25 ms·

TimeTagger: Open-Source Time Tracker

199 points by wilsonjohn 6y ago

wanttocommentt 6y ago
I really like that more and more developers are doing the open-source/paid service option(no idea what's the term for it). I personally think it's great for both developers and their customers/users.
- robinhood 6y ago
  Open source SAAS: OSSAAS?
  - KajMagnus 6y ago
    OSAS? Open Source As Service?
- wilsonjohn 6y ago
  Do you see open source + self hosting could drive more adoption among developers rather than customers? Looking forward to hear your thoughts. Do you see model like Ghost could be a strategy to grow Open Source SaaS products?
  - almarklein 6y ago
    It is an interesting model, and developers seem to like it. TimeTagger is the successor to a similar product that is not open source, which I've posted about here, but never quite got a response like this :) I love open source and maintain several open source projects. By making TimeTagger open source, I was hoping to find a niche of "tech" users. And if it fails, at least the code can be useful to someone else.
    - jrumbut 6y ago
      That was perhaps the most compelling landing page I've ever seen. When you mentioned the lack of cookie banner I found it strangely exciting. I hope I'm in a salaried, non time tracking role for the foreseeable future, but if not I'll look into TimeTagger.
  - wanttocommentt 6y ago
    Hard to tell, but from my(developer) point of view I see it as a big benefit to be able to see the code. Plus it gives me the option, in case I like the service and it is discontinued for any reason, to just host it by myself. Also it adds another layer of trust and I have the feeling I can influence the product. >Do you see model like Ghost could be a strategy to grow Open Source SaaS products? Definitely, I think Ghost is a very good and successful example of Open Source SaaS.
- neonmate 6y ago
  I recently created a site to collect all the web services that are backed by an open source repository [1]. I'm happy to add timetagger to the collection:) Hope there will be many more applications like this in the future. You can share your ideas in https://wintermute.app/ideas https://wintermute.app/ideas. Imho many services are missing, like a privacy first social network. [1] https://wintermute.app/repositories https://wintermute.app/repositories
  - almarklein 6y ago
    Thanks!
  - wilsonjohn 6y ago
    This is an impressive list. Adding tags, categories would help in browsing ideas and repo faster.
    - neonmate 6y ago
      Thanks for the feedback. I thought about this earlier, but it requires to maintain this list manually. What do you think about fetching the tags from the Github repository and link once synchronized to wintermute?
      - wilsonjohn 6y ago
        that could be helpful. Are you looking at launching this on PH? I'm see people can contribute.
        neonmate 6y ago
        I would be glad about more people that contribute. But afaik launching this on PH would require to make it look more fancy. As you said tags and maybe screenshots. Otherwise I think the post will not get any attraction :)
  - Brendinooo 6y ago
    How do I submit a repository?
- cphajduk 6y ago
  freemium?
  - lights0123 6y ago
    That usually means that the premium version has more features, and doesn't imply libre/Open Source.
- IA21 6y ago
  open core? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-core_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-core_model
- r0rshrk 6y ago
  I think the term is open-core
mrbuttons454 6y ago
Typo on the front page under pricing: GLPv3 vs GPLv3
- almarklein 6y ago
  Thanks, fixed :)
skinkestek 6y ago
Have we hugged it to death already or is it something else?
- almarklein 6y ago
  I don't think my server has seen so much traffic in so little time. It seems to be holding up pretty well, but there are occasional requests that take a second or 2. I'm keeping an eye on the monitoring ...
  - whitepaint 6y ago
    There's something with your certificate. Getting an alert on Chrome.
    - almarklein 6y ago
      Thanks for the heads-up. Weird, it uses Let's Encrypt, and I don't see any problems :/
      - AbacusAvenger 6y ago
        The CN is "*.transip.nl" instead of "timetagger.app" for some reason.
        almarklein 6y ago
        Transip is the domain registrar I use. Could it be some sort of caching problem? The site (and it's cert) have only been up for a few hours ...
- twobitshifter 6y ago
  I’m just seeing a black screen with “demo” in the top left on mobile safari.
  - almarklein 6y ago
wakatime 6y ago
What I really care about is the time it takes to input tasks. The demo app link has a record button with a difficult to use form. Is there a faster way to start/stop the timer?
- almarklein 6y ago
  Hi, I'm the author of TimeTagger. Thanks for your feedback. Right now you can click the record button and since a description is optional, click start right away. Could you please elaborate how you would want this to be faster? A one click option, or perhaps a keyboard shortcut to start a timer? I'm eager to learn about potential workflows to make the experience more smooth :)
  - kleer001 6y ago
    > keyboard shortcut Always a good start for any speed increase Are you familiar with emacs and/or vi ?
    - almarklein 6y ago
      Familiar as in I know them, and I occasionally use vi (over ssh), but not a proper user :) Anyway, I created an issue: https://github.com/almarklein/timetagger/issues/11 https://github.com/almarklein/timetagger/issues/11
    - almarklein 6y ago
      Improved support for using the keyboard, including keyboard shortcuts.
  - mywacaday 6y ago
    1. When you go to edit an existing task and just click a suggested tag the edit button does not activate and it does not save unless you enter a space first. 2. Clicking on a tag on the right should work as a filter on the tasks. 3. Export to csv should have the tags in every row Well done on releasing and going open source, great achievement.
l1am0 6y ago
I did build a web extension automatically asking you for what you are currently working on. Not open source, but you might find it handy: https://byrly.com/waywo/ https://byrly.com/waywo/
sodimel 6y ago
Thanks for this tool! However I think the UI is not really ready yet. I would love some transitions on the popup elements, as well as a keyboard control over the forms :) Since I couldn't find any tool that did the job for me, I ended up creating a very simple (open source) timetracking tool that suited my needs: https://gist.github.com/corentinbettiol/634b6f95928ccb702ac790f16a584caf https://gist.github.com/corentinbettiol/634b6f95928ccb702ac7... (pros: not in a browser, start when you start your work computer, can sort content with grep, can count hours of work on a task with grep + wc -l, cons: no fancy ui, fixed delay)
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
Cthulhu_ 6y ago
Once upon a time I had to do time tracking to 30 minute resolution; what I ended up doing was install an activity tracker, then at the end of the day or month based on what window was open I'd mark down work. It worked well enough for software development because my editor reported the currently open file to this tracker.
- wbobeirne 6y ago
  What did you do for meetings, testing, looking up documentation etc? I hope you billed for more than just time writing code.
specialist 6y ago
Tangent: I also want a coach & nudge app. I have chemobrain (and other stuff, TMI). So my mind wanders. I need nudges to get back on track. Like a reverse pomodomo. I used to have a remarkable internal clock (always know time of day, track elapsed time, without looking at watch). Well, no more. Example 1: An inactivity timer. Like the builtin reminder to standup and stretch. Once or twice a day, I just have to sit down. I'll pop some pain pills then veg until they kick in (30-45 min). I never remember to set a timer, alarm. I want my phone to notice I've been vegging for an hour and remind me to start moving. Example 2: Time to stop. I'll start doing a mindless task, usually physical. Like weeding or picking up litter. It's super gratifying. But then I'll overdo it. I want my phone to notice I've been stuck on the same task for too long.
- vnxli 6y ago
  This is overkill for your example 1, but the apple watch has an inactivity tracker. It reminds you to get up and stand for a minute every hour if it notices you aren't moving. I've found it useful when I'm sitting around or working at a computer for long stretches. For your time to stop alert, the only thing I've found that helps is throwing everything on my outlook calendar - it gives alerts 15 minutes in advance of the appointment and that's enough to make me realize that some task is coming up and I need to prepare for it. I don't think I've seen an app per se that does exactly what you want
  - Jarwain 6y ago
    Possibly less overkill, I have a Garmin Vivosmart that has the same inactivity feature.
  - specialist 6y ago
    Thank you. I'm doing something wrong. I've dug thru all the settings, yup everything's enabled, and I don't ever recall getting a notification to stand up. I'll keep digging.
- gsmo 6y ago
  Though a bit narrow, I have found desktop (menubar) timers with ticking in the background to help a lot. As a matter of fact, I see mine counting down from the 5 min I allocated to check out YC and I can hear the ticking. What has surprised me most is that I haven't yet developed the ability to tune it out - so I always hear it. It also acts like a metronome and I believe it makes me work a bit faster.
ddon 6y ago
Are there any open source time trackers for teams?
- rokku 6y ago
  Kimai has a function for teams: https://www.kimai.org/documentation/teams.html https://www.kimai.org/documentation/teams.html
- evereq 6y ago
  You can check platform we are building, it includes time tracking for teams - https://github.com/ever-co/gauzy https://github.com/ever-co/gauzy
macspoofing 6y ago
Make sure you have a robust plugin layer as people will want to integrate this into their existing systems, like SCMs, issue trackers, CRMs, reporting and billing systems, chat clients (Teams/Slack) etc.
- spiffytech 6y ago
  I'm building something now that would fit in great with TimeTagger, but I don't see an API documented.
  - almarklein 6y ago
    The API is not public yet. I plan to though. Out of interest, what are you building? Perhaps we should keep in touch :)
    - ttamslam 6y ago
      Not OP, but I also have a project that would slot in nicely. I run a service that tracks work/sleep/exercise/meditation (along with a couple other data points that don't fit the duration model) via an SMS interface. I text it when I start/stop these activities and then it sends me reminders based on when I normally do those things during the day if I haven't already. It would be great to be able to push the data I collect into your service to have a unified view of how I spend my time, and also to pull events from your service to send reminders to do certain things via my bot.
      - almarklein 6y ago
        That sounds cool!
    - spiffytech 6y ago
      The folks from Beeminder (a goal-motivation SaaS) created a pile of Perl scripts nearly a decade ago called TagTime (http://tagti.me http://tagti.me), which shows pop-ups periodically (but randomly) asking what you're doing right now, and feeds that into a time tracker. That tackles one huge issue with time tracking: you have to either diligently switch up your tracker every time you context-switch, or retrospectively guess at what you actually did, and how long you think you spent on it all. Random stochastic sampling gives a solid great long-term approximation of your activities and cumulative time spent, without guesswork or discipline. I love the idea, but I need this to work on my computer, and my phone, and my other computer, and..., so I'm heeding their call to build a cloud-based version of TagTime. It pings the user via various channels (SMS, Web Push, Slack, etc.) and feeds their responses into Beeminder, Toggl, and IFTTT. I'd love to add TimeTagger to the list of supported integrations, since the demo app looks really compelling for the way I think about tracking time.
almarklein 6y ago
Now that you're all here, I'm playing with the idea to create a CLI tool so that you can start and stop records from the command line. Would this be interesting to you or would it only be a gimmick?
- zomgwat 6y ago
  Possible integrations with tools like Alfred (macOS app) is a good reason to have a CLI (IMO). I use Watson [1] to track time and mostly interact with it through Alfred. [1] https://tailordev.github.io/Watson/ https://tailordev.github.io/Watson/
  - josephd79 6y ago
    +1 for Watson
- beshrkayali 6y ago
  Org mode on emacs has some pretty nice clocking commands [1] that I find useful frequently. I guess a similar separate cli tool would be nice as well. [1] https://orgmode.org/manual/Clocking-commands.html https://orgmode.org/manual/Clocking-commands.html
- pgporada 6y ago
  Interesting. I could see myself opening a terminal (or 10) to perform some small scope of work, starting the timer, and then closing the terminals and timer once that task is done.
- maaarghk 6y ago
  yes, classic january stuff, but I was just thinking I could be doing with a daemon that I can control with rofi for tracking time, I could write some scripts to integrate it with freeagent and perhaps query how much money I made today and display it on i3status. with a CLI over your tool I would only be writing a few wee scripts, which would be ideal. (p.s. if anyone reading this has a suggestion that isn't tied to a python script written by someone whose new year resolution is "Launch 12 products this year and blog about it next year" i would appreciate a pointer. This seems like something a gnu tool probably exists for. I just checked and this one has no API which makes it useless for me since the value is all the boring work is already done...)
petargyurov 6y ago
There's an issue with your cert. Getting SSL_ERROR_BAD_CERT_DOMAIN on Firefox. Edit: seems to be working now.
- almarklein 6y ago
  I think it took a while for the cert to work on al continents, because of caching - the site has been up just a few hours :)
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
bdcravens 6y ago
The most useful feature (to me) in time tracker apps is the ability to let me know if I've been idle, and options to handle that. (Most apps in this space don't implement this feature)
- prawn 6y ago
  We've experimented with idle tracking in https://usepunch.com/ https://usepunch.com/ - it will do three things: Have a visible idle counter with suggestions of what to work on next (from your queue). Though we've worried this might frustrate anxious people. Let you convert an idle block to a task (e.g., if you had forgotten to punch in). Give you an indication of how much money you're leaving on the table by being idle (via your approximate hourly rate).
midnightmonster 6y ago
Congrats on launching. Page is only working intermittently for me, and the demo hasn't managed to load. I've been tracking my own time for the last ~month using progressive versions of my own in-development app that has a similar reporting style but is meant to innovate on the data entry, making it much more flexible and convenient (for people who happen to think like me and want the kind of tracking I want, anyway!) Hopefully I'll be "show hn"-ing it soon.
r4tn4l 6y ago
I didn't read all comments, just searched for "delete" and "remove" without success. My question is, if I can delete a record. I find that quite important, since I just created one called "bla" with nonsense, and then internally panicked slightly. If I try it tomorrow, I will just recycle my record for something useful, so a workaround exists. But I still think, deletion is somewhat crucial. Apart from that, some other things I stumbled over: - The icon is hard to see on my background, because it contains (too thin) black lines and transparent pixels. Give me some contrast! - The "House" for "Snap to now" feels unintuitive, but that is subjective. How about a text label, so you don't need an icon? - That "Calendar" icon for "Select Timerange" as well. - "Step forward" is one day forward. How about naming it.. more like what it is. A step is a generic thing that might be differently perceived, a day isn't (so much). - "Start Record" and "New Record" are pretty similar features. I do understand the difference, but I would enjoy more, if those two were simplified into just one in an intelligent way. - That burger menu is, pardon me, somewhat of a problem. There is so much information. I can see "Install App" in the installed App. "Export" happens there but also on the main screen. Which features belong where? Im missing a hierarchy here. - Your hint text in the "Manage tags" dialog is too long. Please build it in a way, where I do have to read less words. More like 5 or so (currently there are around 50). - Is that a refresh button next to the burger menu (left side)? I can click an empty button. Wait, what? - I really do like that infinite scroll and stuff. Looks cool. On the other hand it is quite easy to get lost. Maybe some snapping on day-level (rather than hour-level) might help. - Please don't require headings over button groups at all (and then even mix that with my initials!)
- almarklein 6y ago
  Thanks for the great feedback, very valuable indeed! At the moment, deleting a record is not implemented yet, but it's somewhere near the top of the todo list :)
DishyDev 6y ago
I really like this, I think this is a great foundation. I've pen and paper done this type of tracking to try and see how long I get to spend on task during a day, what sort of categories of work I'm doing, where am I losing the majority of my time etc. I do encourage it if you've got the sort of job where this is an issue. I'm not sure its something I'd do long term, but it's nice to sample a few days and re-calibrate your time every now and then.
40four 6y ago
I like a good time tracker app. I appreciate this is open source too! Some feedback... After playing with the demo, there is one thing that really jumps out to me I don't quite understand. It's looks like time get grouped into these little 'blocks' on the bar on the left. It's not immediately clear what forms a block though. Also, I don't quite understand the use case for being able to drag the blocks around? If you drag one, the start and stop times change for every task in the block? Weird. This seems very fragile. What if I accidentally drag a block out of place, and don't remember the exact start time? Then I have effectively 'broken' my time logs for a whole block of work. To me it would make sense to have the blocks locked by default, and allow unlocking in the case you need to move a whole group. But I can't imagine ever needing to do this very often. I will say, I really like the concept of the continuous scrolling main time bar on the left. Anyway, trying to offer constructive criticism, not trying to bash this project. Looks like the project is still young, and you've got a great start here! Keep it up!
- almarklein 6y ago
  Thanks for the feedback! The blocks on the left (in the timeline) represent the individual time records. These are indeed "glued together" when a new record starts right after another stops. You can only drag a record in the timeline when it's first selected, so it should be impossible to affect multiple at once. You can also move and zoom the timeline though, perhaps this is what was happening?
dreeves 6y ago
Nice work! I have no idea if this could fit into your roadmap (and this is probably the kind of feature request you should absolutely say no to) but my partner and I made a thing called TagTime that does time-tracking via random sampling (pinging you at random times) and I'm offering the domain tagtime.com to whoever subsumes the janky Perl-scripts-plus-Vim version we use and makes a proper TagTime-in-the-cloud. There's a pretty decent community of users to tap into but, again, it would probably entail a substantial pivot.
- almarklein 6y ago
  Sounds like a cool project, but I think I'll focus on my Python scrips for now :)
  - dreeves 6y ago
    To clarify, by "subsume the janky Perl version" I did not mean touching any Perl code!
- nkko 6y ago
  Nice. I see that you did this invite/offer first time in 2017. What is the main reason no one took you on it? What is the result of ttc tagging since then?
  - dreeves 6y ago
    Good questions; I don't have good answers! Various people have taken a stab at it, suffered 90%-done syndrome, and, yeah. As for myself, I have 70 ttc pings (52.5 hours of work) pretty much exclusively on project management type stuff, like trying out people's betas or refining the rules of the offer or other writing. I suppose I'd count writing this comment if TagTime pinged me right now... (it didn't).
pacifika 6y ago
Not sure who in your target audience can pay $2 but not $5/month but why not add a premium plan with as extra the priority support?
- almarklein 6y ago
  I figured I'd want to make it cheaper than Toggl et al., because people might feel they'd get less features. Plus there is no free plan, so the paid plans don't have to pay for the free users ;) - Anyway, I'm kinda done with multiple tiers, and like the idea of one simple price.
senko 6y ago
Going off on a tangent, I want to thank you for this: > Notice how there's no cookie banner on this site? This site does not track you. Nor does it make use of 3d party services that do. It's a small thing, but shows you care about your users more than you care about peeking into every little vanity metric for growth hacking. Kudos.
- almarklein 6y ago
  Thanks, I'm glad someone actually takes notice. I really care about this, and would love more people to do too :)
koolk3ychain 6y ago
The UI makes me want to vomit.
- almarklein 6y ago
  Thanks for the constructive feedback!
  - koolk3ychain 6y ago
    ;)
ipiz0618 6y ago
+1 for the self hosting option!
nh2 6y ago
Nice! When we chose a time tracker for consulting, having a paid option that is also open source would have been a major pro point (so we can rely on it not disappearing, and being able to fix blocking issues ourselves). You mentioned here that you don't want to add tiered pricing, but I do recommend to add support for paying for a whole organisation in batch (N users, so that the individuals at an org don't have to manage billing separately and an admin take care of it -- the individual's time to manage billing costs much more than the monthly price).
- almarklein 6y ago
  Thanks, good point!
SylonZero 6y ago
The interface matters a lot. I am using https://timeular.com/ https://timeular.com/ (along with their neat physical tracker widget) and it has become the tracker interface to beat, as the UX is really solid. I use it every day and find it extremely productive in ensuring that I spent time coding/learning etc instead of too many meetings or other activities that can hijack your day. Having said that, this is a good effort. I really like the continuing trend of useful software coming via Open Source, via a vibrant tech community.
pabs3 6y ago
Project Hamster provides an interesting option that runs locally. http://projecthamster.org/ http://projecthamster.org/ https://github.com/projecthamster/ https://github.com/projecthamster/
29athrowaway 6y ago
If you use GNOME, take a look at: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist_(free_software) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist_(free_software) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME_Activity_Journal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME_Activity_Journal
ks1723 6y ago
First of all this is quite interesting and I appreciate your effort, thanks! And since I am currently looking for a lean time tracker which runs locally for a single user without any internet and cloud stuff, this is very useful. I fully agree with earlier the feedback of r4tn4l (most importantly, that a delete button would be really helpful) And here are some additional comments: - the dashed line indicating 'now' is really easy to overlook and it should be visually more prominent (other color, thicker, ...) - In the overview (this week, this month, ...) the records should be display somehow. Indicating records visually in the overviews makes it easier to grasp the work distribution over longer periods of time. Additionally, if I mess up the month/year of a record (which I frequently do ;-) ) I have no chance to find it again except that I scroll through every day and look for it. So maybe assigning a separate color to each tag and display them in the big grey fields next to the time line would work... (edit: formatting)
- almarklein 6y ago
  Thanks for the feedback! Your suggestion about tag colors is interesting - my earlier timetracker (timeturtle.app) does exactly this, but I felt the colors were too distracting. Will think about how to bring back some of the info in the overviews. Perhaps by simply showing tags in a subtle color.
MayeulC 6y ago
> GPLv3 I'm curious: Why not AGPL, since this is intended as a web application?
- almarklein 6y ago
  Good point. I guess I just defaulted to GPL. At first glance, I think it does not matter since Aferro protects code that runs serverside, and the TimeTagger library is both server and client side code. Edit: but it would not hurt to consider this better...

199 points by wilsonjohn 6y ago

I really like that more and more developers are doing the open-source/paid service option(no idea what's the term for it). I personally think it's great for both developers and their customers/users.

robinhood 6y ago
Open source SAAS: OSSAAS?
- KajMagnus 6y ago
  OSAS? Open Source As Service?
wilsonjohn 6y ago
Do you see open source + self hosting could drive more adoption among developers rather than customers? Looking forward to hear your thoughts. Do you see model like Ghost could be a strategy to grow Open Source SaaS products?
- almarklein 6y ago
  It is an interesting model, and developers seem to like it. TimeTagger is the successor to a similar product that is not open source, which I've posted about here, but never quite got a response like this :) I love open source and maintain several open source projects. By making TimeTagger open source, I was hoping to find a niche of "tech" users. And if it fails, at least the code can be useful to someone else.
  - jrumbut 6y ago
    That was perhaps the most compelling landing page I've ever seen. When you mentioned the lack of cookie banner I found it strangely exciting. I hope I'm in a salaried, non time tracking role for the foreseeable future, but if not I'll look into TimeTagger.
- wanttocommentt 6y ago
  Hard to tell, but from my(developer) point of view I see it as a big benefit to be able to see the code. Plus it gives me the option, in case I like the service and it is discontinued for any reason, to just host it by myself. Also it adds another layer of trust and I have the feeling I can influence the product. >Do you see model like Ghost could be a strategy to grow Open Source SaaS products? Definitely, I think Ghost is a very good and successful example of Open Source SaaS.
neonmate 6y ago
I recently created a site to collect all the web services that are backed by an open source repository [1]. I'm happy to add timetagger to the collection:) Hope there will be many more applications like this in the future. You can share your ideas in https://wintermute.app/ideas https://wintermute.app/ideas. Imho many services are missing, like a privacy first social network. [1] https://wintermute.app/repositories https://wintermute.app/repositories
- almarklein 6y ago
  Thanks!
- wilsonjohn 6y ago
  This is an impressive list. Adding tags, categories would help in browsing ideas and repo faster.
  - neonmate 6y ago
    Thanks for the feedback. I thought about this earlier, but it requires to maintain this list manually. What do you think about fetching the tags from the Github repository and link once synchronized to wintermute?
    - wilsonjohn 6y ago
      that could be helpful. Are you looking at launching this on PH? I'm see people can contribute.
      - neonmate 6y ago
        I would be glad about more people that contribute. But afaik launching this on PH would require to make it look more fancy. As you said tags and maybe screenshots. Otherwise I think the post will not get any attraction :)
- Brendinooo 6y ago
  How do I submit a repository?
cphajduk 6y ago
freemium?
- lights0123 6y ago
  That usually means that the premium version has more features, and doesn't imply libre/Open Source.
IA21 6y ago
open core? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-core_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-core_model
r0rshrk 6y ago
I think the term is open-core

mrbuttons454 6y ago

Typo on the front page under pricing: GLPv3 vs GPLv3

almarklein 6y ago
Thanks, fixed :)

skinkestek 6y ago

Have we hugged it to death already or is it something else?

almarklein 6y ago
I don't think my server has seen so much traffic in so little time. It seems to be holding up pretty well, but there are occasional requests that take a second or 2. I'm keeping an eye on the monitoring ...
- whitepaint 6y ago
  There's something with your certificate. Getting an alert on Chrome.
  - almarklein 6y ago
    Thanks for the heads-up. Weird, it uses Let's Encrypt, and I don't see any problems :/
    - AbacusAvenger 6y ago
      The CN is "*.transip.nl" instead of "timetagger.app" for some reason.
      - almarklein 6y ago
        Transip is the domain registrar I use. Could it be some sort of caching problem? The site (and it's cert) have only been up for a few hours ...
twobitshifter 6y ago
I’m just seeing a black screen with “demo” in the top left on mobile safari.
- almarklein 6y ago

wakatime 6y ago

What I really care about is the time it takes to input tasks. The demo app link has a record button with a difficult to use form. Is there a faster way to start/stop the timer?

almarklein 6y ago
Hi, I'm the author of TimeTagger. Thanks for your feedback. Right now you can click the record button and since a description is optional, click start right away. Could you please elaborate how you would want this to be faster? A one click option, or perhaps a keyboard shortcut to start a timer? I'm eager to learn about potential workflows to make the experience more smooth :)
- kleer001 6y ago
  > keyboard shortcut Always a good start for any speed increase Are you familiar with emacs and/or vi ?
  - almarklein 6y ago
    Familiar as in I know them, and I occasionally use vi (over ssh), but not a proper user :) Anyway, I created an issue: https://github.com/almarklein/timetagger/issues/11 https://github.com/almarklein/timetagger/issues/11
  - almarklein 6y ago
    Improved support for using the keyboard, including keyboard shortcuts.
- mywacaday 6y ago
  1. When you go to edit an existing task and just click a suggested tag the edit button does not activate and it does not save unless you enter a space first. 2. Clicking on a tag on the right should work as a filter on the tasks. 3. Export to csv should have the tags in every row Well done on releasing and going open source, great achievement.

l1am0 6y ago

I did build a web extension automatically asking you for what you are currently working on. Not open source, but you might find it handy: https://byrly.com/waywo/ https://byrly.com/waywo/

sodimel 6y ago

Thanks for this tool! However I think the UI is not really ready yet. I would love some transitions on the popup elements, as well as a keyboard control over the forms :) Since I couldn't find any tool that did the job for me, I ended up creating a very simple (open source) timetracking tool that suited my needs: https://gist.github.com/corentinbettiol/634b6f95928ccb702ac790f16a584caf https://gist.github.com/corentinbettiol/634b6f95928ccb702ac7... (pros: not in a browser, start when you start your work computer, can sort content with grep, can count hours of work on a task with grep + wc -l, cons: no fancy ui, fixed delay)

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

Cthulhu_ 6y ago

Once upon a time I had to do time tracking to 30 minute resolution; what I ended up doing was install an activity tracker, then at the end of the day or month based on what window was open I'd mark down work. It worked well enough for software development because my editor reported the currently open file to this tracker.

wbobeirne 6y ago
What did you do for meetings, testing, looking up documentation etc? I hope you billed for more than just time writing code.

specialist 6y ago

Tangent: I also want a coach & nudge app. I have chemobrain (and other stuff, TMI). So my mind wanders. I need nudges to get back on track. Like a reverse pomodomo. I used to have a remarkable internal clock (always know time of day, track elapsed time, without looking at watch). Well, no more. Example 1: An inactivity timer. Like the builtin reminder to standup and stretch. Once or twice a day, I just have to sit down. I'll pop some pain pills then veg until they kick in (30-45 min). I never remember to set a timer, alarm. I want my phone to notice I've been vegging for an hour and remind me to start moving. Example 2: Time to stop. I'll start doing a mindless task, usually physical. Like weeding or picking up litter. It's super gratifying. But then I'll overdo it. I want my phone to notice I've been stuck on the same task for too long.

vnxli 6y ago
This is overkill for your example 1, but the apple watch has an inactivity tracker. It reminds you to get up and stand for a minute every hour if it notices you aren't moving. I've found it useful when I'm sitting around or working at a computer for long stretches. For your time to stop alert, the only thing I've found that helps is throwing everything on my outlook calendar - it gives alerts 15 minutes in advance of the appointment and that's enough to make me realize that some task is coming up and I need to prepare for it. I don't think I've seen an app per se that does exactly what you want
- Jarwain 6y ago
  Possibly less overkill, I have a Garmin Vivosmart that has the same inactivity feature.
- specialist 6y ago
  Thank you. I'm doing something wrong. I've dug thru all the settings, yup everything's enabled, and I don't ever recall getting a notification to stand up. I'll keep digging.
gsmo 6y ago
Though a bit narrow, I have found desktop (menubar) timers with ticking in the background to help a lot. As a matter of fact, I see mine counting down from the 5 min I allocated to check out YC and I can hear the ticking. What has surprised me most is that I haven't yet developed the ability to tune it out - so I always hear it. It also acts like a metronome and I believe it makes me work a bit faster.

ddon 6y ago

Are there any open source time trackers for teams?

rokku 6y ago
Kimai has a function for teams: https://www.kimai.org/documentation/teams.html https://www.kimai.org/documentation/teams.html
evereq 6y ago
You can check platform we are building, it includes time tracking for teams - https://github.com/ever-co/gauzy https://github.com/ever-co/gauzy

macspoofing 6y ago

Make sure you have a robust plugin layer as people will want to integrate this into their existing systems, like SCMs, issue trackers, CRMs, reporting and billing systems, chat clients (Teams/Slack) etc.

spiffytech 6y ago
I'm building something now that would fit in great with TimeTagger, but I don't see an API documented.
- almarklein 6y ago
  The API is not public yet. I plan to though. Out of interest, what are you building? Perhaps we should keep in touch :)
  - ttamslam 6y ago
    Not OP, but I also have a project that would slot in nicely. I run a service that tracks work/sleep/exercise/meditation (along with a couple other data points that don't fit the duration model) via an SMS interface. I text it when I start/stop these activities and then it sends me reminders based on when I normally do those things during the day if I haven't already. It would be great to be able to push the data I collect into your service to have a unified view of how I spend my time, and also to pull events from your service to send reminders to do certain things via my bot.
    - almarklein 6y ago
      That sounds cool!
  - spiffytech 6y ago
    The folks from Beeminder (a goal-motivation SaaS) created a pile of Perl scripts nearly a decade ago called TagTime (http://tagti.me http://tagti.me), which shows pop-ups periodically (but randomly) asking what you're doing right now, and feeds that into a time tracker. That tackles one huge issue with time tracking: you have to either diligently switch up your tracker every time you context-switch, or retrospectively guess at what you actually did, and how long you think you spent on it all. Random stochastic sampling gives a solid great long-term approximation of your activities and cumulative time spent, without guesswork or discipline. I love the idea, but I need this to work on my computer, and my phone, and my other computer, and..., so I'm heeding their call to build a cloud-based version of TagTime. It pings the user via various channels (SMS, Web Push, Slack, etc.) and feeds their responses into Beeminder, Toggl, and IFTTT. I'd love to add TimeTagger to the list of supported integrations, since the demo app looks really compelling for the way I think about tracking time.

almarklein 6y ago

Now that you're all here, I'm playing with the idea to create a CLI tool so that you can start and stop records from the command line. Would this be interesting to you or would it only be a gimmick?

zomgwat 6y ago
Possible integrations with tools like Alfred (macOS app) is a good reason to have a CLI (IMO). I use Watson [1] to track time and mostly interact with it through Alfred. [1] https://tailordev.github.io/Watson/ https://tailordev.github.io/Watson/
- josephd79 6y ago
  +1 for Watson
beshrkayali 6y ago
Org mode on emacs has some pretty nice clocking commands [1] that I find useful frequently. I guess a similar separate cli tool would be nice as well. [1] https://orgmode.org/manual/Clocking-commands.html https://orgmode.org/manual/Clocking-commands.html
pgporada 6y ago
Interesting. I could see myself opening a terminal (or 10) to perform some small scope of work, starting the timer, and then closing the terminals and timer once that task is done.
maaarghk 6y ago
yes, classic january stuff, but I was just thinking I could be doing with a daemon that I can control with rofi for tracking time, I could write some scripts to integrate it with freeagent and perhaps query how much money I made today and display it on i3status. with a CLI over your tool I would only be writing a few wee scripts, which would be ideal. (p.s. if anyone reading this has a suggestion that isn't tied to a python script written by someone whose new year resolution is "Launch 12 products this year and blog about it next year" i would appreciate a pointer. This seems like something a gnu tool probably exists for. I just checked and this one has no API which makes it useless for me since the value is all the boring work is already done...)

petargyurov 6y ago

There's an issue with your cert. Getting SSL_ERROR_BAD_CERT_DOMAIN on Firefox. Edit: seems to be working now.

almarklein 6y ago
I think it took a while for the cert to work on al continents, because of caching - the site has been up just a few hours :)
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

bdcravens 6y ago

The most useful feature (to me) in time tracker apps is the ability to let me know if I've been idle, and options to handle that. (Most apps in this space don't implement this feature)

prawn 6y ago
We've experimented with idle tracking in https://usepunch.com/ https://usepunch.com/ - it will do three things: Have a visible idle counter with suggestions of what to work on next (from your queue). Though we've worried this might frustrate anxious people. Let you convert an idle block to a task (e.g., if you had forgotten to punch in). Give you an indication of how much money you're leaving on the table by being idle (via your approximate hourly rate).

midnightmonster 6y ago

Congrats on launching. Page is only working intermittently for me, and the demo hasn't managed to load. I've been tracking my own time for the last ~month using progressive versions of my own in-development app that has a similar reporting style but is meant to innovate on the data entry, making it much more flexible and convenient (for people who happen to think like me and want the kind of tracking I want, anyway!) Hopefully I'll be "show hn"-ing it soon.

r4tn4l 6y ago

I didn't read all comments, just searched for "delete" and "remove" without success. My question is, if I can delete a record. I find that quite important, since I just created one called "bla" with nonsense, and then internally panicked slightly. If I try it tomorrow, I will just recycle my record for something useful, so a workaround exists. But I still think, deletion is somewhat crucial. Apart from that, some other things I stumbled over: - The icon is hard to see on my background, because it contains (too thin) black lines and transparent pixels. Give me some contrast! - The "House" for "Snap to now" feels unintuitive, but that is subjective. How about a text label, so you don't need an icon? - That "Calendar" icon for "Select Timerange" as well. - "Step forward" is one day forward. How about naming it.. more like what it is. A step is a generic thing that might be differently perceived, a day isn't (so much). - "Start Record" and "New Record" are pretty similar features. I do understand the difference, but I would enjoy more, if those two were simplified into just one in an intelligent way. - That burger menu is, pardon me, somewhat of a problem. There is so much information. I can see "Install App" in the installed App. "Export" happens there but also on the main screen. Which features belong where? Im missing a hierarchy here. - Your hint text in the "Manage tags" dialog is too long. Please build it in a way, where I do have to read less words. More like 5 or so (currently there are around 50). - Is that a refresh button next to the burger menu (left side)? I can click an empty button. Wait, what? - I really do like that infinite scroll and stuff. Looks cool. On the other hand it is quite easy to get lost. Maybe some snapping on day-level (rather than hour-level) might help. - Please don't require headings over button groups at all (and then even mix that with my initials!)

almarklein 6y ago
Thanks for the great feedback, very valuable indeed! At the moment, deleting a record is not implemented yet, but it's somewhere near the top of the todo list :)

DishyDev 6y ago

I really like this, I think this is a great foundation. I've pen and paper done this type of tracking to try and see how long I get to spend on task during a day, what sort of categories of work I'm doing, where am I losing the majority of my time etc. I do encourage it if you've got the sort of job where this is an issue. I'm not sure its something I'd do long term, but it's nice to sample a few days and re-calibrate your time every now and then.

40four 6y ago

I like a good time tracker app. I appreciate this is open source too! Some feedback... After playing with the demo, there is one thing that really jumps out to me I don't quite understand. It's looks like time get grouped into these little 'blocks' on the bar on the left. It's not immediately clear what forms a block though. Also, I don't quite understand the use case for being able to drag the blocks around? If you drag one, the start and stop times change for every task in the block? Weird. This seems very fragile. What if I accidentally drag a block out of place, and don't remember the exact start time? Then I have effectively 'broken' my time logs for a whole block of work. To me it would make sense to have the blocks locked by default, and allow unlocking in the case you need to move a whole group. But I can't imagine ever needing to do this very often. I will say, I really like the concept of the continuous scrolling main time bar on the left. Anyway, trying to offer constructive criticism, not trying to bash this project. Looks like the project is still young, and you've got a great start here! Keep it up!

almarklein 6y ago
Thanks for the feedback! The blocks on the left (in the timeline) represent the individual time records. These are indeed "glued together" when a new record starts right after another stops. You can only drag a record in the timeline when it's first selected, so it should be impossible to affect multiple at once. You can also move and zoom the timeline though, perhaps this is what was happening?

dreeves 6y ago

Nice work! I have no idea if this could fit into your roadmap (and this is probably the kind of feature request you should absolutely say no to) but my partner and I made a thing called TagTime that does time-tracking via random sampling (pinging you at random times) and I'm offering the domain tagtime.com to whoever subsumes the janky Perl-scripts-plus-Vim version we use and makes a proper TagTime-in-the-cloud. There's a pretty decent community of users to tap into but, again, it would probably entail a substantial pivot.

almarklein 6y ago
Sounds like a cool project, but I think I'll focus on my Python scrips for now :)
- dreeves 6y ago
  To clarify, by "subsume the janky Perl version" I did not mean touching any Perl code!
nkko 6y ago
Nice. I see that you did this invite/offer first time in 2017. What is the main reason no one took you on it? What is the result of ttc tagging since then?
- dreeves 6y ago
  Good questions; I don't have good answers! Various people have taken a stab at it, suffered 90%-done syndrome, and, yeah. As for myself, I have 70 ttc pings (52.5 hours of work) pretty much exclusively on project management type stuff, like trying out people's betas or refining the rules of the offer or other writing. I suppose I'd count writing this comment if TagTime pinged me right now... (it didn't).

pacifika 6y ago

Not sure who in your target audience can pay $2 but not $5/month but why not add a premium plan with as extra the priority support?

almarklein 6y ago
I figured I'd want to make it cheaper than Toggl et al., because people might feel they'd get less features. Plus there is no free plan, so the paid plans don't have to pay for the free users ;) - Anyway, I'm kinda done with multiple tiers, and like the idea of one simple price.

senko 6y ago

Going off on a tangent, I want to thank you for this: > Notice how there's no cookie banner on this site? This site does not track you. Nor does it make use of 3d party services that do. It's a small thing, but shows you care about your users more than you care about peeking into every little vanity metric for growth hacking. Kudos.

almarklein 6y ago
Thanks, I'm glad someone actually takes notice. I really care about this, and would love more people to do too :)

koolk3ychain 6y ago

The UI makes me want to vomit.

almarklein 6y ago
Thanks for the constructive feedback!
- koolk3ychain 6y ago
  ;)

ipiz0618 6y ago

+1 for the self hosting option!

nh2 6y ago

Nice! When we chose a time tracker for consulting, having a paid option that is also open source would have been a major pro point (so we can rely on it not disappearing, and being able to fix blocking issues ourselves). You mentioned here that you don't want to add tiered pricing, but I do recommend to add support for paying for a whole organisation in batch (N users, so that the individuals at an org don't have to manage billing separately and an admin take care of it -- the individual's time to manage billing costs much more than the monthly price).

almarklein 6y ago
Thanks, good point!

SylonZero 6y ago

The interface matters a lot. I am using https://timeular.com/ https://timeular.com/ (along with their neat physical tracker widget) and it has become the tracker interface to beat, as the UX is really solid. I use it every day and find it extremely productive in ensuring that I spent time coding/learning etc instead of too many meetings or other activities that can hijack your day. Having said that, this is a good effort. I really like the continuing trend of useful software coming via Open Source, via a vibrant tech community.

pabs3 6y ago

Project Hamster provides an interesting option that runs locally. http://projecthamster.org/ http://projecthamster.org/ https://github.com/projecthamster/ https://github.com/projecthamster/

29athrowaway 6y ago

If you use GNOME, take a look at: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist_(free_software) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist_(free_software) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME_Activity_Journal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME_Activity_Journal

ks1723 6y ago

First of all this is quite interesting and I appreciate your effort, thanks! And since I am currently looking for a lean time tracker which runs locally for a single user without any internet and cloud stuff, this is very useful. I fully agree with earlier the feedback of r4tn4l (most importantly, that a delete button would be really helpful) And here are some additional comments: - the dashed line indicating 'now' is really easy to overlook and it should be visually more prominent (other color, thicker, ...) - In the overview (this week, this month, ...) the records should be display somehow. Indicating records visually in the overviews makes it easier to grasp the work distribution over longer periods of time. Additionally, if I mess up the month/year of a record (which I frequently do ;-) ) I have no chance to find it again except that I scroll through every day and look for it. So maybe assigning a separate color to each tag and display them in the big grey fields next to the time line would work... (edit: formatting)

almarklein 6y ago
Thanks for the feedback! Your suggestion about tag colors is interesting - my earlier timetracker (timeturtle.app) does exactly this, but I felt the colors were too distracting. Will think about how to bring back some of the info in the overviews. Perhaps by simply showing tags in a subtle color.

MayeulC 6y ago

> GPLv3 I'm curious: Why not AGPL, since this is intended as a web application?

almarklein 6y ago
Good point. I guess I just defaulted to GPL. At first glance, I think it does not matter since Aferro protects code that runs serverside, and the TimeTagger library is both server and client side code. Edit: but it would not hurt to consider this better...