It’s almost done (it would take one or two weeks to clean it up for FOSS release). It’s a CLI tool. It works great for my use case, but I’m wondering if there’s any interest in a tool like this.
Say you have a simple time-tracking tool that tracks what you do daily. The only problem is that there are gaps and whatnot, which might not look nice if you need to send it to someone else. This tool fixes pretty much all of that.
Main format is a JSON with a “description”, and either “duration” or a “start”/“end” pair. It supports the Timewarrior format out of the box (CLI Time tracking tool).
So … it is a tool to automate time fraud?
Make sure to put this front and center on your CV
Hey, thanks for the comment. I get that it might be used for something shady, but that’s not the intention. The primary goal is to clean up raw time-tracking data into a format that’s easy to present to clients or supervisors, especially for contexts when small gaps or irregularities should be absent.
I imagine most professionals aren’t expected to account for every single minute of their workday. For example, if you’re switching tasks or taking short breaks. It’s more about reporting general productivity or overall progression of tasks, not trying to inflate hours.
Anyone aiming for ‘time fraud’ could probably find easier methods. My focus is to make life easier for people who already track their work but want cleaner, more digestible reports.
Appreciate the feedback though, helps me make sure the use case is clear! :)
Pretending the most important use of bit torrent is Linux ISO’s is the kind of cya that people giggle at.
If a candidate I am interviewing has a tool to change their reported hours to me or clients on their public GitHub? That person is radioactive no matter how many times they say “but don’t do anything naughty wink wink”
Am I missing something? It looks like OP has to track their time and send it to a client or superior. What is wrong with making a tool to track your time over using excel? I’m sure if they wanted it through a specific end point they would have provided that.
Tracking time is fine.
Normalizing your time to the hours you were supposed to work is a massive no no. Especially if you are expected to break down your hours per project.
I mean, you obviously do it. But you never put it in writing.
Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime.
That’s why I use this app to normalize time.
Totally understand your perspective, and I’m not here to push back against it. You’ve got a valid point.
I’ll just add that there are already commercial tools that do similar things to what I’m building. It’s interesting to consider how perceptions might shift if a tool were released by a company rather than a solo developer. Sometimes the context influences how a tool is interpreted, even if the underlying functionality remains the same. For what it’s worth, I have no commercial intent behind this.
Honestly I think it’s good. The amount of context switching and with breaks, working on several things at once. To normalize that down to a working day seems reasonable
It isn’t about being reasonable.
If you are expected to track your time to this degree (and, to make it clear, the majority of employers actively don’t want you to), there is a reason. That reason usually being different funding sources. Generally a mix of grants and clients.
And if a client or grant source finds out you are lying about those? Maybe you only had enough work to do 34 hours instead of 40 hours in one week. Would you be cool paying extra because the guy repairing your muffler had a slow week?
And if people think being proud of a tool that openly talks about what everyone else silently does isn’t a red flag for employers? Hey, its a great job market so I am sure none of that will matter.