Time In Code Extension

A VS Code extension that automatically tracks how long you code each day and syncs your data to a centralized API.

First Time Here? Start Here!

Complete setup in 3 steps (2 minutes total):

Step 1: Install the Extension

Step 2: Generate Your Token

Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+P (Mac)
Type: "Coding Time: Configure API"
Click "Generate New Token"

Step 3: Start Coding

Open any file and type. That's it! The extension tracks automatically.

View your stats:

Press Ctrl+Shift+P again
Type: "Coding Time: Show Today's Stats"
Copy your User ID from the message
Visit: https://time-in-code.vercel.app/dashboard/YOUR_USER_ID

Need help? → Troubleshooting | Full Documentation

Features

Automatic tracking — Starts when you type, pauses after 60s of idle
Per-language breakdown — See time spent in TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, etc.
Privacy-focused — Data stored by user ID only (no personal info)
Offline-safe — Queues updates when network is down
Clean shutdown — Flushes and syncs before VS Code closes
Token-based auth — No passwords, no Firebase setup

Installation

Option 1: Install from .vsix (Recommended)

Download the latest time-in-code-x.x.x.vsix from Releases
Open VS Code

Run this command:

code --install-extension time-in-code-0.1.0.vsix

Restart VS Code

Option 2: Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/dipishBisht/Time-In-Code
cd time-in-code
npm install
npm run compile

# Package it
npm install -g @vscode/vsce
vsce package

# Install
code --install-extension ./time-in-code-0.1.0.vsix

First-Run Setup

Open VS Code
Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac)
Type: "Coding Time: Configure API"
Click "Generate New Token"
Save your token somewhere safe (you'll need it to view stats)

That's it! The extension will now track your coding time automatically.

Commands

Access these via Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P):

Command	What It Does
Coding Time: Configure API	Generate or update your authentication token
Coding Time: Show Today's Stats	Display your user ID and link to view stats
Coding Time: Show Token	Retrieve your token if you lost it

How It Works

Tracking Logic

You start typing
       │
       ▼
Tracker starts session timer
       │
       ▼
You stop typing for 60+ seconds
       │
       ▼
Tracker flushes session time to today's accumulator
       │
       ▼
Every 20 minutes
       │
       ▼
Extension sends accumulated data to API
       │
       ▼
API merges your data into MongoDB

What Gets Tracked

Time: Seconds spent actively coding (idle time excluded)
Date: Local date (YYYY-MM-DD)
Languages: VS Code's languageId (e.g., typescript, python, markdown)

What Does NOT Get Tracked

File names or paths
Code content
Project names
Personal information

Configuration

Default Behavior

Setting	Value	Description
Idle timeout	60 seconds	Time before tracking pauses
Sync interval	20 minutes	How often data is sent to API
API endpoint	`https://time-in-code.vercel.app/api`	Where data is sent

Changing the API Endpoint

If you're self-hosting the API, update this line in src/api-client.ts:

const DEFAULT_API_ENDPOINT = 'https://time-in-code.vercel.app/api';

Then recompile and reinstall:

npm run compile
vsce package
code --install-extension ./time-in-code-0.1.0.vsix

Data Schema

The extension sends this JSON to the API every 20 minutes:

{
  "userId": "abc-123-def-456",
  "date": "2026-02-01",
  "totalSeconds": 600,
  "languages": {
    "typescript": 400,
    "javascript": 200
  }
}

userId: Auto-generated UUID (stored locally in VS Code)
date: Local date in YYYY-MM-DD format
totalSeconds: Total seconds coded that day (cumulative)
languages: Breakdown by VS Code language ID

Viewing Your Stats

In Your Browser

Run: "Coding Time: Show Today's Stats"
Copy your user ID
Visit: https://time-in-code.vercel.app/api/stats/YOUR_USER_ID

On Your Portfolio

Add this to your website:

fetch('https://time-in-code.vercel.app/api/stats/YOUR_USER_ID?limit=30')
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(data => {
    console.log(`Total hours: ${data.totalSeconds / 3600}`);
  });

Troubleshooting

Extension doesn't activate

Check:

Is activationEvents set to ["onStartupFinished"] in package.json?
Did you run npm run compile?
Do you see any errors in the Output panel (View → Output → "Extension Host")?

Fix:

npm run compile
# Restart VS Code

Data not syncing

Check:

Open Debug Console (Ctrl+Shift+Y in the Extension Development Host)
Look for [ApiClient] logs
Common issues:
- Invalid token → Run "Configure API" again
- Wrong API endpoint → Check DEFAULT_API_ENDPOINT in api-client.ts
- Network down → Data will queue and retry automatically

Test the API manually:

curl -X POST https://time-in-code.vercel.app/api/track \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "userId": "test-123",
    "date": "2026-02-01",
    "totalSeconds": 60,
    "languages": { "typescript": 60 }
  }'

Time looks wrong

Check:

Are you coding in multiple VS Code windows? Each window tracks separately.
Did you code past midnight? The extension handles rollover — check both days.
Idle detection: If you stop typing for 60s, time pauses. This is intentional.

Lost my token

Run: "Coding Time: Show Token"

If that fails, your token is stored in VS Code's encrypted secrets. Reconfigure:

Run "Coding Time: Configure API"
Choose "Generate New Token"
Old data remains tied to your user ID

Privacy & Data

What Gets Stored

User ID: A random UUID generated on your machine
Date: The day you coded
Seconds: Time spent coding
Languages: Which languages you used

What's Public

Stats endpoint: Anyone can view your stats if they know your user ID
User ID is NOT secret: It's safe to share (like a GitHub username)

What's Private

Token: Used to write data (keep this secret)
No personal info: No names, emails, code, file paths

Deleting Your Data

Contact the API administrator or open an issue. Provide your user ID.

Development

Project Structure

coding-time-tracker/
├── src/
│   ├── extension.ts       # Entry point
│   ├── api-client.ts      # API communication
│   ├── tracker.ts         # Time tracking logic
│   ├── types.ts           # TypeScript interfaces
│   └── utils.ts           # Helper functions
├── package.json           # Extension manifest
├── tsconfig.json          # TypeScript config
└── README.md              # This file

Key Files

File	Purpose
`extension.ts`	Activates extension, registers commands, handles cleanup
`tracker.ts`	Detects activity, accumulates time, handles idle timeout
`api-client.ts`	Sends data to API, handles offline queue
`types.ts`	Shared TypeScript interfaces
`utils.ts`	Date helpers, user ID generation, formatting

Building

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Watch mode (auto-recompile on save)
npm run watch

# Lint
npm run lint

# Package as .vsix
vsce package

Testing

Press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host. This opens a new VS Code window with your extension loaded. Make changes, recompile, and reload the window to test.

Debug logs: Check the Debug Console in your development window (not the host).

Architecture Details

Activity Detection

The tracker listens to two VS Code events:

onDidChangeTextDocument — Fires when you type
onDidChangeActiveTextEditor — Fires when you switch files

Both reset the idle timer.

Idle Detection

A heartbeat timer runs every 1 second. If 60 seconds pass without activity, the current session flushes and tracking pauses.

Time Accumulation

Time is accumulated in chunks:

Session starts when you type
Session ends when you go idle
Duration = lastActivityTime - sessionStartTime

Why not continuous? To avoid counting idle time. If you step away for coffee, those minutes don't count.

Sync Strategy

Every 20 minutes, accumulated data is sent to the API. The API merges (not overwrites):

// If today already has 3600 seconds and you send 600 more:
existing.totalSeconds += incoming.totalSeconds;  // 3600 + 600 = 4200

Offline Queue

If the API write fails due to network error, the data is pushed onto an in-memory queue. On the next sync, the queue is drained. Data is safe even if you lose connection mid-coding.

Midnight Rollover

When the date changes (you code past midnight), the extension:

Immediately syncs the old day's data
Resets the accumulator for the new day

No time is lost.

Contributing

Fork the repo
Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/my-feature
Make your changes
Test thoroughly (press F5, code for a while, check logs)
Submit a PR

License

MIT

Support

Issues: GitHub Issues
API docs: See the main repo README
Questions: Start a Discussion

Time in Code

Dipish Bisht

Time In Code Extension

First Time Here? Start Here!

Step 1: Install the Extension

Step 2: Generate Your Token

Step 3: Start Coding

Features

Installation

Option 1: Install from .vsix (Recommended)

Option 2: Build from Source

First-Run Setup

Commands

How It Works

Tracking Logic

What Gets Tracked

What Does NOT Get Tracked

Configuration

Default Behavior

Changing the API Endpoint

Data Schema

Viewing Your Stats

In Your Browser

On Your Portfolio

Troubleshooting

Extension doesn't activate

Data not syncing

Time looks wrong

Lost my token

Privacy & Data

What Gets Stored

What's Public

What's Private

Deleting Your Data

Development

Project Structure

Key Files

Building

Testing

Architecture Details

Activity Detection

Idle Detection

Time Accumulation

Sync Strategy

Offline Queue

Midnight Rollover

Contributing

License

Support