Documentation

Quick Setup

1. Download the desktop client from the onboarding page for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).
2. Install and launch the application. It will appear in your system tray (Windows/Linux) or menu bar (macOS).
3. Sign in by clicking the tray icon and selecting "Sign In". This opens your browser for secure OAuth authentication.
4. Start coding — the client automatically detects your projects and tracks time as you work.

Browser Plugins

Optionally install browser plugins to track time spent on web-based tools like project management platforms, documentation sites, and code review tools. Available for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari from the onboarding page.

How Tracking Works

The desktop client monitors file system activity in your project directories. When you open, edit, or save files, the client logs this activity and associates it with the corresponding project. Your actual code is never sent to our servers — only file paths, project names, and timestamps are tracked.

Active Sessions

The home page shows your currently active and recently active projects in real time via WebSocket updates:

• Active projects display a live timer and green pulse indicator. You can pause or stop sessions directly.
• Paused sessions show a yellow indicator. Paused time is not counted toward your total.
• Inactive projects show total time tracked and a play button to start a new session manually.

Statistics Overview

The analytics dashboard shows aggregated statistics for your selected time period:

• Total time tracked — sum of all sessions in the period
• Daily average — total time divided by days in the period
• Active projects — number of projects with activity
• Days tracked — days with at least one session

Charts & Visualizations

• Donut chart — time distribution across projects
• Bar chart — daily/weekly activity overview
• Radar chart — top 8 most active projects
• Heatmap — daily breakdown by team member

Filtering

Use the sticky filter bar to narrow down your view:

• Time period — Week, Month, Quarter, or Year presets, plus custom date ranges
• Projects — filter by one or more projects
• Users — filter by team members
• Teams — filter by team groups

Use the previous/next buttons to navigate between periods quickly.

Automatic Tracking

The desktop client automatically detects coding activity by monitoring file changes in your project directories. Sessions start when you begin working and end after a configurable period of inactivity.

• File creates, modifications, deletions, and moves are all tracked
• Sessions are grouped by project based on the directory structure
• The session timeout determines how long to wait before ending a session (configurable in Settings)

Manual Controls

You can also control tracking manually:

• Start — click the play button on any inactive project to begin a session
• Pause — temporarily pause tracking without ending the session. Paused time is not counted.
• Resume — continue a paused session
• Stop — end the current session

Track on Save Only

Enable "Track on save only" in Settings to only log time when you explicitly save files. This is useful if you prefer not to track time spent reading or browsing code.

Offline Support

If your internet connection drops, the client stores activity locally and syncs automatically when connectivity is restored. No data is lost during offline periods.

Automatic Detection

When you open a folder in your IDE, the client automatically creates a project for it. The project name is derived from the folder name. This requires no configuration.

Manual Creation

To create a project manually:

1. Navigate to the Projects page
2. Click "New Project"
3. Enter a name and select a billing type
4. Click "Create"

Project Settings

• Name — the display name of the project
• Status — active or inactive. Inactive projects won't track new time.
• Watched paths — file paths the client monitors for this project
• Ignored paths — file paths excluded from tracking (e.g., node_modules, build directories)
• Client — associate a project with a client for invoicing

Project Detail View

Click a project to see its detail page with:

• Total time tracked, session count, and path statistics
• Watched and ignored file paths
• Recent sessions with start/end times and durations
• Per-session file activity log showing individual file events

Folder Linking

If the same project spans multiple repositories or directories, configure folder mappings in the client settings to link additional folders to an existing project.

Week View

The default view shows a weekly calendar with sessions displayed as blocks on hourly time slots. Each block shows the project name and duration, color-coded by project.

Day View

Click a day to see a detailed breakdown of all sessions for that day:

• Sessions shown as time blocks on an hourly grid
• Active sessions display a real-time indicator
• Click any session block to view its details
• Pause or resume sessions directly from the calendar

Navigation

Use the previous/next arrows to move between weeks. The current week is highlighted automatically.

Report Types

• Overview — high-level summary of all activity
• Time Tracking — detailed breakdown of tracked hours
• Projects — per-project analysis with progress bars
• Productivity — productivity metrics and trends

Key Metrics

• Total hours worked
• Billable hours
• Active projects count
• Productivity percentage
• Daily averages
• Peak productivity hours
• Most active days

Insights

The insights panel shows contextual observations about your work patterns:

• Productivity comparison to previous periods
• Peak working hours identification
• Project status alerts and recommendations

Exporting

Export your reports in two formats:

• CSV — spreadsheet-compatible format for further analysis
• PDF — formatted document for sharing or archiving

Creating Invoices

1. Go to the Invoices page and click "New Invoice"
2. Enter the client name and email
3. Select the associated project
4. Set a due date
5. Add line items with descriptions, quantities, and rates
6. Save as draft or create and send immediately

Invoice Statuses

• Draft — not yet sent to the client
• Sent — delivered to the client
• Paid — payment received
• Overdue — past the due date without payment
• Cancelled — voided invoice

Invoice Actions

• View — see invoice details and line items
• Edit — modify draft invoices
• Send — email the invoice to the client
• Download — export as PDF
• Delete — remove the invoice

Statistics

The invoices page header shows your financial overview: total revenue, paid amount, pending amount, and overdue amount.

Members

• View all organisation members with their roles
• Invite new members by email
• Promote or demote admin privileges
• Remove members from the organisation

Teams

Group members into teams for easier filtering and management:

• Create teams with a name and designated admin
• Add or remove members from teams
• Assign projects to teams
• Filter dashboard data by team

Clients

Manage your clients for project association and invoicing:

• Add clients with name and contact information
• Associate clients with projects
• View projects linked to each client

Tracking Settings

• Session timeout — how many minutes of inactivity before a session ends (1–120 minutes). A shorter timeout creates more granular sessions; a longer timeout keeps sessions connected across short breaks.
• Track on save only — when enabled, only file save events are logged, ignoring file opens and edits.

Regional Settings

• Timezone — select your local timezone. All times throughout the app are displayed in your chosen timezone.

Connected Devices

View all devices linked to your account, including:

• Device name and platform
• Connection status
• Last sync timestamp

You can track time from multiple devices simultaneously. All data syncs to the same account.

Removing Devices

To disconnect a device, click the remove button next to it. This revokes the device's access token and stops it from syncing data. You can re-connect the device at any time by signing in again from the client.

What We Track

• File paths and names
• Project directory names
• Timestamps of file events
• Session start and end times

What We Never Track

• File contents or source code
• Keystrokes or screen content
• Clipboard data
• Non-project file activity

Authentication

Temporal uses OAuth for secure authentication. Your password is never stored on the device. Access tokens can be revoked at any time from your account settings or by removing the device.

Data Storage

Activity data is stored locally on your device and synced to the server over encrypted connections. If you're offline, data is cached locally until connectivity is restored.