Feature

Automatic Time Tracking

No timers needed

Automatically records apps, websites, and documents without manual timers.

How this feature works

in 3 simple steps

Install and connect

Install ManicTime and connect your workspace in minutes, without complicated setup.

Automatic activity capture

ManicTime records apps, websites, documents, and activity timelines automatically in the background.

Review, assign, and report

Review captured work, assign time to projects, and generate reports or invoices with confidence.

Works silently in the background

Manual timers fail because you forget to start them, forget to stop them, or simply don't bother when switching between tasks. Automatic time tracking eliminates the problem entirely.

ManicTime runs as a background process on Windows, Mac, and Linux. From the moment you start your computer, it records what you work on - with no input from you. Your entire workday is logged, even the parts you'd normally forget to track.

Apps, websites, and documents

ManicTime creates three parallel timelines: one for applications, one for websites (via browser integrations), and one for documents. Each timeline shows exactly what was open and for how long.

This level of detail makes it easy to reconstruct your workday accurately. Instead of trying to remember whether you spent 45 minutes or 2 hours on a task, you can see the precise answer right in ManicTime's timeline view.

Idle time detection

When you step away from your computer, ManicTime detects the inactivity and marks that time as idle. When you return, it can prompt you to specify what you were doing - a meeting, lunch, a phone call, or a break.

This means your timesheet reflects actual work time, not just time with a computer screen unlocked. Idle detection makes automatic tracking significantly more accurate than any manual method.

Works offline, syncs automatically

ManicTime stores all tracking data locally on your device. You don't need an internet connection to record time - tracking works just as well offline as it does online.

If you use ManicTime Server, your tracked data syncs automatically whenever a connection is available. This makes it ideal for remote workers, travellers, and anyone working in environments with unreliable connectivity.

AI-powered activity categorization

ManicTime can automatically categorize tracked applications and websites into meaningful groups so reports are easier to read and analyze. This reduces manual cleanup work and gives teams faster insight into where time goes.

You can still review, adjust, and override categories whenever you need finer control.

Who benefits from this feature?

The biggest impact usually appears across these user groups.

Freelancers

Track every billable minute without manual timers and invoice clients accurately.

Remote Teams

Give distributed teams visibility into work patterns while keeping privacy controls in place.

Project Managers

Use reliable time data to plan resources, delivery timelines, and project profitability.

Related features

Time Tracking with Screenshots

Capture screenshots linked to your timeline for billing proof and accountability.

Learn more ->

Assign Time to Project or Task

Assign automatically tracked work to clients, projects, and tasks with high accuracy.

Learn more ->

Privacy Control

Set granular privacy controls over captured data, schedule, and server sharing.

Learn more ->

MCP Server for AI Time Tracking

Use the ManicTime MCP server to let AI tools query timelines, analyze work patterns, and answer time-tracking questions in natural language.

Learn more ->

Idle and Away Time Tracking

Automatically detect inactivity, classify away periods, and include away-time context in reporting.

Learn more ->

Specialized Automatic Tracking

Track specialized development and workflow context automatically, including Git repository/branch details and other rich activity signals.

Learn more ->

Our customer

opinions

Katie

This software automatically tracks the time you spend on your computer. When you step away from your computer for a certain length of time (set by user), it will prompt you to tag that time. For example, if I'm getting coffee and have a 20 minute chat about the weekend, I tag it as personal. But if I have a chat about an upcoming or existing project, I tag it about that project. For the tasks you do on the computer, it can save screenshots every X seconds (again, set by user), so that you can have a reminder when you go to do your billing what each task was for.

Richard

There is a lot to love about Manic Time. It was easy to use and did way more than I was expecting from it. The reporting was informative. The editing was awesome. Tagging and managing the time tracked is robust, yet simple. It is great at taking the tracking out of time tracking. It just does 90% for you. The last 10% is tagging and validating. It really does an amazing job at showing how much time is wasted on mundane tasks or mindless browsing. I handed in my time to a project manager. He asked how I knew I worked 3.28 hours on a specific task. "Manic Time" was my answer.

Dr Steve Day (podcast)

Time tracking and its importance in business operations are discussed in this episode. Dr. Steve Day shares update on their time tracking policies, including the use of new apps and tools such as ManicTime, particularly focusing on the implementation of screenshot tracking.

Listen now

Brenda

I do contract work and manage multiple projects where I bounce between projects on an almost by the minute basis. Once tagging is setup I can easily tag all my activities as I do them and my time accumulates in each project bucket. At the end of the day my timesheet is a breeze. This is the best tool I have found so far for a work style that involves heavy duty multi-tasking. I don't know what I would do without ManicTime. Well designed and thought out product.

Mary

I like this application because with manic time we can verify who does their right job. And we also have better control because we can choose the best workers to increase production works very well and without errors.

Gary

Just renewed my licence for another year Just thought I'd let you know that this is one of the best pieces of software I've ever installed on my computer, free or paid for. I run my own business which principally relies on writing technical reports. ManicTime has made it so much easier to track my time over the various projects and therefore manage my fees and costs. (And your support has been excellent when I have had the odd problem).

Oliver

Just wanted to let you know that I think your software has helped me capture $1000's of dollars in revenue that I just wasn't billing before, as I wasn't doing a very good job of tracking my time. With ManicTime I get it all, and if I were ever to be audited by a client, I could give them every detail. Thanks so much!

Judy

The interface is very intuitive and easy to use. The ability to tag and color-code my work allows me to see at a glance how my day has been going. I can organize and structure things as much or as little as I like. What a great product!

Joshua

ManicTime’s ease of use is unmatched, thanks to its intuitive interface and flexible granularity in time-tracking. The power to dive as deep as you need into data with comprehensive tagging and reporting systems is a significant upside. Its vast number of features like document, application, and activity trackers streamline the process of managing and analyzing time efficiently. Moreover, ManicTime’s advanced search capabilities, coupled with the functionality to annotate tagged time, make it a vital tool for enhancing productivity and recalling information during discussions.

Adam

I like that it tracks inactive time on the computer so that you can remember when you started working and when you stopped, and when you took breaks. Very easy to use, I don't have to remember to log in and the app does everything for me without me even doing anything except installing the program. It shows exactly what page and project you were working on and for how long and when.

Amanda

It provides with useful reports which track and monitor the computer usage of employees, as well as the time spent on each computer program or application. Also the presence of an automatic screenshot feature resulted in an increase in my employees’ productivity. It runs automatically on my computer, great.