Pulse — Time Tracker for VS Code
Automatic, detailed coding time tracking with idle detection and a shadcn-style dashboard, in light and dark themes.
Screenshots
How tracking works
- Starts automatically the moment you type in a file. There is nothing to start or stop.
- Activity signals: typing, cursor moves, scrolling, switching files, saving, terminal commands, debugging, and git commits.
- Idle detection: after 20 minutes with no activity (configurable), the session is closed at your last activity, so idle time is never counted. Your next keystroke starts a new session.
- Only the focused window records time, so two open windows never double-count. This is configurable.
- Time is split into 5-minute blocks, so hours, days and midnight boundaries are attributed correctly.
What gets recorded
| Dimension |
Details |
| Time |
per file, language, project (workspace folder), git branch, hour, 5-minute block |
| Activity type |
coding (editing), reading (navigating/scrolling), debugging, terminal |
| Edits |
edit count, lines added/deleted, characters typed/deleted (per file & language) |
| Files |
opens, saves, created / deleted / renamed |
| Other |
git commits, debug sessions, terminal commands |
| Sessions |
start/end, active time, projects, languages, files touched, edits |
Dashboard
Open it with Pulse: Open Dashboard, or click the timer in the status bar.
- Overview: KPIs (total, daily average, today's goal, lines changed, sessions, top language, streak, peak hour); daily or hourly stacked chart by language, activity type or project; language donut; activity types; top files; projects; time of day; branches.
- Languages: detailed table, distribution donut, languages over time.
- Files: searchable, sortable table of every file. Click a file to open it.
- Projects: per-project stats, projects over time, branches.
- Activity: GitHub-style yearly calendar, weekday × hour heatmap, all counters.
- Sessions: a timeline of each day's 5-minute blocks, and a full session log.
- Filters: Today / Yesterday / 7D / 30D / 90D / 1Y / All, a project filter, and comparison with the previous period.
- Theme: System (follows VS Code) / Light / Dark.
Commands
Pulse: Open DashboardPulse: Pause / Resume TrackingPulse: Show Today's SummaryPulse: Export Data (JSON) / Pulse: Export Files Report (CSV)Pulse: Open Data FolderPulse: Delete All Tracked Data
Settings
| Setting |
Default |
|
pulse.idleTimeoutMinutes |
20 |
Minutes of inactivity before tracking stops |
pulse.trackWhenUnfocused |
false |
Keep counting while VS Code is in the background |
pulse.dailyGoalHours |
4 |
Daily goal shown in the status bar and dashboard |
pulse.showStatusBar |
true |
Show today's time in the status bar |
pulse.excludePatterns |
node_modules, .git |
Glob patterns that are never tracked |
Privacy
All data stays on your machine as JSON files in VS Code's global storage (Pulse: Open Data Folder). Nothing is sent anywhere.
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