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Project Detection

Overview

Chronode can automatically detect which project you're working on in supported apps. This provides detailed time breakdowns without any manual project switching.

Important: Project detection only works with supported apps. All other apps track total time without project-level detail.

Supported Applications

Currently, Chronode supports automatic project detection for:

App Version Method
Xcode All versions .xcodeproj/.xcworkspace files
Visual Studio Code All versions Folder name from window title
PhpStorm All versions JetBrains project detection
IntelliJ IDEA Professional & Community JetBrains project detection
PyCharm Professional & Community JetBrains project detection
WebStorm All versions JetBrains project detection
Android Studio All versions Project name from window
Sublime Text 3 & 4 Folder name from window title

Note: More supported apps may be added in future updates.

How Project Detection Works

Xcode

Chronode reads the .xcodeproj or .xcworkspace file from the active window.

What gets detected:

MyiOSApp.xcodeproj    → Project: "MyiOSApp"
ClientApp.xcworkspace → Project: "ClientApp"

File filtering
Chronode ignores individual source files and only tracks when a project is open.

Fallback
If window title parsing fails, Chronode checks Xcode's configuration files.

Visual Studio Code

Parses the folder name from the window title.

What gets detected:

Window title : "index.html - WebsiteProject - Visual Studio Code"
→ Project    : "WebsiteProject"

Special cases handled:

  • Remote development indicators (SSH, WSL, containers)
  • Multi-part window titles
  • Workspace vs. folder mode

Fallback
Checks recent workspace files if window title is ambiguous.

JetBrains IDEs

Extracts project name from window title format [ProjectName].

What gets detected:

Window title : "[MyAPI] – routes/api.php"
→ Project    : "MyAPI"

File filtering
Ignores standalone file windows (files opened without a project).

Fallback
Reads .idea directory project configuration.

Android Studio

Parses project name from window title.

What gets detected:

Window title : "MainActivity.kt - MyAndroidApp [app]"
→ Project    : "MyAndroidApp"

Sublime Text

Extracts folder name from window title.

What gets detected:

Window title : "index.html (~/Projects/WebApp) - Sublime Text"
→ Project    : "WebApp"

Note: Works best when Sublime is opened with a folder/project rather than individual files.

Window Title Filtering

Chronode intelligently filters out non-project windows to ensure accurate tracking. The following are considered as windows to ignore and are not tracked as projects

Xcode

Over 185 known window titles including:

  • Welcome screen
  • Preferences/Settings
  • Documentation browser
  • Individual source files without project context

VS Code

Over 220 known window titles including:

  • Welcome page
  • Settings editor
  • Extension marketplace
  • Individual untitled files

JetBrains IDEs

Over 100 known window titles including:

  • Welcome screen
  • Preferences/Settings
  • Find in Files results
  • Database tools
  • Terminal windows
  • Plugin marketplace
  • Individual files without project

All Others

All other project supported applications have additional file type and window title filtering as described by the example applications listed previously. We continue to monitor application updates and update the ignore lists as soon as possible.

What this means:

If you open settings or documentation, Chronode won't create a "Settings" or "Documentation" project as it knows these aren't real work projects.

File Extension Filtering

Chronode maintains extensive lists of over 550 common file extensions to ignore, preventing individual files from being tracked as projects:

Why this matters:

If you open a single file in an application (eg XCode), Chronode won't track it as a project named "MyFile.swift" as it knows this isn't project work.

Fallback Detection

If window title parsing fails, Chronode has fallback methods:

  • Xcode
    Checks for recent projects in ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/
  • VS Code
    Reads workspace history from settings
  • JetBrains IDEs
    Examines .idea directory and recent project lists

This attempts to provide more reliable project detection even when window titles are ambiguous.

Non-Supported Apps

Apps not in the supported list will:

  • Track total time in the application
  • Show only the app name (no projects)
  • Still record sessions accurately
  • Work perfectly for time tracking without project detail

This is normal behavior for apps that don't have project detection support yet.

Future Support

Project detection support may expand to include:

  • Additional IDEs and development tools
  • Non-IDE applications with project/document structures
  • Custom project detection rules based on files.

This documentation will be updated when support changes. Also Check for app updates to get the latest supported app list.

Core Features
App Settings