Time tracking · checked 2026-10-20

Can I vibecode Hubstaff?

KINDA· weekend project

For a freelancer the useful part is proof of work: hours, an activity percentage and a few screenshots a client can check. A one-person version is a weekend: an Electron tray timer, input-event counts, random screenshots and a weekly timesheet that exports to HTML or PDF with an invoice draft. The weekend goes on the same fussy capture work as any desktop tracker: macOS permissions, idle handling and the black screenshots you get before permission is granted. What stays behind is everything for a team: scheduling, approvals, payroll payments and the integrations. Hubstaff's two-seat minimum also means a solo freelancer pays for a seat they don't use.

$7/moprice per seat

$84you'd save a year

weekendbuild time

—people replaced it

Before you start

What you need on hand.

DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.

TimeA weekend; native modules and permissions take the time

Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
Node.js 22uiohook-napi and better-sqlite3 compile native code, so build tools must be installed.
Screen Recording and Accessibility permissionmacOS asks per app; screenshots come out black until you grant it.
A client who accepts your own reportSome contracts require the vendor's tracker; check before you switch.

Before you buildHubstaff has no free plan, only a 14-day trial. If you bill by the hour and don't need screenshots, Kimai or solidtime cover timers, rates and reports for free.

1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.

The prompt

Build me a freelancer time tracker with activity levels and client timesheets to replace Hubstaff. Requirements:

- Node.js 22 + TypeScript, packaged as an Electron tray app (`electron`, `electron-builder`).
`npm start` shows a tray menu and a settings window; start and stop a timer per project and task.
- Storage: better-sqlite3 in Electron's userData folder: clients, projects (hourly rate, weekly cap
in hours), tasks, time segments (start, end, project, task, note, manual flag) and 10-minute
activity blocks (key events, mouse events, percent of minutes with input).
- Activity: `uiohook-napi` counts input events only and never records which keys were pressed;
`active-win` names the app and window title; `screenshot-desktop` takes one screenshot at a random
moment in each 10-minute block, saved as JPEG in userData/shots and deleted after 30 days.
- Idle: after 5 idle minutes show a dialog to keep, discard or reassign the idle time.
- Weekly timesheet per client: total hours, amount (hours x rate), average activity percent and a
screenshot grid. "Export" writes ~/Timesheets/<client>/<year>-W<week>.html as one self-contained
file plus a PDF through `webContents.printToPDF`, and a CSV of the segments.
- Invoice draft: from a timesheet, write an HTML invoice with a number taken from a counter in
SQLite. No payment handling.
- Manual time: add or edit a segment with a required reason; the report marks these as manual.
- Cap alert: a notification when a project reaches 90 percent of its weekly cap.
- Single user. No accounts, no telemetry, local-first; nothing leaves the machine.
- Out of scope: teammates, approvals, payroll payments, integrations, phone apps.
- README: the macOS Screen Recording and Accessibility prompts, running unsigned for personal use,
where the data lives, and a reminder to tell clients that screenshots are taken.

Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.

Share on X

Max MiskowSponsoredAI agents, automations and MVPs, built for your company.Visit site ›

Then keep going

Next prompts, same folder.

The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Hubstaff.

Extend the time tracker in this folder. Requirements:

- A schedule per client in settings: weekday, hour and recipient address.
- At that time, build last week's timesheet HTML and PDF and send both through SMTP from .env, with a plain-text summary of hours and amount.
- Keep a log of sent reports in SQLite and never send the same week twice.
- A dry-run button writes the email to a file instead.
- Update the README.

Add a Hubstaff importer to the time tracker in this folder. Requirements:

- Read a timesheet or time-and-activity CSV exported from Hubstaff's Reports; map columns by header name and show a preview of the first 20 rows.
- Create missing clients and projects, import segments with their activity percent and skip duplicates by start time and project.
- Mark imported rows with source "hubstaff".
- Print a summary of what was added and skipped.
- Update the README.

Add per-project settings to the time tracker in this folder. Requirements:

- Each project can turn screenshots off, blur them, or change the idle threshold.
- Blurring applies before the file is saved (use `sharp`), and the timesheet shows a note for projects without screenshots.
- Changing a setting affects only new blocks.
- Update the README.

What you lose

Teammates, schedules, project budgets and approvals in one workspace
Payments and payroll to contractors from tracked hours
Integrations with project tools and accounting
Location and job-site tracking add-ons, and the mobile apps
A vendor-run server with SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA options on Enterprise

Why people still pay

Agencies and remote teams pay for one place where tracked hours turn into timesheets, budgets and contractor payments. A solo freelancer mostly pays for the proof-of-work look a client accepts, which a self-made report only matches if the client trusts it.

Moatcollaboration integrations switching costs

Do the math

Hubstaff or your own copy?

Seats

Over

Your usage

Count my time12h ×$/h

Hubstaff, 1 yr$84

Your own copy, 1 yr$10running + build session

You keep$74pays for itself in 2 months

Estimate · Everything runs on your machine; screenshots are the only growth. The build is token usage on your agent plan.

Leaving Hubstaff

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Hubstaff

1Timesheets: open Timesheets, choose View & edit, set your filters and click the download icon for PDF or CSV. The daily view shows up to a month at a time.
2Reports: open the Reports tab, pick a report type and click Export for CSV, PDF or QuickBooks. The Apps & URLs and Payments reports only offer CSV and PDF.
3To read the CSV in Excel, import it as UTF-8 instead of double-clicking it.
4Screenshots aren't part of these exports in what we read: save any you need first.

2 · Cancel Hubstaff

1Click your organization name in the top right and open the Organizations menu.
2Click Actions next to the organization and choose Cancel subscription (some accounts see Archive instead).
3Enter a reason in the dialog and confirm; an email confirms the cancellation.
4Deactivating your personal account does not cancel the organization's subscription.

The organization turns inactive the day before the next billing date, once the last invoice is settled, and billing stops then.
Cancelling removes access to reports, timesheets and payment records for everyone; restoring the organization brings them back.
The pricing page promises a 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans: email support@hubstaff.com within 30 days of starting. Cancelled users aren't eligible.
The cancellation article doesn't cover refunds, so ask support about anything beyond that.

Checked 2026-10-20 against Hubstaff's docs: 1, 2, 3, 4

The escape hatch

Don't feel like building it? These are already free.

CattrFreeSelf-hosted time tracking and project management with screenshots, activity tracking, reports and an API; source-available under SSPL, not an OSI open-source licence.★ 103 · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
Web, Windows, macOS, LinuxVisit ↗Ever GauzyOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 business platform with timesheets, a desktop timer app and project tools; a lot of software to run for one freelancer.★ 8.4k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
Web, Windows, macOS, LinuxVisit ↗solidtimeOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 time tracker with projects, clients, billable rates and reports; no screenshots, self-hosted or on solidtime's cloud.★ 9.0k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗

All 5 free alternatives to Hubstaff ›

The numbers

Hubstaff pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Starter	$7	$4.99	Time tracking, timesheets, activity levels, clients and invoices, limited reports, limited payments, limited screenshots and limited app and URL tracking.
Grow	$9	$7.50	Adds full reports, one integration, idle timeout, project budgets, work breaks and expenses.
Team	$12	$10	Adds unlimited screenshots and app and URL tracking, automatic idle discard, teams, scheduling, payments and payroll, and unlimited integrations.
Enterprise	$25	$25	Adds higher public API limits, ACH bank-debit payment, HIPAA compliance, SOC 2 Type II and SCIM provisioning.

Free tier: No free plan; the free Project Viewer role can read activity reports but can't track time.
Billing: Monthly or annual, charged per seat, and every seat is billed even if its owner doesn't track time. Annual is labelled two months free. Adding a seat to a monthly plan costs the full month with no proration; on annual plans it is prorated. Removed seats can be reassigned but aren't refunded. 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans, by email. The prices come from the page's own pricing data, because its text renders them with a script.
Hidden costs: The 2 seat minimum means one person pays at least $14 a month on Starter billed monthly. Add-ons per seat per month (annual price in brackets): Insights $3 ($2.50), More screenshots $3 ($2.50), Tasks $3 ($2.50), Data retention $2 ($1.67), Locations $4 ($3.33), Silent app $3 ($2.50). Priority support for organisations above $275 a month costs extra: $29 a month between $275 and $400, $59 above $400.
Source: hubstaff.com

Also on the list

Time Doctor$8/mo · Time trackingKINDA

Toggl Track$12/mo · Time trackingKINDA

Harvest$11/mo · Time trackingYES

Questions

Hubstaff, briefly

Not answered here? Tell us and we'll add it.

Ask a question ›

No free plan: a 14-day trial needs no credit card, and a free Project Viewer role lets people read reports without tracking time.

Kinda. The core is a weekend build with the prompt on this page, but real gaps remain: Teammates, schedules, project budgets and approvals in one workspace, Payments and payroll to contractors from tracked hours.

About $7 a month on the Starter plan per seat, $84 a year (checked 2026-10-20).

Teammates, schedules, project budgets and approvals in one workspace; Payments and payroll to contractors from tracked hours; Integrations with project tools and accounting; Location and job-site tracking add-ons, and the mobile apps; A vendor-run server with SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA options on Enterprise. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.