Time tracking · checked 2026-10-19

Can I vibecode Timing?

YES· one-shottable

Timing's core is a small loop: sample the frontmost app, window title and browser tab, merge the samples into blocks, sort the blocks into projects with rules and total them in a report. An agent can write that as a native menu bar app in one long session, with no outside service and a handful of macOS permission prompts. The gaps are around the loop: sync across Macs and the web app, the Screen Time import for iPhone, issue-tracker sync and the team features. The ready-made ActivityWatch already covers the tracking half for free.

$11/moprice per seat

$132you'd save a year

one sittingbuild time

—people replaced it

Before you start

What you need on hand.

DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.

Time2–4 hours, one sitting; permission prompts take the longest

A Mac on macOS 14 or newerThe prompt builds a native menu bar app, so it cannot run elsewhere.
Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
Xcode command line toolsInstall with `xcode-select --install`; the full Xcode app is not required.
A free Apple Development certificateWithout a stable signature, macOS may ask for Accessibility and Automation again after every build.
Accessibility and Automation permissionsGranted once in System Settings; browser URLs need one Automation approval per browser.

Before you buildTry the 30-day trial first, and look at ActivityWatch before building: it does the automatic tracking 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 Mac time tracker that logs my work automatically, to replace Timing. Requirements:

- Swift 6 with SwiftUI and AppKit, built with Swift Package Manager for macOS 14+. `make app` produces
AutoTime.app in ./build/. It lives in the menu bar and opens a Today window from there.
- Sampling: every 5 seconds record the frontmost app (NSWorkspace), its window title (AXUIElement) and,
for Safari, Chrome, Arc and Brave, the tab URL through AppleScript. Close the open block after 3 minutes
without input (CGEventSource) and on sleep or screen lock.
- Storage: GRDB over SQLite at ~/Library/Application Support/AutoTime/time.db. Consecutive samples with the
same app, title and URL merge into one block (start, end, app, title, url, project). No screenshots, no keystrokes.
- Projects: a name, colour, client and hourly rate. Rules in rules.yaml next to the database (bundle id, title
or URL regex, domain; first match wins). A "Needs a project" list shows unmatched blocks, each with a button
that turns the block into a rule.
- Today window: a day timeline with blocks as coloured bars (hover shows title and URL), manual entries for
offline work, and a start/stop timer that overrides the rules while it runs.
- Reports: choose a date range, group by project or client, round entries up to 5, 15 or 30 minutes, mark
entries billed or unbilled, and export CSV and JSON to ~/Documents/AutoTime/.
- Single user, one Mac. No accounts, no telemetry, local-first; the app makes no network calls.
- Out of scope: sync between Macs, a web app, iPhone Screen Time import, teams, invoicing, calendar and
issue-tracker integrations.
- README: granting Accessibility and Automation in System Settings (one prompt per browser), signing with a free
Apple Development certificate so the permissions survive rebuilds, and that titles and URLs are stored unencrypted.

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

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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 Timing.

Extend the time tracker in this folder. Requirements:

- Read events from the macOS calendar through EventKit (ask for permission once) or from an .ics path in settings.
- Show events on the timeline as a separate lane and let a rule assign them to a project by title or attendee domain.
- When an event overlaps automatic blocks, let me pick which one wins; default to the event.
- Update the README.

Add a weekly summary to the time tracker in this folder. Requirements:

- A command `autotime summary --week` writes ~/Documents/AutoTime/week-YYYY-WW.md with hours per project and client, the five longest unbroken stretches and unassigned time.
- Include totals after the rounding rule chosen for each client.
- Run it automatically on Fridays at 17:00 through a LaunchAgent that the app installs from its menu.
- Update the README.

Add an away prompt to the time tracker in this folder. Requirements:

- When input resumes after 10 minutes or more of idle time, show a small window: discard, keep as a project, or mark as break.
- Remember the choice per time of day (lunch hour, evenings) and suggest it first next time.
- Store the decision on the block so reports can show it.
- Update the README.

What you lose

Sync between Macs, cloud backup and the web app
Import of iPhone and iPad Screen Time and call tracking
Two-way sync with ClickUp, Linear and Clio, and the GrandTotal invoicing link
Team sharing, MCP access for AI agents and the Web API
AI summaries of your timeline and the Entry-O-Matic that drafts time entries

Why people still pay

Freelancers who bill by the hour need the log to be complete without remembering to press a timer, and Timing has been refined for that on the Mac since 2011. The paid editions add the parts a side project skips: a second Mac that stays in sync, and reports a client will accept.

Moatexecution polish integrations

Do the math

Timing or your own copy?

Seats

Over

Your usage

Count my time3h ×$/h

Timing, 1 yr$132

Your own copy, 1 yr$5running + build session

You keep$127pays for itself in the first month

Estimate · Runs on your Mac with no hosting or API. The build is token usage on your agent plan; a paid Apple Developer account is not needed for personal use.

Leaving Timing

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Timing

1Open Reports in the app, pick the date range, grouping and columns you want.
2Press Export and choose Excel, CSV, PDF/Print, HTML or JSON.
3The export holds the time entries and project data in the report, with durations, notes and billing status.
4Raw app and window activity is not part of a report export in what we read: export the periods you need before the subscription ends.

2 · Cancel Timing

1Open the subscription management link from your purchase email; at the bottom of that page is the cancel button.
2Lost the email? Enter your address on the license activation page, or open the manage-subscription entry in the Timing app menu, and the link is sent again.
3Still stuck: contact Timing support and they will cancel it for you.
4You keep full access until the end of the billing period.

After the period ends you can still view data up to the end date, but nothing new is tracked.
Annual plans are not refunded pro rata, so cancel before the renewal date.
The iPhone app named Timing: Amusement & Excitement is a different product; this site says it has no connection to it.
Run the replacement next to Timing for a week and compare the totals before you cancel.

Checked 2026-10-19 against Timing's docs: 1, 2, 3, 4

The escape hatch

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

ActivityWatchOpen sourceMPL-2.0 automatic tracker that records the active app, window and browser tab on your own machine; data stays local.★ 19k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
macOS, Windows, Linux, AndroidVisit ↗TocklerOpen sourceGPL-2.0 desktop tracker that logs the active window title and idle time and draws a day timeline.★ 1.1k · active Apr 2026 · one-click install
macOS, Windows, LinuxVisit ↗KimaiOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 timesheet server with customers, projects, rates and invoices; entries are manual, not automatic.★ 5.1k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗

All 4 free alternatives to Timing ›

The numbers

Timing pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Professional	$11	$9	One Mac per person, automatic tracking, timers, manual entries, sync and cloud backup, basic reports, limited web app access, AI activity summaries.
Expert	$14	$11	Two Macs per person, full web app, customizable reports, filters, basic scripting, ClickUp and Linear task import.
Connect	$20	$16	Three Macs per user, team sharing and team times, two-way ClickUp, Linear and Clio sync, full scripting, Web API and Zapier, MCP access for AI agents.

Billing: Monthly or annual, paid upfront and renewed automatically. Annual plans are not refunded pro rata. Upgrading to a higher edition is charged pro rata. Payments run through Paddle; prices shown in USD and exclude VAT where it applies.
Hidden costs: Every person needs their own seat, including family members, and the Mac limit applies per seat. The feature grid and the FAQ disagree on a few rows; following the FAQ, MCP access, the Web API and team features need the top Connect edition and filters need Expert.
Source: timingapp.com

Also on the list

Toggl Track$12/mo · Time trackingKINDA

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Harvest$11/mo · Time trackingYES

Questions

Timing, briefly

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

Ask a question ›

No free plan. The download comes with a 30-day trial that asks for no credit card.

Yes. An AI coding agent such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor can build a usable personal version in one session with the prompt on this page, running on your own machine.

About $11 a month on the Professional plan per seat, $132 a year (checked 2026-10-19).

Sync between Macs, cloud backup and the web app; Import of iPhone and iPad Screen Time and call tracking; Two-way sync with ClickUp, Linear and Clio, and the GrandTotal invoicing link; Team sharing, MCP access for AI agents and the Web API; AI summaries of your timeline and the Entry-O-Matic that drafts time entries. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.