Build a command-line time tracker

Here’s a simple command-line time tracker written in Python. This tool allows users to start, stop, and view time spent on tasks directly from the terminal.

python
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import os
import json
import time
from datetime import datetime

DATA_FILE = "time_tracker_data.json"

def load_data():
    if not os.path.exists(DATA_FILE):
        return {}
    with open(DATA_FILE, "r") as f:
        return json.load(f)

def save_data(data):
    with open(DATA_FILE, "w") as f:
        json.dump(data, f, indent=4)

def start_task(task_name):
    data = load_data()
    if task_name in data and data[task_name].get("running"):
        print(f"Task '{task_name}' is already running.")
        return
    now = time.time()
    task = data.get(task_name, {"sessions": []})
    task["running"] = now
    data[task_name] = task
    save_data(data)
    print(f"Started tracking task '{task_name}' at {datetime.fromtimestamp(now)}.")

def stop_task(task_name):
    data = load_data()
    task = data.get(task_name)
    if not task or "running" not in task:
        print(f"No running task found with name '{task_name}'.")
        return
    start_time = task.pop("running")
    duration = time.time() - start_time
    task["sessions"].append(duration)
    data[task_name] = task
    save_data(data)
    print(f"Stopped tracking task '{task_name}'. Duration: {round(duration / 60, 2)} minutes.")

def report():
    data = load_data()
    for task, details in data.items():
        total_time = sum(details.get("sessions", []))
        if "running" in details:
            total_time += time.time() - details["running"]
        print(f"{task}: {round(total_time / 60, 2)} minutes")

def main():
    import argparse

    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Simple CLI Time Tracker")
    parser.add_argument("command", choices=["start", "stop", "report"], help="Command to run")
    parser.add_argument("task", nargs="?", help="Task name")

    args = parser.parse_args()

    if args.command == "start":
        if not args.task:
            print("You must specify a task name to start.")
        else:
            start_task(args.task)
    elif args.command == "stop":
        if not args.task:
            print("You must specify a task name to stop.")
        else:
            stop_task(args.task)
    elif args.command == "report":
        report()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

How to Use:

1. Save the code to a file, e.g., time_tracker.py.

2. Run commands:

   • python time_tracker.py start <task_name> – Start tracking a task.

   • python time_tracker.py stop <task_name> – Stop tracking a task.

   • python time_tracker.py report – View total time per task.

This tool uses a local JSON file to store session data and supports multiple tasks. Let me know if you want features like date filtering, export to CSV, or a more advanced UI.