Automatic.
Non-Invasive.
Developer Time Tracking.

No more "Start/Stop" buttons. No more end-of-day guessing. Time is automatically tracked. Privacy-first: no screenshots, no keystrokes, no code content collected.

Finally, accurate time data for project estimates—without annoying your developers.

✓ 100% Automatic • ✓ Anonymous by default • ✓ No Start/Stop buttons • ✓ Works with any IDE • ✓ Tracks AI-assisted coding

Project: my-saas-app
Branch: feature/user-dashboard
12h 34m
actual time tracked
Estimate: 6h → Learn & improve

Sound Familiar?

Common time tracking frustrations that dev-time solves

The Old Way

Manual Start/Stop Timers

Developers must remember to click "Start" and "Stop" for every task. They forget. They switch tasks. They go to lunch. The data is incomplete and unreliable.

"Gut Feeling" Estimates

End-of-day guessing: "I think I spent about 3 hours on that feature..." No real data. Estimates based on feeling are often 50-100% off.

Invasive Surveillance Tools

Screenshots every 5 minutes. Keystroke logging. Webcam monitoring. Developers hate it, and it destroys trust and morale.

No Task-to-Time Correlation

"How long did PAY-1234 actually take?" No one knows. Time entries don't match branches. Future estimates are wild guesses.

The dev-time Way

100% Automatic Tracking

No buttons. No timers. No forgetting. Just code. File changes are automatically detected and time is tracked by git branch.

Real Data, Not Guesses

Minute-by-minute activity timeline. See exactly when work happened. Historical data to improve future estimates by up to 80%.

Privacy-First, Non-Invasive

Anonymous by default. No screenshots. No keystrokes. No code content. Only project, branch, and timestamp. Developers actually like using it.

Automatic Git Branch Linking

Time is automatically tied to git branches. "PAY-1234 took 12h 34m." Future similar tasks? You have real data to estimate from.

Stop fighting your time tracking tool. Let it work silently in the background while you focus on what matters: writing great code.

Try Automatic Tracking Now

⚠️ The Software Estimation Crisis

Research shows software projects consistently fail due to poor estimation:

💡 The solution? Historical data. Track actual time spent, compare to estimates, and improve future planning with real data instead of guesswork.

Read our full story: How we solved our $500K estimation problem →

Trusted by Development Teams Worldwide

20+
Companies
200+
Developers
50K+
Hours Tracked
400+
Projects

What Teams Are Saying

Real teams. Real results.

MK

"We were constantly overrunning project budgets by 40-60%. After implementing dev-time, our estimate accuracy improved to within 15%. The historical data transformed how we plan sprints. No more guesswork."

Marcus Kim

Tech Lead, CloudScale Analytics

SR

"My team was skeptical about another tracking tool, but dev-time changed everything. It's completely invisible - they just code, and I get accurate data. Finally have visibility without the micromanagement stigma."

Sarah Rodriguez

Engineering Manager, TechFlow Solutions

JC

"Client billing accuracy went from 'educated guess' to precise. We can now show clients exactly how much time went into each feature. Disputes dropped to zero, and trust increased significantly."

James Chen

Engineering Manager, BuildRight Consulting

AP

"We lost $180K on a fixed-price project because our estimates were way off. With dev-time's historical data, our next three projects came in profitable and on-time. This tool literally saved our agency."

Alex Patel

Tech Lead, Velocity Digital

MK

"We were constantly overrunning project budgets by 40-60%. After implementing dev-time, our estimate accuracy improved to within 15%. The historical data transformed how we plan sprints. No more guesswork."

Marcus Kim

Tech Lead, CloudScale Analytics

SR

"My team was skeptical about another tracking tool, but dev-time changed everything. It's completely invisible - they just code, and I get accurate data. Finally have visibility without the micromanagement stigma."

Sarah Rodriguez

Engineering Manager, TechFlow Solutions

JC

"Client billing accuracy went from 'educated guess' to precise. We can now show clients exactly how much time went into each feature. Disputes dropped to zero, and trust increased significantly."

James Chen

Engineering Manager, BuildRight Consulting

AP

"We lost $180K on a fixed-price project because our estimates were way off. With dev-time's historical data, our next three projects came in profitable and on-time. This tool literally saved our agency."

Alex Patel

Tech Lead, Velocity Digital

How It Works

Three simple steps to better estimates

1

Ask Your Developer Team to Run Script

Team Lead/Manager: Ask the developers in your team to run this open-source shell script and send you their client_id.

cd /path/to/your/project
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dev-time-tracker/timetracker/master/devtime.sh
chmod +x devtime.sh
./devtime.sh

View source on GitHub →

2

Automatic Tracking Begins

As your developers code, file changes are automatically detected. Only project name, git branch, and timestamp are sent to our server. No file names, no code content.

✓ Anonymous by default
✓ No manual timers
✓ Works with any editor
✓ Tracks AI assistant coding too

3

View Real-Time Dashboard

Team Lead/Manager: Visit dev-time.com/app?client_id=... to see activity timelines from your developer team by project and branch. Compare estimates vs actual time and improve future planning.

📊 Historical data for better estimates
⏱️ Minute-by-minute activity timeline
📈 Export reports (CSV/PDF)

Simple, Transparent Pricing

Start free, upgrade when you're ready

Free

$0 /forever

Perfect for trying it out

  • 1-day data retention
  • Unlimited projects tracked
  • Basic analytics
  • No export reports
  • No priority support
Start free (no sign up)
RECOMMENDED

Pro

For developers & teams who need history

  • Unlimited data retention
  • Unlimited projects tracked
  • Advanced analytics
  • Export reports (CSV/PDF)
  • Priority support
Get Pro Plan

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know

How do I verify actual work was done on a task?

Dev-time automatically tracks when files are being edited within each git branch. When a developer says they spent 8 hours on "feature/user-auth", you can see the actual minute-by-minute activity timeline. Compare their reported time against the tracked data. This creates accountability while respecting privacy - you see WHEN work happened and for HOW LONG, not the specific code changes.

What data is collected?

Only: project name, git branch, timestamp, and your client ID (UUID). File names are hidden by default. We NEVER collect code content, keystrokes, screenshots, or any personal information. See the Data Transparency section for the exact JSON payload.

How is this different from other time trackers?

No IDE plugins required - works with any editor (VSCode, Vim, IntelliJ, Sublime, etc.). Just run a simple shell script. No dependencies needed. Anonymous by default. Automatic git branch association. Built specifically for improving software estimation, not surveillance.

Can developers see their own data?

Yes! Complete transparency. Every developer has access to the dashboard showing exactly what data was collected. They control the config file and can exclude directories, enable/disable file name tracking, and see the JSON payload being sent.

Does this work with remote teams?

Absolutely. Each developer runs the tracker on their machine. Data is sent to our secure servers. Managers access the central dashboard to see team-wide activity, compare estimates vs actuals, and identify bottlenecks - all while respecting developer privacy.

Does it work with AI coding assistants like Claude Code, Cursor, or Copilot?

Yes! Since dev-time tracks file changes, any code written by AI assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Codex, Windsurf, etc.) is automatically tracked as coding time. Whether you're typing code yourself or an AI is generating it, if files are being modified in your project, that time counts. This gives you accurate data on how long features actually take to build - including AI-assisted development.

How do I get help or support?

We're here to help! Email us at [email protected] with any questions, issues, or feedback. We typically respond within 24 hours and love hearing from our users.

Ready to Improve Your Estimates?

Stop guessing. Start tracking. Build better software.

Join teams who finally have the data they need for accurate project planning.

✓ Anonymous by default • ✓ No account required • ✓ Start in seconds