chronotrack-cli 0.1.5

A developer-focused CLI time tracker with tagging, breaks, and rich analytics.

⏱️ ChronoTrack

A lightweight yet powerful CLI-based time tracker engineered for developers and creators. Log your work sessions, breaks, categorize with tags, and analyze productivity patterns—all from your terminal.

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🚀 Features

• 🟢 Session Management - Start, stop, pause, and resume work sessions with precision
• ⏱️ Break Tracking - Automatically track break durations for better work/rest balancing
• 🏷️ Tagging System - Categorize your work with customizable tags for detailed reporting
• 📊 Analytics - Visualize productivity patterns with built-in statistics and charts
• 📝 Session Notes - Document context, achievements, and thoughts for each session
• 📈 Weekly Reports - Get insights into your productivity with comprehensive weekly summaries
• 🔄 Flexible Exports - Export your data to JSON or CSV for external analysis
• 🎨 Rich Terminal UI - Enjoy a visually appealing interface with color-coding and formatting
• ⚡ Performance - Minimal resource usage with lightning-fast command execution
• 🔒 Privacy-Focused - All data stays local on your machine, no cloud sync required

⚠️ WARNING: ChronoTrack does not automatically back up your data. Be sure to regularly export and back up your productivity data to prevent loss during system failures or accidental deletions.

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📦 Installation

Via PyPI (Recommended)

pip install chronotrack

Via Conda

conda install -c conda-forge chronotrack

From Source

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/ChronoTrack.git
cd ChronoTrack
pip install -e .

System Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• 5MB disk space
• Linux, macOS, or Windows

💡 BEST PRACTICE: Always use a virtual environment when installing Python packages to avoid dependency conflicts.

python -m venv chronotrack-env
source chronotrack-env/bin/activate  # On Windows: chronotrack-env\Scripts\activate
pip install chronotrack

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🚀 Quick Start

1. 🟢 Start tracking a task:

chronotrack start "Implement authentication module" backend

2. ⏸️ Take a break:

chronotrack pause

3. ▶️ Resume work:

chronotrack play

4. 🔴 Finish your session:

chronotrack stop "Completed user auth flow implementation"

5. 📈 View your day's progress:

chronotrack log today

⚠️ WARNING: Always stop your current session before starting a new one. Running multiple active sessions simultaneously can lead to data corruption or inaccurate time tracking.

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💻 Command Reference

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🧪 Usage Examples

Basic Workflow

# Start a coding session
chronotrack start "Refactor database models" database

# Take a quick break
chronotrack pause

# Resume coding
chronotrack play

# End session with a note
chronotrack stop "Completed normalization of user table"

Viewing Your Progress

# See today's work
chronotrack log today

# Get weekly report
chronotrack week

# Analyze all sessions with the "frontend" tag
chronotrack log --tag frontend

Managing Data

# Export to JSON
chronotrack export json

# Export to CSV with custom filename
chronotrack export csv --output my_productivity_data.csv

# Cancel a session (if you started by mistake)
chronotrack cancel

💡 BEST PRACTICE: Use descriptive task names and consistent tags to make your reports more meaningful and easier to analyze later.

Good example: chronotrack start "Fix user authentication bug #123" backend
Poor example: chronotrack start "working" code

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📊 Productivity Reports

ChronoTrack provides powerful insights into your work patterns:

chronotrack week

You'll see a detailed report that includes:

• Daily breakdown of work hours
• Efficiency metrics showing focus time vs. break time
• Tag distribution showing where your time is allocated
• Productivity trends with standard deviation analysis
• Break pattern analysis for optimal rest scheduling
• Comparative view against your historical averages

Report Options

Customize your reports with various options:

chronotrack week --chart          # Include visualization charts
chronotrack week --format compact # Condensed view for quick insights
chronotrack week --compare last   # Compare with previous week

Report Example

💡 BEST PRACTICE: Review your weekly reports every Friday to identify productivity patterns and adjust your work habits for the following week.

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💾 Data Management

Data Storage

ChronoTrack stores your session data in a simple, human-readable JSON file:

~/.chronotrack/session_log.json

Data Format

Each session is stored in the following structure:

{
  "task": "Write blog post",
  "tag": "writing",
  "start": "2025-05-13T12:30:00",
  "end": "2025-05-13T13:45:00",
  "duration_minutes": 65.0,
  "breaks": [
    {"start": "2025-05-13T13:00:00", "end": "2025-05-13T13:05:00", "duration_minutes": 5.0}
  ],
  "total_breaks": 1,
  "total_break_time": 5.0,
  "note": "Felt very focused",
  "note_added": true
}

Exporting Data

Export your data for external analysis:

# Export to JSON
chronotrack export json

# Export to CSV
chronotrack export csv

# Specify custom output location
chronotrack export json --output ~/Documents/productivity_data.json

Backup Recommendations

• Create periodic backups of your session_log.json file
• Consider version control for your productivity data
• Use the export functionality before major updates

⚠️ WARNING: The session data file can become corrupt if ChronoTrack is terminated improperly (e.g., during a system crash). Always ensure proper program termination and maintain regular backups.

💡 BEST PRACTICE: Set up automatic backups of your ~/.chronotrack directory using a scheduler or backup tool of your choice.

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⚙️ Customization

Configuration File

Customize ChronoTrack behavior by creating a ~/.chronotrack/config.yaml file:

# Default tag when none is specified
default_tag: "general"

# Custom color scheme
colors:
  active: "green"
  paused: "yellow"
  stopped: "red"
  
# Auto-pause after inactivity (minutes)
auto_pause: 15

# Default report format
default_report: "detailed"

Environment Variables

Configure behavior with environment variables:

# Set data directory
export CHRONOTRACK_DATA_DIR="/path/to/data"

# Enable debug mode
export CHRONOTRACK_DEBUG=1

💡 BEST PRACTICE: When setting a custom data directory with CHRONOTRACK_DATA_DIR, choose a location that's backed up by your existing backup system.

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🧠 Philosophy

ChronoTrack is built on several core principles:

1. Terminal-First - For developers who live in the command line
2. Minimal Friction - Track time without disrupting your workflow
3. Data Ownership - Your productivity data stays on your machine
4. Insightful Analytics - Measure to improve your work patterns
5. Extensibility - Simple data format for easy integration

ChronoTrack is designed for:

• Developers who prefer keyboard-driven tools
• Writers & content creators tracking creative output
• Consultants & freelancers who need accurate time logs
• Students managing study sessions and breaks
• Anyone seeking actionable productivity insights

💡 BEST PRACTICE: Incorporate ChronoTrack into your workflow gradual—start by tracking just one type of task before expanding to your full workday.

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🔧 Technical Details

Project Structure

chronotrack/
├── cli.py          # CLI commands using Typer
├── tracker.py      # Core session logic
├── utils.py        # Shared helpers
├── __init__.py     # Versioning & packaging
├── session_log.json (autogenerated)

⚠️ WARNING: Do not manually edit the session_log.json file while ChronoTrack is running as this could cause data inconsistencies.

Best Practices

• Always stop a session before starting a new one
• Use consistent tag names for better reporting
• Add detailed notes for context when stopping a session
• Run weekly reports to identify productivity patterns
• Export data regularly for safekeeping

💡 BEST PRACTICE: Create aliases for your most commonly used ChronoTrack commands in your shell configuration file:

# Add to your .bashrc, .zshrc, or equivalent
alias cts="chronotrack start"
alias ctp="chronotrack pause"
alias ctr="chronotrack play"  # resume
alias cte="chronotrack stop"  # end
alias ctl="chronotrack log today"

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🛠 Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! Here's how to get started:

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/ChronoTrack.git
cd ChronoTrack
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Running Tests

pytest tests/

💡 BEST PRACTICE FOR CONTRIBUTORS: Always write tests for new features and ensure all tests pass before submitting a pull request.

Pull Request Process

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Make your changes
4. Run tests and linting
5. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
6. Push to your branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
7. Open a Pull Request

Please include tests and documentation with your PR.

⚠️ WARNING FOR CONTRIBUTORS: Ensure your code maintains backward compatibility with existing data files to prevent users from losing their productivity data after updates.

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📄 License

ChronoTrack is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2025 Your Name

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files...

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🙌 Acknowledgements

• Typer for the elegant CLI framework
• Rich for beautiful terminal rendering
• You, for choosing ChronoTrack to boost your productivity

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"You can't manage what you don't measure." — Peter Drucker