BuilderBox - AI vs Human Coding Time
Track your coding time with accurate AI vs Human attribution. See how much of your code is written by you versus AI assistants like Copilot, Cursor, Cline, and more.
Features
- AI Detection - Automatically distinguishes between human-written and AI-generated code
- Works Everywhere - Supports VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and other VS Code-based editors
- 14+ AI Tools Supported - GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Cline, Continue, Tabnine, Codeium, Amazon Q, Supermaven, Sourcegraph Cody, Qodo, and more
- Privacy First - Only sends metadata (file names, line counts, timing), never your actual code
- Beautiful Dashboard - View your coding stats at builder-box.com
| Tool |
Detection Method |
| GitHub Copilot |
Native API |
| Cursor |
Native API |
| Cline |
Extension API |
| Continue |
Extension API |
| Tabnine |
Extension API |
| Codeium |
Extension API |
| Amazon Q |
Extension API |
| Supermaven |
Extension API |
| Sourcegraph Cody |
Extension API |
| Qodo (formerly Codium) |
Extension API |
| Windsurf |
Native API |
| Kiro |
Extension API |
| Antigravity |
Extension API |
| Other tools |
Heuristic detection |
Installation
1. Install the Extension
Install this extension from the VS Code Marketplace (also works with Cursor and Windsurf).
2. Sign In
After installation, you'll see a notification: "Sign in to start tracking your coding time."
- Click "Sign In"
- Authorize in your browser
- You're automatically redirected back — that's it!
The extension creates your API key and starts tracking automatically. No CLI commands needed!
Usage
Once installed and configured, BuilderBox runs automatically in the background. You'll see a status bar item showing your connection status.
Commands
Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P) and type "BuilderBox":
- BuilderBox: Show Status - View connection status and stats
- BuilderBox: Open Dashboard - Open your coding dashboard in browser
- BuilderBox: Toggle Tracking - Enable/disable time tracking
- BuilderBox: Sign In - Sign in to your BuilderBox account
Configuration
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
builderbox.enabled |
true |
Enable or disable time tracking |
builderbox.apiUrl |
https://builder-box.com |
API URL (for self-hosted instances) |
builderbox.debug |
false |
Enable debug logging |
builderbox.idleCutoffMinutes |
15 |
Stop presence tracking after this many minutes of inactivity |
AI Detection Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
builderbox.aiDetection.enabled |
true |
Enable AI code detection |
builderbox.aiDetection.minCharsForAI |
50 |
Minimum characters to consider AI-generated |
builderbox.aiDetection.minTimeWithoutKeystrokeMs |
500 |
Minimum ms since keystroke for AI detection |
How It Works
BuilderBox tracks your coding activity by monitoring document changes in your editor. When you accept an AI completion or an AI agent makes changes, BuilderBox detects it through:
- Native APIs - For tools like Copilot and Cursor that expose completion events
- Extension APIs - Monitoring when AI extensions are active
- Tab Key Detection - Detecting Tab press followed by insertion (highest accuracy)
- Prompt Window Detection - Edits within 60 seconds of sending an AI prompt are classified as AI-generated
- Multi-Cursor Detection - Non-adjacent edits suggest AI agent activity
- Code Keystroke Isolation - Tracks "human" keystrokes separately from AI-generated edits to prevent timing corruption
- First-Edit-After-Prompt Detection - Significant edits (30+ chars) with no recent code keystrokes are classified as AI
- Heuristics - Detecting large changes without recent keystrokes (fallback)
Agent/Composer Mode Detection
When using AI chat assistants (Cursor Composer, Copilot Chat, Cline, etc.), BuilderBox tracks:
- Prompting Time - Time spent typing in AI chat panels
- AI-Generated Edits - Code applied by AI within 60-120 seconds of your prompt
- Dynamic Confidence - Larger edits extend the detection window and increase confidence
Architecture (CLI-First)
BuilderBox uses a CLI-first architecture, similar to WakaTime:
VS Code Extension ──► CLI (auto-installed) ──► BuilderBox API
On first activation:
- Extension automatically installs the BuilderBox CLI
- All heartbeats route through CLI for disk-based offline support
- If CLI install fails, falls back to direct API (in-memory queue)
Benefits:
- Disk-based queue - Heartbeats survive editor restarts during offline periods
- Cross-editor support - CLI works with Vim, Neovim, Emacs, and other editors
- Unified auth - One login works across all BuilderBox integrations
- Automatic retry - Exponential backoff for failed requests
What gets installed:
- CLI binary at
~/.builderbox/bin/builderbox
- Config at
~/.builderbox/config.json
- Heartbeat queue at
~/.config/builderbox/heartbeat-queue.json
The CLI also provides terminal commands for power users:
builderbox code stats # View coding statistics
builderbox task list # Manage tasks
builderbox calendar today # View today's tasks
Your actual code is never sent to our servers. We only collect:
- File paths and extensions
- Line/character counts
- Timing information
- AI tool attribution
- Editor and OS info
Privacy
- No code collection - We never see your actual code
- Minimal data - Only metadata needed for time tracking
- Your data - Export or delete your data anytime
- Open source - Inspect our code on GitHub
Support
License
MIT - see LICENSE for details.
