Time tracking — coalface tasks docs

Track time automatically as you work, or start and stop a timer by hand — kept private, always yours to edit.

Time tracking records how long work takes, with as little friction as possible. It’s built to be automatic — you rarely have to remember to start a timer — but you can also track by hand when you prefer.

Turn it on

Time tracking is off by default. Switch it on in Settings → General → Extensions, then set it up under Settings → Time Tracking.

Two ways to track

Automatic (a global session). Start a session from the top bar — “track for the next few hours” — and Coalface attributes time to whichever task you’re actively working on. Switch to another task and the time follows. Short flicks between tasks (under a minute) are merged away, so you don’t get a mess of tiny entries.

By hand (a per-task timer). Open a task and start its timer from the action bar. It runs until you stop it, or auto-stops after a period you set.

What counts as “active”

For the automatic session, a task is active when its panel is open and your browser tab is focused. Switch away and it pauses. Prefer to keep counting while you’re in another tab? There’s a setting for that. Time when no task is active (browsing the dashboard, idle) is simply not logged — there’s no vague “general” bucket.

Sessions are server-anchored with an idle guard, so a closed laptop or a long lunch doesn’t quietly log dead time.

Your entries are yours

Tracked time appears as a simple two-column list — when, and how long — that you can edit and correct like a spreadsheet. The tracker only ever adds entries; it never rewrites ones you’ve edited. Your corrections are safe.

Where it shows up

You choose the visibility per task — a full list, just a running total, or hidden away in settings. At board level, Coalface can show a single summary of time per task, which is handy if you bill clients by the board.

Good to know

Private by design. Time data is yours; it isn’t synced to WordPress.
Per person. Two people on one task log their own time; board totals add them up.

The short version: switch it on, start a session from the top bar, and time follows whichever task you’re working on. Prefer manual? Use a task’s own timer. Every entry is yours to edit.