botanical762 days ago
I have to track my hours at my place because the client loves to micro optimize their budgets. It's a huge pain so I'd love something to make it easier than what I have now, which is essentially toggl.com + wrapper scripts which categorize hours by JIRA feature. However, this page has done relatively little to sell it to me. What does automatic mean? What is the tool able to do? How much does it cost? etc
vincent_buildop2 days ago
Hey, thanks for the interest! For now, I launched RemotePulse Pro as an MVP (minimum viable product), and it’s 100% free at the moment. The current features include:
- You can create tasks, start a timer, pause it, and stop it. The app calculates the elapsed time between start and stop, minus any pauses, and stores the session of time spent on that task.
- There’s also an inactivity detection feature: if a task is running but there’s no activity for 5 minutes, it automatically pauses.
- You can set dependencies between tasks to ensure that certain tasks are completed in the correct order.
- Once you've completed a task and tracked the time sessions, you can mark it as "done." This moves it to your task history, where you can see the sessions you spent on it, and it also unlocks any dependent tasks.
Let me know if you have more questions !
hu3a day ago
Try https://activitywatch.net/. Free, open-source.
Plus extensions for Chrome and VSCode: https://docs.activitywatch.net/en/latest/watchers.html
It tracks how much time you spend per oppenned file, URL, window, etc.
Generates daily stats.
remram2 days ago
There's very little information before the sign up page. As someone potentially interested in this, what does it look like? What does it do differently from the other hundred of tools in this space?
You submitted a page to HN with nothing on it.
vincent_buildop2 days ago
Hey, thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. You're absolutely right—there isn't much information upfront before the sign-up page, and that's something I need to improve.
To give you a quick overview, the tool focuses on simple time tracking for tasks with some automation, like detecting inactivity and allowing task dependencies to ensure tasks are completed in the right order. It’s still in the MVP stage, so there’s definitely room for adding more details and differentiation from other tools in the space.
I'll be working on making the landing page more informative soon. Thanks again for pointing this out!
remrama day ago
Does it do that from the browser? What does it ”track”, keyboard+mouse input?
You're missing much more high-level information than this.
vincent_buildop2 days ago
Hey everyone! I just wanted to share that this is the first time I've had so many users sign up at launch, and it really seems like there's genuine interest in the app. Even though it's still a pretty basic MVP, I'm feeling really motivated to keep improving it and adding more features.
I’d love to hear from you all—what do you think I should prioritize adding to the app next? Any feedback or suggestions are super welcome!
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EarthAmbassador2 days ago
Will this remain self-bossware or is the plan to impose on users?
vincent_buildop2 days ago
Hey, thanks for your question! My goal is to keep the app as flexible as possible for the user. Right now, users have complete freedom to create their own tasks, manage them how they want, and organize their workflow in a way that suits them best. I don't plan on imposing rigid structures or methods—it's all about giving users control over how they track their time and complete their tasks.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
purple-leafy2 days ago
“Tracking” - no thanks, not now, not ever
vincent_buildop2 days ago
Hey, I totally understand your perspective, and I get that time tracking isn’t for everyone. For me and my company, for example, they don’t even require me to track my hours. It’s really more of a tool that I’ll personally use to see how much time I spend on each task or ticket. It’s mostly for my own personal organization, not something imposed by anyone else.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
porksoda2 days ago
Personally I, on the worker side of this relationship, enjoy the tracker - but I seem to be part of a tiny minority.
That being said, I've been involved with the hiring side of IT contracting before, and I can say without nuance that it would be a train wreck without some form of tracker.
Is the above just a personal squeak of disapproval or do you know of a way to avoid it while hiring strangers from around the world?
purple-leafy2 days ago
Tracking my work? I just wouldn’t take the job lol
fragmede2 days ago
But why the aversion? Lawyers bill by the hour and make bank because of it. Wouldn't you like to make more money?
purple-leafy2 days ago
No software company that I have ever heard of pays you more because you track your work.
karmajunkie2 days ago
not as a w2, no… but as an hourly contractor it’s often required, even if you bill by the day or week.
fragmedea day ago
You should try contracting as an external contractor by the hour at least once in your career, imo. some people really take to it, but not others. You take home as much, or as little pay as you can manage.
andreareina2 days ago
I know many lawyers, they all loathe it.
fragmedea day ago
the paperwork required to bill by the hour (aka tracking) is a pita. if only there were some software to make it easier!