TimeFeat — Feature Time Tracker

Track exactly how long you spend on each feature, bug, or task — without ever leaving VS Code.

TimeFeat runs quietly in the background. Start a timer when you pick up a task, pause it when you context-switch, stop it when you ship. Every session is stored locally so your history builds up over time and starts answering the question every developer faces: "how long does this actually take me?"

Highlights

• Zero-friction start — annotate any line with // @timefeat: Feature Name and click the inline button. No commands, no menus.
• Always-on status bar — live clock in the footer so you never lose track of how long you've been on something.
• Analytics dashboard — see your total time, session averages, and personal bests, in a clean theme-aware panel.
• Estimation hints — after a few sessions, TimeFeat tells you "this usually takes you ~2h 15m" the moment you start.
• Everything is local — all data lives in a SQLite database on your own machine. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Quick Start

1. Install the extension
2. Open the TimeFeat panel in the activity bar (clock icon)
3. Click + to create your first feature
4. Run TimeFeat: Start Timer from the Command Palette — or use any of the shortcuts below

Ways to Start a Timer

1. CodeLens comment (recommended)

Add a single comment to any file in any language:

// @timefeat: Auth API Integration

# @timefeat: Payment Refactor

# @timefeat: CI Pipeline Fix

A clickable lens appears above the line. The button updates live as the timer state changes:

The feature is created for you automatically — no separate create step needed.

2. Right-click any selection

Highlight a method name, file path, ticket number, or any text → right-click → TimeFeat: Start Timer for Selection.

3. Status bar

Click the ⏱ TimeFeat button in the bottom-left of the editor. A menu appears with all available actions for the current state.

4. Sidebar

Click the clock icon in the activity bar to open the Features panel. Click any feature to get a context menu with start, pause, resume, stop, history, edit, and delete.

5. Command Palette

Press Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P and type TimeFeat.

Status Bar

The status bar button is always visible — it never disappears.

Time is shown as MM:SS under an hour, HH:MM:SS for longer sessions.

Features Sidebar

The Features panel (activity bar → clock icon) gives you a live overview of all your work:

• Each feature shows session count and total time tracked
• The active feature is highlighted: ● running or ⏸ paused
• Click any feature to open an action menu
• Right-click for the full context menu: Start Timer, Show History, Edit, Delete
• Toolbar icons: Refresh · Show Dashboard · Create Feature

Dashboard

Open the dashboard with TimeFeat: Show Dashboard or via the sidebar toolbar.

The dashboard shows:

• Header — today's date and a "This week" summary pill
• Stat cards — All time tracked · Total sessions · Features · Avg session length
• Feature chart — every feature as a bar, sorted by total time, with sessions, average, personal best, and last-session date per row

The panel is fully theme-aware — it respects your VS Code colour theme, light or dark.

Estimation Hints

Once you've completed at least two sessions for a feature, TimeFeat shows a hint the next time you start it:

"Timer started for 'Auth API Integration' — usually takes you ~2h 15m"

This is calculated from the average of your historical sessions for that feature.

Commands

Data & Privacy

All data is stored in a SQLite database on your local machine. Nothing is transmitted over the network.

Database location:

You can open this file with any SQLite browser to inspect, export, or back up your data.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.85 or later
• No internet connection required
• No account, sign-in, or telemetry

What's Next (Post-MVP)

• Git integration — link sessions to branches or commits automatically
• Idle detection — auto-pause after a configurable period of inactivity
• Tags — group features for category-level reporting
• Export — CSV and JSON export for spreadsheets and external tools
• Multi-workspace — separate feature lists per workspace

Contributing & Development

Interested in contributing or running from source?

Prerequisites: Node.js 18+, npm 9+

git clone <repo-url>
cd timefeat
npm install
npm run build

Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host with TimeFeat loaded.

Packaging a VSIX:

npm install -g @vscode/vsce
vsce package

License

MIT © 2026 ColdTech Ltd