Linux native application
Other options are nice, but we expect a well-integrated Linux app.
The TimeCamp app places itself in the status panel area of the desktop. It offers a hybrid between a native app and a web-based one. For example, several functions open a page in your browser. However, it does provide some advantages of a native app as the usage reports contain detailed records of your actual desktop use, showing which apps and browser windows you were using at different times, something that wouldn’t be possible from a purely web-based tracker.
It is possible to start and stop app tracking while offline, but the online documentation makes it clear that it is your job to select the synchronisation function in the app once back online and that some of the analytics data is not acquired in this mode.
Timewarrior is operated from the command line and offers text-mode output. It consists of a daemon that runs in the background along with a collection of executables. Much use is made of command-line options to display captured data. We’re not going to mark it down due to it being a text-mode tool, as many Linux users prefer this, and there even are a few advantages to a system that can be fully automated from scripts.
Arbtt is a command-line text-mode app. In fact, it’s made up of a selection of command-line tools. The online documentation advises to set things up so the tracking daemon, arbtt-capture, is run when the desktop starts up. Configuration is carried out by editing a text file, saving it and restarting arbtt-capture.
Hamster is a fairly simple Python GUI application that fits in well on a Gnome desktop, but it’s usable on any Linux desktop.
As it’s a Java app, TimeSlotTracker has many of the characteristics of a native desktop app, such as pull-down and pop-up menus, and it features a status panel icon. Looks-wise, it doesn’t fully fit in on a Linux desktop, but it is launchable from the standard application launcher menus if installed as a DEB file.