d50..0b16351 100644
--- a/patches/ttym-logging-2.0.diff
+++ b/patches/ttym-logging-3.0.diff
@@ -1,35 +1,54 @@
 diff -ruN a/config.def.h b/config.def.h
---- a/config.def.h	2026-05-20 11:57:26.722347891 +0200
-+++ b/config.def.h	2026-05-20 11:57:26.726347974 +0200
-@@ -3,3 +3,8 @@
- /* progress bar glyphs (ASCII default) */
+--- a/config.def.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.710123219 +0200
++++ b/config.def.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.714123291 +0200
+@@ -4,6 +4,11 @@
  static const char *const BAR_FILL  = ">";
  static const char *const BAR_EMPTY = "-";
+ 
++/* log location is ~/.config/ttym/ttym.log (honours $XDG_CONFIG_HOME).
++ * One-shot migration: ~/.config/timer/ -> ~/.config/ttym/ if the new
++ * directory doesn't already exist; legacy log file inside is renamed.
++ */
 +
+ /* persistent alert: keep ringing the bell until any key is pressed.
+  * Foreground-only; backgrounded runs always fall through.
+  * Override per-run with --no-persist.
+diff -ruN a/config.h b/config.h
+--- a/config.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.710123219 +0200
++++ b/config.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.714123291 +0200
+@@ -4,6 +4,11 @@
+ static const char *const BAR_FILL  = ">";
+ static const char *const BAR_EMPTY = "-";
+ 
 +/* log location is ~/.config/ttym/ttym.log (honours $XDG_CONFIG_HOME).
 + * One-shot migration: ~/.config/timer/ -> ~/.config/ttym/ if the new
 + * directory doesn't already exist; legacy log file inside is renamed.
 + */
++
+ /* persistent alert: keep ringing the bell until any key is pressed.
+  * Foreground-only; backgrounded runs always fall through.
+  * Override per-run with --no-persist.
+Binary files a/timer and b/timer differ
 diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
---- a/ttym.c	2026-05-20 11:57:26.722347891 +0200
-+++ b/ttym.c	2026-05-20 11:57:26.726347974 +0200
-@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
- #include <stdlib.h>
+--- a/ttym.c	2026-08-25 17:18:15.710123219 +0200
++++ b/ttym.c	2026-08-25 17:18:15.714123291 +0200
+@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
  #include <string.h>
+ #include <strings.h>
  #include <sys/ioctl.h>
 +#include <sys/stat.h>
  #include <termios.h>
  #include <time.h>
  #include <unistd.h>
-@@ -23,6 +24,7 @@
+@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@
  typedef struct {
  	int quiet;            /* -q: suppress completion bell */
  	int silent;           /* -s: no bell, no extras */
 +	char comment[512];    /* -c TEXT: logged with each entry */
- } Config;
- 
- static struct termios oldtios;
-@@ -226,6 +228,367 @@
+ 	int alert_persist;    /* alert loop until keypress; --no-persist disables */
+ 	int flash;            /* reverse-video flash during alert loop */
+ 	char bar_style[32];   /* --bar STYLE */
+@@ -236,6 +238,367 @@
  	fflush(stdout);
  }
  
@@ -394,10 +413,10 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
 +	return 0;
 +}
 +
- /* ===== usage =====
-  * Patches MUST update this in lockstep with new flags so -h always
-  * reflects the build.
-@@ -238,9 +601,12 @@
+ /* ===== alert loop =====
+  * Bell + poll for keypress, ~1.5s per beat; 4-min safety cap.
+  */
+@@ -342,9 +705,12 @@
  "usage:\n"
  "  timer [FLAGS] DURATION    countdown\n"
  "  timer [FLAGS]             stopwatch\n"
@@ -409,16 +428,16 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
 +"  -c TEXT         comment for log (+tag tokens are extracted)\n"
  "  -q              no sound\n"
  "  -s              silent\n"
- "  --              end of options\n"
-@@ -378,6 +744,7 @@
+ "  --no-persist    skip alert-until-keypress loop\n"
+@@ -482,6 +848,7 @@
+ 		}
  	}
  
- 	(void)cfg;
 +	write_log(elapsed_s, cfg->comment);
  	return user_quit ? 130 : 0;
  }
  
-@@ -386,6 +753,13 @@
+@@ -490,6 +857,13 @@
  int
  main(int argc, char **argv)
  {
@@ -430,18 +449,18 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
 +		return cmd_stats(argc - 2, argv + 2);
 +
  	Config cfg = {0};
- 
- 	/* Pre-strip long-form flags before getopt. Stop at "--". */
-@@ -404,10 +778,11 @@
- 	new_argv[new_argc] = NULL;
+ 	cfg.alert_persist = ALERT_PERSIST;
+ 	cfg.flash         = FLASH;
+@@ -520,10 +894,11 @@
+ 	argv[nargc] = NULL;
  
  	int opt;
--	while ((opt = getopt(new_argc, new_argv, "qsh")) != -1) {
-+	while ((opt = getopt(new_argc, new_argv, "qsc:h")) != -1) {
+-	while ((opt = getopt(nargc, argv, "qsh")) != -1) {
++	while ((opt = getopt(nargc, argv, "qsc:h")) != -1) {
  		switch (opt) {
  		case 'q': cfg.quiet  = 1; break;
  		case 's': cfg.silent = 1; break;
 +		case 'c': snprintf(cfg.comment, sizeof(cfg.comment), "%s", optarg); break;
- 		case 'h': usage(stdout); free(new_argv); return 0;
- 		default:  usage(stderr); free(new_argv); return 1;
+ 		case 'h': usage(stdout); return 0;
+ 		default:  usage(stderr); return 1;
  		}
diff --git a/patches/ttym-notify-2.0.diff b/patches/ttym-notify-3.0.diff
index a80eef3..9ccfd5c 100644
--- a/patches/ttym-notify-2.0.diff
+++ b/patches/ttym-notify-3.0.diff
@@ -1,11 +1,33 @@
 diff -ruN a/config.def.h b/config.def.h
---- a/config.def.h	2026-05-20 12:03:30.597867999 +0200
-+++ b/config.def.h	2026-05-20 12:03:30.597867999 +0200
-@@ -3,3 +3,16 @@
- /* progress bar glyphs (ASCII default) */
+--- a/config.def.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.698123000 +0200
++++ b/config.def.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.702123073 +0200
+@@ -4,6 +4,19 @@
  static const char *const BAR_FILL  = ">";
  static const char *const BAR_EMPTY = "-";
+ 
++/* desktop notification on countdown completion.
++ * Tokens are split on whitespace; placeholders {title} and {msg} are expanded.
++ * Set NULL or "" to disable.
++ */
++static const char *const TITLE      = "Timer";
++static const char *const NOTIFY_CMD = "notify-send -u critical {title} {msg}";
++
++/* sound on countdown completion. If SOUND_CMD is "" the binary autodetects
++ * a player (paplay/aplay/mpv/ffplay) and plays a default freedesktop sound.
++ * SOUND_CMD is split on whitespace; same token rules as NOTIFY_CMD.
++ */
++static const char *const SOUND_CMD  = "";
 +
+ /* persistent alert: keep ringing the bell until any key is pressed.
+  * Foreground-only; backgrounded runs always fall through.
+  * Override per-run with --no-persist.
+diff -ruN a/config.h b/config.h
+--- a/config.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.698123000 +0200
++++ b/config.h	2026-08-25 17:18:15.702123073 +0200
+@@ -4,6 +4,19 @@
+ static const char *const BAR_FILL  = ">";
+ static const char *const BAR_EMPTY = "-";
+ 
 +/* desktop notification on countdown completion.
 + * Tokens are split on whitespace; placeholders {title} and {msg} are expanded.
 + * Set NULL or "" to disable.
@@ -18,18 +40,23 @@ diff -ruN a/config.def.h b/config.def.h
 + * SOUND_CMD is split on whitespace; same token rules as NOTIFY_CMD.
 + */
 +static const char *const SOUND_CMD  = "";
++
+ /* persistent alert: keep ringing the bell until any key is pressed.
+  * Foreground-only; backgrounded runs always fall through.
+  * Override per-run with --no-persist.
+Binary files a/timer and b/timer differ
 diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
---- a/ttym.c	2026-05-20 12:03:30.597867999 +0200
-+++ b/ttym.c	2026-05-20 12:03:53.438340036 +0200
-@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
- #include <stdlib.h>
+--- a/ttym.c	2026-08-25 17:18:15.698123000 +0200
++++ b/ttym.c	2026-08-25 17:18:15.702123073 +0200
+@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
  #include <string.h>
+ #include <strings.h>
  #include <sys/ioctl.h>
 +#include <sys/wait.h>
  #include <termios.h>
  #include <time.h>
  #include <unistd.h>
-@@ -23,6 +24,10 @@
+@@ -24,6 +25,10 @@
  typedef struct {
  	int quiet;            /* -q: suppress completion bell */
  	int silent;           /* -s: no bell, no extras */
@@ -37,10 +64,10 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
 +	const char *notify_cmd;
 +	const char *sound_cmd;
 +	char msg[1024];
- } Config;
- 
- static struct termios oldtios;
-@@ -226,6 +231,142 @@
+ 	int alert_persist;    /* alert loop until keypress; --no-persist disables */
+ 	int flash;            /* reverse-video flash during alert loop */
+ 	char bar_style[32];   /* --bar STYLE */
+@@ -236,6 +241,142 @@
  	fflush(stdout);
  }
  
@@ -180,10 +207,10 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
 +	}
 +}
 +
- /* ===== usage =====
-  * Patches MUST update this in lockstep with new flags so -h always
-  * reflects the build.
-@@ -236,8 +377,8 @@
+ /* ===== alert loop =====
+  * Bell + poll for keypress, ~1.5s per beat; 4-min safety cap.
+  */
+@@ -340,8 +481,8 @@
  {
  	fprintf(f,
  "usage:\n"
@@ -194,15 +221,15 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
  "\n"
  "DURATION:  25m | 90s | 2h | 1h30m | 01:30:00 | 25:00\n"
  "FLAGS:\n"
-@@ -370,6 +511,7 @@
- 			printf("\r\033[32mDONE %s 100%%%*s\033[0m\n", tb, 20, "");
+@@ -471,6 +612,7 @@
+ 			printf("\r\033[32mDONE %s 100%%\033[0m\033[K\n", tb);
  		else
  			printf("DONE %s 100%%\n", tb);
 +		if (!cfg->silent) notify_and_sound(cfg);
  		if (!cfg->silent && !cfg->quiet && out_tty) {
  			fputc('\a', stdout);
  			fflush(stdout);
-@@ -387,6 +529,10 @@
+@@ -491,6 +633,10 @@
  main(int argc, char **argv)
  {
  	Config cfg = {0};
@@ -210,11 +237,11 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
 +	cfg.notify_cmd = NOTIFY_CMD;
 +	cfg.sound_cmd  = SOUND_CMD;
 +	snprintf(cfg.msg, sizeof(cfg.msg), "%s", "Time is up");
+ 	cfg.alert_persist = ALERT_PERSIST;
+ 	cfg.flash         = FLASH;
  
- 	/* Pre-strip long-form flags before getopt. Stop at "--". */
- 	int new_argc = 0;
-@@ -424,6 +570,16 @@
- 			free(new_argv);
+@@ -539,6 +685,16 @@
+ 			fprintf(stderr, "bad duration: %s\n", rem_argv[0]);
  			return 1;
  		}
 +		if (rem_argc > 1) {
@@ -229,4 +256,4 @@ diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
 +		}
  	}
  
- 	int rc = run(total, stopwatch, &cfg);
+ 	return run(total, stopwatch, &cfg);
diff --git a/patches/ttym-persist-alert-2.0.diff b/patches/ttym-persist-alert-2.0.diff
deleted file mode 100644
index 7e9d64b..0000000
--- a/patches/ttym-persist-alert-2.0.diff
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,111 +0,0 @@
-diff -ruN a/config.def.h b/config.def.h
---- a/config.def.h	2026-05-20 11:57:26.574344832 +0200
-+++ b/config.def.h	2026-05-20 11:57:26.578344915 +0200
-@@ -3,3 +3,9 @@
- /* progress bar glyphs (ASCII default) */
- static const char *const BAR_FILL  = ">";
- static const char *const BAR_EMPTY = "-";
-+
-+/* persistent alert: keep ringing the bell until any key is pressed.
-+ * Foreground-only; backgrounded runs always fall through.
-+ * Override per-run with --no-persist.
-+ */
-+static const int ALERT_PERSIST = 1;
-diff -ruN a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
---- a/ttym.c	2026-05-20 11:57:26.574344832 +0200
-+++ b/ttym.c	2026-05-20 11:57:26.578344915 +0200
-@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
- typedef struct {
- 	int quiet;            /* -q: suppress completion bell */
- 	int silent;           /* -s: no bell, no extras */
-+	int alert_persist;    /* alert loop until keypress; --no-persist disables */
- } Config;
- 
- static struct termios oldtios;
-@@ -226,6 +227,48 @@
- 	fflush(stdout);
- }
- 
-+/* ===== alert loop =====
-+ * Bell + poll for keypress, ~1.5s per beat; 4-min safety cap.
-+ */
-+
-+static int
-+is_foreground(void)
-+{
-+	if (!isatty(STDIN_FILENO) || !isatty(STDOUT_FILENO)) return 0;
-+	pid_t pgrp = tcgetpgrp(STDIN_FILENO);
-+	if (pgrp < 0) return 0;
-+	return pgrp == getpgrp();
-+}
-+
-+static void
-+alert_loop(void)
-+{
-+	fputs("\033[?25h\033[?7h", stdout);
-+	int ticks = 0;
-+	while (!interrupted) {
-+		fputc('\a', stdout);
-+		fflush(stdout);
-+		sleep_ms(150);
-+
-+		int acked = 0;
-+		for (int i = 0; i < 15 && !interrupted; i++) {
-+			if (ttyfd < 0) { sleep_ms(100); continue; }
-+			struct pollfd pfd = { .fd = ttyfd, .events = POLLIN };
-+			int pr = poll(&pfd, 1, 100);
-+			if (pr > 0 && (pfd.revents & POLLIN)) {
-+				char ch;
-+				ssize_t rd = read(ttyfd, &ch, 1);
-+				if (rd >= 0) { acked = 1; break; }
-+			} else if (pr < 0) {
-+				sleep_ms(100);
-+			}
-+		}
-+		if (acked) break;
-+		if (++ticks > 160) break;
-+	}
-+	fflush(stdout);
-+}
-+
- /* ===== usage =====
-  * Patches MUST update this in lockstep with new flags so -h always
-  * reflects the build.
-@@ -243,6 +286,7 @@
- "FLAGS:\n"
- "  -q              no sound\n"
- "  -s              silent\n"
-+"  --no-persist    skip alert-until-keypress loop\n"
- "  --              end of options\n"
- "  -h              help\n"
- "\n"
-@@ -375,6 +419,10 @@
- 			fflush(stdout);
- 			sleep_ms(50);
- 		}
-+		if (!cfg->silent && cfg->alert_persist && is_foreground()) {
-+			interrupted = 0;
-+			alert_loop();
-+		}
- 	}
- 
- 	(void)cfg;
-@@ -387,6 +435,7 @@
- main(int argc, char **argv)
- {
- 	Config cfg = {0};
-+	cfg.alert_persist = ALERT_PERSIST;
- 
- 	/* Pre-strip long-form flags before getopt. Stop at "--". */
- 	int new_argc = 0;
-@@ -399,6 +448,10 @@
- 			new_argv[new_argc++] = argv[i];
- 			continue;
- 		}
-+		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--no-persist")) {
-+			cfg.alert_persist = 0;
-+			continue;
-+		}
- 		new_argv[new_argc++] = argv[i];
- 	}
- 	new_argv[new_argc] = NULL;
diff --git a/timer.1 b/timer.1
index 57f84bb..e72566f 100644
--- a/timer.1
+++ b/timer.1
@@ -1,9 +1,25 @@
-.TH TIMER 1 "ttym 2.0"
+.TH TIMER 1 "ttym 3.0"
 .SH NAME
 timer \- terminal countdown and stopwatch
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 .B timer
 .RB [ \-qs ]
+.RB [ \-\-no\-persist ]
+.RB [ \-\-flash
+.BR on | off ]
+.RB [ \-\-bar
+.IR style ]
+.RB [ \-\- ]
+.RI [ duration ]
+.PP
+The remaining forms exist only when the corresponding patch is applied;
+each is annotated
+.RI [patch: name ]
+under
+.BR OPTIONS .
+.PP
+.B timer
+.RB [ \-qs ]
 .RB [ \-c
 .IR text ]
 .RB [ \-\-no\-persist ]
@@ -11,6 +27,7 @@ timer \- terminal countdown and stopwatch
 .BR on | off ]
 .RB [ \-\-bar
 .IR style ]
+.RB [ \-\-dump\-config ]
 .RB [ \-\- ]
 .RI [ duration ]
 .RI [ message
@@ -32,9 +49,11 @@ The progress bar, current elapsed time and time remaining
 are redrawn on the same line ten times per second.
 .PP
 The binary is intentionally small and modular.
-Beyond the base build (countdown, stopwatch, ASCII progress bar,
-pause/resume, one\-shot terminal bell on completion) every feature is
-an optional patch under
+The base build is terminal\-only: countdown, stopwatch, pause/resume,
+the progress bar and its eight styles, and the alert\-until\-keypress
+loop with its optional terminal flash. It writes no files and spawns no
+processes. Every feature that touches the filesystem, runs a subprocess
+or depends on an external binary is an optional patch under
 .IR patches/ .
 Each section below describing a non\-base feature is annotated with
 .RI [patch: name ];
@@ -46,8 +65,11 @@ always reflects the actual build.
 .SS Base
 .TP
 .B \-q
-Suppress the one\-shot completion bell.
-Persistent alert loops, if enabled by a patch, still ring the bell.
+Suppress the one\-shot completion bell. With the
+.B notify
+patch it also suppresses the completion sound, though not the desktop
+notification. Persistent alert loops, if enabled by a patch, still ring
+the bell.
 .TP
 .B \-s
 Silent. No bell, no notification, no alert loop.
@@ -60,36 +82,22 @@ Print usage and exit. Reflects the actual build.
 End of options. Subsequent arguments are treated as positional even if
 they begin with
 .BR \- .
-.SS Optional, added by patches
-.TP
-.BR \-c \ \fItext\fR
-.RI [patch: logging,
-.RI hooks]
-Comment associated with this session. With the
-.B logging
-patch, it is written as the third TSV field and any
-.BI + tag
-tokens within it are picked up by
-.BR "timer \-\-stats" .
-With the
-.B hooks
-patch, it is passed as the fourth argument to each hook script.
 .TP
 .B \-\-no\-persist
-.RI [patch: persist\-alert]
 Skip the alert\-until\-keypress loop.
 .B timer
-emits one bell and one notification, then exits.
+emits one bell, then exits.
 .TP
 .BR \-\-flash \ \fBon\fR | \fBoff\fR
-.RI [patch: flash]
 Toggle the reverse\-video terminal flash that runs during the
 persistent alert loop. Accepts
 .BR on / off / true / false / 1 / 0 / yes / no .
-Default is build\-dependent.
+Default is
+.B FLASH
+in
+.IR config.h .
 .TP
 .BR \-\-bar \ \fIstyle\fR
-.RI [patch: bar\-styles]
 Progress bar style. One of
 .BR unicode ,
 .BR ascii ,
@@ -99,12 +107,40 @@ Progress bar style. One of
 .BR block ,
 .BR arrow ,
 .BR minimal .
-With no patch applied the bar uses the compile\-time
+Unset (the default) auto\-detects: unicode on a UTF\-8 locale,
+otherwise ascii. The
 .B BAR_FILL
 and
 .B BAR_EMPTY
-glyphs from
-.IR config.h .
+glyphs in
+.I config.h
+are the fallback when no style matches.
+.SS Optional, added by patches
+.TP
+.BR \-c \ \fItext\fR
+.RI [patch: logging,
+.RI hooks]
+Comment associated with this session. With the
+.B logging
+patch, it is written as the third TSV field and any
+.BI + tag
+tokens within it are picked up by
+.BR "timer \-\-stats" .
+With the
+.B hooks
+patch, it is passed as the third argument to each hook script.
+.TP
+.B \-\-dump\-config
+.RI [patch: config\-file]
+Print a commented configuration template on stdout and exit.
+.B timer
+never creates the file itself:
+.PP
+.RS
+.nf
+timer \-\-dump\-config > ~/.config/ttym/config
+.fi
+.RE
 .SH SUBCOMMANDS
 .SS timer \-r [\-n N] [\-\-raw]
 .RI [patch: logging]
@@ -178,7 +214,6 @@ Quit immediately. Logs the partial session if logging is enabled.
 Same as
 .BR q .
 .SH ALERT LOOP
-.RI [patch: persist\-alert]
 When a countdown reaches zero, instead of emitting one bell and
 exiting, the program rings the bell every \(ti1.5 s and polls for a
 keypress. Any key acknowledges and exits.
@@ -191,12 +226,14 @@ Background jobs
 .IR ... \ &)
 get one bell and exit normally, leaving the shell quiet.
 .PP
-If the
-.B flash
-patch is also applied, each beat of the loop briefly inverts the
-terminal colours (reverse\-video). The flash can be suppressed without
-disabling the loop via
-.BR "\-\-flash off" .
+Each beat of the loop briefly inverts the terminal colours
+(reverse\-video). The flash can be suppressed without disabling the
+loop via
+.BR "\-\-flash off" ,
+or permanently via
+.B FLASH
+in
+.IR config.h .
 .SH HOOKS
 .RI [patch: hooks]
 On state transitions
@@ -228,12 +265,54 @@ or
 the others come from the running session. Hooks must be marked
 executable. Standard streams are redirected to
 .IR /dev/null .
+.SH EXIT STATUS
+.TP
+.B 0
+A countdown ran to completion.
+.TP
+.B 1
+Usage error: an unknown option, or a duration that could not be parsed.
+.TP
+.B 130
+The session was cut short, either by
+.B q
+or by
+.BR SIGINT ,
+.BR SIGTERM ,
+.BR SIGQUIT
+or
+.BR SIGHUP .
+The terminal is restored in every case.
+A stopwatch always exits this way \(em it has no natural end.
+.SH ENVIRONMENT
+.TP
+.B XDG_CONFIG_HOME
+Base directory for the files below. Defaults to
+.I ~/.config
+when unset or empty.
 .SH FILES
 .TP
+.I /etc/ttym.conf
+.RI [patch: config\-file]
+System\-wide runtime configuration, read before the per\-user file.
+.TP
 .I ~/.config/ttym/config
 .RI [patch: config\-file]
-Runtime configuration. Auto\-generated on first run with all keys
-commented out.
+Per\-user runtime configuration;
+.BR key " = " value
+lines. A
+.B #
+begins a comment at the start of a line or after whitespace, and never
+inside quotes; quote a value to protect surrounding spaces or a leading
+.BR # .
+Unknown keys and unparseable values are reported on stderr.
+Command\-line flags override this file, which overrides
+.IR /etc/ttym.conf ,
+which overrides the compile\-time defaults in
+.IR config.h .
+.B timer
+never creates this file \(em see
+.BR \-\-dump\-config .
 .TP
 .I ~/.config/ttym/ttym.log
 .RI [patch: logging]
diff --git a/ttym.c b/ttym.c
index fa46132..fb33d1f 100644
--- a/ttym.c
+++ b/ttym.c
@@ -5,12 +5,13 @@
 #include <ctype.h>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
+#include <locale.h>
 #include <poll.h>
 #include <signal.h>
-#include <stdarg.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
+#include <strings.h>
 #include <sys/ioctl.h>
 #include <termios.h>
 #include <time.h>
@@ -23,6 +24,9 @@
 typedef struct {
 	int quiet;            /* -q: suppress completion bell */
 	int silent;           /* -s: no bell, no extras */
+	int alert_persist;    /* alert loop until keypress; --no-persist disables */
+	int flash;            /* reverse-video flash during alert loop */
+	char bar_style[32];   /* --bar STYLE */
 } Config;
 
 static struct termios oldtios;
@@ -39,17 +43,6 @@ static int out_tty = 0;
 /* ===== helpers ===== */
 
 static void
-die(const char *fmt, ...)
-{
-	va_list ap;
-	va_start(ap, fmt);
-	vfprintf(stderr, fmt, ap);
-	va_end(ap);
-	fputc('\n', stderr);
-	exit(1);
-}
-
-static void
 sleep_ms(int ms)
 {
 	struct timespec ts = { ms / 1000, (long)(ms % 1000) * 1000000L };
@@ -73,6 +66,13 @@ term_cols(void)
 	return 80;
 }
 
+static long
+elapsed(long start_ms, long pause_accum, long pause_start, int paused)
+{
+	long ms = (paused ? pause_start : now_ms()) - start_ms - pause_accum;
+	return ms < 0 ? 0 : ms;
+}
+
 static void
 on_signal(int sig)
 {
@@ -80,16 +80,23 @@ on_signal(int sig)
 	interrupted = 1;
 }
 
+static int
+parse_bool_str(const char *v)
+{
+	return !strcasecmp(v, "true") || !strcasecmp(v, "yes") ||
+	       !strcmp(v, "1")        || !strcasecmp(v, "on");
+}
+
 static void
 restore_tty(void)
 {
 	if (rawset && ttyfd >= 0)
 		tcsetattr(ttyfd, TCSANOW, &oldtios);
 	rawset = 0;
-	if (out_tty)
-		fputs("\033[?7h\033[?25h", stdout);  /* re-enable wrap, show cursor */
-	fputc('\n', stdout);
-	fflush(stdout);
+	if (out_tty) {
+		fputs("\033[?5l\033[?7h\033[?25h", stdout);  /* clear reverse, re-enable wrap, show cursor */
+		fflush(stdout);
+	}
 }
 
 /* ===== duration parsing =====
@@ -142,18 +149,15 @@ parse_duration(const char *s)
 		if (nf == 3) {
 			if (v[1] >= 60 || v[2] >= 60) return -1;
 			total = v[0] * 3600 + v[1] * 60 + v[2];
-		} else if (nf == 2) {
+		} else {
 			if (v[1] >= 60) return -1;
 			total = v[0] * 60 + v[1];
-		} else {
-			return -1;
 		}
 		return total > 0 ? total : -1;
 	}
 
 	long total = 0;
 	size_t i = 0, start = 0;
-	int have_any = 0;
 	while (i < len) {
 		if (isdigit((unsigned char)s[i])) { i++; continue; }
 		if (s[i] != 'h' && s[i] != 'm' && s[i] != 's') return -1;
@@ -164,11 +168,10 @@ parse_duration(const char *s)
 		case 'm': total += v * 60;   break;
 		case 's': total += v;        break;
 		}
-		have_any = 1;
 		i++;
 		start = i;
 	}
-	if (!have_any || start != len) return -1;
+	if (start != len) return -1;
 	return total > 0 ? total : -1;
 }
 
@@ -186,7 +189,8 @@ fmt_clock(long s, char *buf, size_t bufsz)
 /* ===== drawing ===== */
 
 static void
-draw_countdown(long total, long elapsed_ms, int paused, int barw)
+draw_countdown(long total, long elapsed_ms, int paused, int barw,
+               const char *fill_glyph, const char *empty_glyph, int minimal)
 {
 	if (total <= 0) return;
 	long total_ms = total * 1000L;
@@ -207,8 +211,15 @@ draw_countdown(long total, long elapsed_ms, int paused, int barw)
 	const char *status = paused ? "PAUSED " : "       ";
 
 	printf("\r%sT-%s\033[0m \033[2m+%s\033[0m [", color, rem, el);
-	for (int i = 0; i < fill;  i++) fputs(BAR_FILL,  stdout);
-	for (int i = 0; i < empty; i++) fputs(BAR_EMPTY, stdout);
+	if (minimal) {
+		fputs("\033[7m", stdout);
+		for (int i = 0; i < fill;  i++) fputc(' ', stdout);
+		fputs("\033[27m", stdout);
+		for (int i = 0; i < empty; i++) fputc(' ', stdout);
+	} else {
+		for (int i = 0; i < fill;  i++) fputs(fill_glyph,  stdout);
+		for (int i = 0; i < empty; i++) fputs(empty_glyph, stdout);
+	}
 	printf("] %3ld%% %s", pct, status);
 	fflush(stdout);
 }
@@ -221,11 +232,104 @@ draw_stopwatch(long elapsed_ms, int paused)
 	fmt_clock(es, el, sizeof(el));
 	const char *color  = paused ? "\033[36m" : "\033[32m";
 	const char *status = paused ? "PAUSED " : "       ";
-	printf("\r%sT+%s\033[0m %s                          ",
-	       color, el, status);
+	printf("\r%sT+%s\033[0m %s\033[K", color, el, status);
+	fflush(stdout);
+}
+
+/* ===== alert loop =====
+ * Bell + poll for keypress, ~1.5s per beat; 4-min safety cap.
+ */
+
+static int
+is_foreground(void)
+{
+	if (!isatty(STDIN_FILENO) || !isatty(STDOUT_FILENO)) return 0;
+	pid_t pgrp = tcgetpgrp(STDIN_FILENO);
+	if (pgrp < 0) return 0;
+	return pgrp == getpgrp();
+}
+
+static void
+alert_loop(int flash)
+{
+	fputs("\033[?25h\033[?7h", stdout);
+	int ticks = 0;
+	while (!interrupted) {
+		fputc('\a', stdout);
+		if (flash) fputs("\033[?5h", stdout);
+		fflush(stdout);
+		sleep_ms(150);
+		if (flash) fputs("\033[?5l", stdout);
+		fflush(stdout);
+
+		int acked = 0;
+		for (int i = 0; i < 15 && !interrupted; i++) {
+			if (ttyfd < 0) { sleep_ms(100); continue; }
+			struct pollfd pfd = { .fd = ttyfd, .events = POLLIN };
+			int pr = poll(&pfd, 1, 100);
+			if (pr > 0 && (pfd.revents & POLLIN)) {
+				char ch;
+				ssize_t rd = read(ttyfd, &ch, 1);
+				if (rd >= 0) { acked = 1; break; }
+			} else if (pr < 0) {
+				sleep_ms(100);
+			}
+		}
+		if (acked) break;
+		if (++ticks > 160) break;
+	}
 	fflush(stdout);
 }
 
+/* ===== bar styles ===== */
+
+typedef struct { const char *name, *fill, *empty; } BarStyle;
+
+static const BarStyle bar_styles[] = {
+	{ "unicode", "\xe2\x96\x88", "\xe2\x96\x91" },  /* U+2588 U+2591 */
+	{ "ascii",   "=",            "-"            },
+	{ "hash",    "#",            "."            },
+	{ "dots",    "\xe2\x80\xa2", "\xc2\xb7"     },  /* U+2022 U+00B7 */
+	{ "line",    "\xe2\x94\x81", "\xe2\x94\x80" },  /* U+2501 U+2500 */
+	{ "block",   "\xe2\x96\x93", "\xe2\x96\x91" },  /* U+2593 U+2591 */
+	{ "arrow",   "\xe2\x96\xb6", "\xe2\x96\xb7" },  /* U+25B6 U+25B7 */
+	{ "minimal", "",             ""             },
+	{ NULL,      NULL,           NULL           }
+};
+
+static const BarStyle *
+find_bar_style(const char *name)
+{
+	if (!name || !*name) return NULL;
+	for (int i = 0; bar_styles[i].name; i++)
+		if (!strcmp(bar_styles[i].name, name)) return &bar_styles[i];
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+static int
+is_utf8(void)
+{
+	const char *l = setlocale(LC_CTYPE, "");
+	if (!l) return 0;
+	return strstr(l, "UTF-8") || strstr(l, "utf8") || strstr(l, "utf-8");
+}
+
+static void
+resolve_bar(const Config *c, const char **fill, const char **empty, int *minimal)
+{
+	*minimal = 0;
+	const char *name = (c->bar_style[0]) ? c->bar_style : BAR_STYLE;
+	const BarStyle *s = find_bar_style(name);
+	if (!s) s = find_bar_style(is_utf8() ? "unicode" : "ascii");
+	if (s && !strcmp(s->name, "minimal")) {
+		*minimal = 1;
+		*fill = " "; *empty = " ";
+		return;
+	}
+	*fill  = s ? s->fill  : BAR_FILL;
+	*empty = s ? s->empty : BAR_EMPTY;
+}
+
 /* ===== usage =====
  * Patches MUST update this in lockstep with new flags so -h always
  * reflects the build.
@@ -243,6 +347,9 @@ usage(FILE *f)
 "FLAGS:\n"
 "  -q              no sound\n"
 "  -s              silent\n"
+"  --no-persist    skip alert-until-keypress loop\n"
+"  --flash on|off  terminal flash during alert loop\n"
+"  --bar STYLE     bar style: unicode|ascii|hash|dots|line|block|arrow|minimal\n"
 "  --              end of options\n"
 "  -h              help\n"
 "\n"
@@ -259,6 +366,10 @@ run(long total, int stopwatch, const Config *cfg)
 	int barw = cols - 40;
 	if (barw < 10) barw = 10;
 
+	const char *fill_glyph, *empty_glyph;
+	int minimal = 0;
+	resolve_bar(cfg, &fill_glyph, &empty_glyph, &minimal);
+
 	ttyfd = open("/dev/tty", O_RDONLY);
 	if (ttyfd >= 0 && isatty(ttyfd)) {
 		if (tcgetattr(ttyfd, &oldtios) == 0) {
@@ -276,6 +387,8 @@ run(long total, int stopwatch, const Config *cfg)
 	sa.sa_handler = on_signal;
 	sigaction(SIGINT,  &sa, NULL);
 	sigaction(SIGTERM, &sa, NULL);
+	sigaction(SIGQUIT, &sa, NULL);
+	sigaction(SIGHUP,  &sa, NULL);
 
 	if (out_tty)
 		fputs("\033[?25l\033[?7l", stdout);
@@ -289,18 +402,15 @@ run(long total, int stopwatch, const Config *cfg)
 	for (;;) {
 		if (interrupted) { user_quit = 1; break; }
 
-		long now = now_ms();
-		long elapsed_ms = paused
-			? pause_start - start_ms - pause_accum
-			: now - start_ms - pause_accum;
-		if (elapsed_ms < 0) elapsed_ms = 0;
+		long elapsed_ms = elapsed(start_ms, pause_accum, pause_start, paused);
 
 		if (stopwatch) {
 			if (out_tty)
 				draw_stopwatch(elapsed_ms, paused);
 		} else {
 			if (out_tty)
-				draw_countdown(total, elapsed_ms, paused, barw);
+				draw_countdown(total, elapsed_ms, paused, barw,
+				               fill_glyph, empty_glyph, minimal);
 			if (!paused && elapsed_ms >= total * 1000L) break;
 		}
 
@@ -318,19 +428,17 @@ run(long total, int stopwatch, const Config *cfg)
 				ssize_t n = read(ttyfd, &c, 1);
 				if (n == 1) {
 					if (c == ' ') {
-						if (paused) {
-							pause_accum += now_ms() - pause_start;
-							paused = 0;
-						} else {
-							pause_start = now_ms();
-							paused = 1;
-						}
+						long t = now_ms();
+						if (paused)
+							pause_accum += t - pause_start;
+						pause_start = t;
+						paused = !paused;
 					} else if (c == 'q' || c == 'Q') {
 						user_quit = 1;
 						goto done;
 					}
 				}
-			} else if (pr == 0) {
+			} else if (pr == 0 || (pr < 0 && errno == EINTR)) {
 				break;
 			} else {
 				sleep_ms((int)rem_frame);
@@ -340,34 +448,27 @@ run(long total, int stopwatch, const Config *cfg)
 	}
 done:
 
-	{
-		long final_now = now_ms();
-		long final_ms = paused
-			? pause_start - start_ms - pause_accum
-			: final_now  - start_ms - pause_accum;
-		if (final_ms < 0) final_ms = 0;
-		elapsed_s = final_ms / 1000;
-	}
+	elapsed_s = elapsed(start_ms, pause_accum, pause_start, paused) / 1000;
 
 	if (stopwatch) {
 		char el[24];
 		fmt_clock(elapsed_s, el, sizeof(el));
 		if (out_tty)
-			printf("\r\033[32mSTOP %s%*s\033[0m\n", el, 30, "");
+			printf("\r\033[32mSTOP %s\033[0m\033[K\n", el);
 		else
 			printf("STOP %s\n", el);
 	} else if (user_quit) {
 		char el[24];
 		fmt_clock(elapsed_s, el, sizeof(el));
 		if (out_tty)
-			printf("\r\033[33mQUIT at %s%*s\033[0m\n", el, 30, "");
+			printf("\r\033[33mQUIT at %s\033[0m\033[K\n", el);
 		else
 			printf("QUIT at %s\n", el);
 	} else {
 		char tb[24];
 		fmt_clock(total, tb, sizeof(tb));
 		if (out_tty)
-			printf("\r\033[32mDONE %s 100%%%*s\033[0m\n", tb, 20, "");
+			printf("\r\033[32mDONE %s 100%%\033[0m\033[K\n", tb);
 		else
 			printf("DONE %s 100%%\n", tb);
 		if (!cfg->silent && !cfg->quiet && out_tty) {
@@ -375,9 +476,12 @@ done:
 			fflush(stdout);
 			sleep_ms(50);
 		}
+		if (!cfg->silent && cfg->alert_persist && is_foreground()) {
+			interrupted = 0;
+			alert_loop(cfg->flash);
+		}
 	}
 
-	(void)cfg;
 	return user_quit ? 130 : 0;
 }
 
@@ -387,33 +491,45 @@ int
 main(int argc, char **argv)
 {
 	Config cfg = {0};
+	cfg.alert_persist = ALERT_PERSIST;
+	cfg.flash         = FLASH;
 
 	/* Pre-strip long-form flags before getopt. Stop at "--". */
-	int new_argc = 0;
-	char **new_argv = malloc(sizeof(char *) * (argc + 1));
-	if (!new_argv) die("oom");
-	int past_dd = 0;
+	int nargc = 0, past_dd = 0;
 	for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
-		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--")) {
+		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--"))
 			past_dd = 1;
-			new_argv[new_argc++] = argv[i];
+		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--no-persist")) {
+			cfg.alert_persist = 0;
+			continue;
+		}
+		if (!past_dd && !strncmp(argv[i], "--flash=", 8)) {
+			cfg.flash = parse_bool_str(argv[i] + 8);
+			continue;
+		}
+		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--flash") && i + 1 < argc) {
+			cfg.flash = parse_bool_str(argv[++i]);
+			continue;
+		}
+		if (!past_dd && !strcmp(argv[i], "--bar") && i + 1 < argc) {
+			snprintf(cfg.bar_style, sizeof(cfg.bar_style), "%s", argv[++i]);
 			continue;
 		}
-		new_argv[new_argc++] = argv[i];
+		argv[nargc++] = argv[i];
 	}
-	new_argv[new_argc] = NULL;
+	argv[nargc] = NULL;
 
 	int opt;
-	while ((opt = getopt(new_argc, new_argv, "qsh")) != -1) {
+	while ((opt = getopt(nargc, argv, "qsh")) != -1) {
 		switch (opt) {
 		case 'q': cfg.quiet  = 1; break;
 		case 's': cfg.silent = 1; break;
-		case 'h': usage(stdout); free(new_argv); return 0;
-		default:  usage(stderr); free(new_argv); return 1;
+		case 'h': usage(stdout); return 0;
+		default:  usage(stderr); return 1;
 		}
 	}
-	int rem_argc = new_argc - optind;
-	char **rem_argv = new_argv + optind;
+	int rem_argc = nargc - optind;
+	char **rem_argv = argv + optind;
 
 	int stopwatch = (rem_argc < 1);
 	long total = 0;
@@ -421,12 +537,9 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 		total = parse_duration(rem_argv[0]);
 		if (total < 0) {
 			fprintf(stderr, "bad duration: %s\n", rem_argv[0]);
-			free(new_argv);
 			return 1;
 		}
 	}
 
-	int rc = run(total, stopwatch, &cfg);
-	free(new_argv);
-	return rc;
+	return run(total, stopwatch, &cfg);
 }