Help & how-to

Get the most out of PrimeTime

Short, practical guides for the things you'll do every day — plus answers to the questions people ask most.

How-to

Start your first timer

  1. 1 Click the flaming clock in the menu bar.
  2. 2 Choose Start blank timer, or pick a saved quick-start.
  3. 3 The clock begins immediately — close the popover and keep working.

Build a label set

  1. 1 Open Settings → Label Sets and click +.
  2. 2 Name it (e.g. a client or project) and pick a launcher icon.
  3. 3 Add keys like repo or area; assign a color to each value.

Run concurrent timers

  1. 1 Start a second timer while the first keeps running.
  2. 2 Real work overlaps — PrimeTime tracks each span independently.
  3. 3 Stop or edit either one whenever it suits you.

Fix or annotate a span

  1. 1 Open Log and find the entry by day.
  2. 2 Edit the times, labels, or note — even after the fact.
  3. 3 Type into Add a note… on a running timer without stopping the clock.

Handy to know

Label your work by repo: value area: features client: acme — keys lower-case, spaces become dashes.

Frequently asked

Where is my data stored? +

On your Mac. PrimeTime is offline-first — timers, labels, and notes live locally and need no account. If you self-host PrimeTime Server, your devices sync through it; the choice is yours.

Do I need a server or an account? +

No. PrimeTime works fully offline out of the box. A server is only needed when you want to sync across multiple devices or share data across a team.

How is my time organized? +

By flexible key: value labels inspired by Prometheus metrics — repo, area, client, or anything you invent — instead of one fixed hierarchy. That makes your time queryable across any axis after the fact.

Can I get my data out? +

Always. PrimeTime exports to JSON first, so you can inspect it, feed bookkeeping tools, or write custom connectors. Your history is never locked in.

What is PrimeTime Server? +

An optional, self-hostable sync server built from Traggo Server internals and extended for the PrimeTime workflow. It powers multi-device and multi-user setups. See the docs to deploy it.

How do I report a bug or request a feature? +

Open an issue on the PrimeTime repository. Starring the project — and Traggo and Prometheus — helps the whole ecosystem.

Still stuck?

The deployment details live in the docs; the source and issue tracker are one click away.