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FAQ

Quick answers to help you get the most out of Chronode

What is Chronode?

Chronode is a macOS menu bar application that automatically tracks time spent in your applications and projects (where supported).

It monitors which apps you use and for how long, building a picture of your computer usage without any manual input.

How do I get started with Chronode?

Download and install Chronode. Once installed, open the app and grant the necessary permissions (Accessibility and File System access).

Add the applications you want to monitor and adjust settings as required. Setup takes less than 60 seconds.

What are the system requirements?

Chronode requires macOS 14.6+ (Sonoma) or later and supports both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

The app uses less than 50MB of disk space and runs at an average of 1% CPU usage with less than 50MB of memory during normal operation.

No internet connection is required for the free version. Chronode Pro requires internet connection for licence verification at app launch.

How much does Chronode cost?

Chronode basic is free and provides essential time tracking with unlimited apps and projects. Chronode Pro is a one-time purchase of £29.99 with lifetime updates included. Pay once, use forever—no subscriptions, no recurring fees, no annual renewals.

Unlike subscription-based time trackers that can cost £10-30+ per month, Chronode Pro is yours to keep. One payment gives you permanent access to Pro features and all future updates within the current major version, making it a smart long-term investment in your productivity.

Functionality

Does Chronode work automatically?

Yes. Once you've added apps to monitor, Chronode tracks time automatically from the moment you launch an application until you quit it. There are no timers to remember to start, no buttons to click when switching tasks, and no logs to fill out at the end of the day.

Simply use your computer as you normally would, and Chronode quietly records everything in the background. The app handles all the tracking mechanics so you can focus entirely on your work without interruptions.

Which applications can Chronode track?

Chronode can monitor any macOS application you choose. Intelligent project detection is available for the supported applications displayed when adding an app.

What is project detection?

For supported applications, Chronode automatically detects which project you're working on using the app's window title and tracks session times separately for each project.

What is Focus Mode?

Focus Mode only counts time when an application is the active window. This gives you a more accurate picture of actual work time versus having apps open in the background.

What is Minimum Session Duration?

This setting filters out brief app launches (configurable from 0-5 minutes). For example, if set to 2 minutes, opening an app for 30 seconds won't create a tracking session.

Data & Privacy

Where is my data stored?

All your time tracking data is stored locally on your Mac using Apple's Core Data framework - the same secure database system used by many native macOS applications.

Your session history, statistics, and preferences are saved locally on your mac and never sync to iCloud or external servers. No account is required to use Chronode, and your data remains completely under your control.

The only data that leaves your computer is outlined in our Privacy Policy: automatic crash reports (with sanitized paths), optional anonymous telemetry (disabled by default), and licence verification for Pro users.

You can export your data at any time in CSV, JSON, or PDF format, and uninstalling Chronode removes all data from your system.

Does Chronode collect any data about me?

Chronode automatically collects crash reports to improve app stability. These reports contain technical diagnostics with sanitized file paths (your username is removed) but no personal information, project names, or file contents.

Additionally, Chronode includes optional anonymous usage analytics that are disabled by default. You can enable this in Settings to help improve the app, but no data is sent when disabled.

For Pro users, licence verification occurs at each app launch and during update checks, requiring an internet connection. If verification fails, the app reverts to free mode.

Your time tracking data never leaves your Mac and remains under your complete control. See our Privacy Policy for complete details.

Can I export my data?

Yes. Chronode supports three export formats: CSV, PDF, and JSON. You can export data for specific date ranges or your entire tracking history.

Each format includes session details, project breakdowns, and time summaries to suit different use cases.

What privacy options are available for exports?

You can anonymize project names and round timestamps to 5-minute intervals.

These options are useful when sharing exports with clients where you need to show time allocation without revealing specific project details or exact work patterns.

Who owns my tracking data?

You do. Chronode believes your time data belongs to you completely. Export it whenever you want in your preferred format, delete it whenever you want. You have granular control over individual projects or apps, which can be deleted at any time.

You can reset all data for a specific project or app without affecting other tracking records. There are no restrictions, no waiting periods, and no data recovery processes. Your data, your decisions.

Can I disable crash reporting?

No, crash reports are automatically collected to help us fix bugs affecting all users. However, all file paths are sanitized to remove personal information before transmission. These reports are essential for maintaining app stability.

Differences between crash reports and telemetry?

Crash reports are automatically sent when errors occur and help us fix bugs. They contain technical diagnostics about what went wrong. Telemetry (optional, disabled by default) tracks how you use features to help us improve the app.

Can Chronode see my project names or code?

No. Chronode never transmits project names, full file paths, or any code/file contents. Only technical diagnostics for crashes and optional anonymous usage patterns are transmitted, with all personally identifiable information removed.

How do I know what data is being sent?

You can view all crash reports and telemetry events in Console.app (macOS utility). This shows exactly what's logged before transmission. Additionally, our Privacy Policy provides complete details about all data collection practices.

Is my data encrypted during transmission?

Yes, all data is transmitted over secure HTTPS connections with TLS encryption. This applies to crash reports, telemetry (when enabled), and licence verification. Your data is protected in transit using industry-standard encryption protocols.

Do you share my data with third parties?

No. We never sell or share your data with third parties. All data collected is used solely to improve Chronode. Your information stays with us and is used exclusively for debugging, app improvement, and licence management.

Why does Chronode need my hardware UUID?

Your Mac's hardware UUID is used solely to enforce our 3-device licence limit. This prevents licence sharing while allowing you to use Chronode on your own devices.

It cannot be used to identify you personally and is not shared with anyone. The UUID is tied to your Mac's logic board and can only be reset by deactivating your licence on that device.

What happens if my licence verification fails?

If verification fails due to network issues or an invalid licence, the app will automatically revert to free mode. This happens silently in the background without interrupting your work. All your tracking data remains intact.

Once your internet connection is restored or the licence issue is resolved, simply relaunch the app to reactivate Pro features.

Charts & Analytics

What reporting does Chronode provide?

Out of the box, Chronode provides comprehensive visual analytics to help you understand your time usage patterns. See which days you're most productive, identify your peak working hours, and visualize how time is distributed across different projects and applications.

Track your work consistency over time with intuitive graphs and visualizations that update in real-time as you work. Whether you're analyzing session lengths, spotting weekly trends, or reviewing your activity patterns, Chronode gives you the insights you need to optimize your workflow without complex configuration.

What does the Daily Activity chart show?

The Daily Activity chart aggregates your coding time by day of the week across your selected time range. It shows you which days you typically work most, helping you identify patterns like whether you're more productive on Mondays versus Fridays.

Each day displays total hours worked, making it easy to spot your most and least active days of the week.

What does the Hourly Productivity chart show?

The Hourly Productivity chart reveals your peak working hours throughout the day. It displays how much time you spend working during each hour, helping you identify when you're most productive.

This can help you schedule important tasks during your natural productivity peaks and protect those hours from interruptions.

What does the Project Distribution chart show?

The Project Distribution chart is a pie chart that shows how your time is divided between different projects. Each slice represents the percentage of total time spent on a specific project, making it easy to see at a glance which projects are consuming most of your hours.

This is particularly useful for freelancers managing multiple clients or developers balancing different responsibilities.

What does the Trend Analysis chart show?

The Trend Analysis chart displays your daily working hours over time with a 7-day moving average line to smooth out day-to-day variations.

This helps you spot longer-term patterns in your work habits, whether you're increasing or decreasing your workload, and identify trends that might not be obvious from looking at individual days.

What does the Calendar Heatmap show?

The Calendar Heatmap provides a GitHub-style contribution calendar showing your coding intensity over time. Darker colors indicate days with more activity, lighter colors show less active days, and empty squares represent days with no tracked time.

This visual format makes it easy to see your work consistency and identify gaps or particularly productive periods at a glance.

What does the Focus Sessions chart show?

The Focus Sessions chart categorizes your work sessions by duration, showing how many sessions fall into different time brackets.

This helps you understand your work patterns, whether you tend to work in short bursts or long focused sessions, and can reveal insights about your concentration habits and productivity style.

Can I filter the chart data?

Yes. All charts include time range filtering with four options: Today (current day only), Last 7 days, Last 30 days, and Last 90 days. This lets you zoom in on recent activity or pull back to see longer term patterns.

Simply select your preferred time range and all charts update instantly to show data for that period.

Do charts show active sessions?

Yes. All charts include current sessions in real-time, so you always see up-to-date information. As you work, your active session time is automatically reflected across all charts and analytics.

This means the time you see is always current, giving you an accurate view of today's productivity.

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Performance

How much CPU and memory does Chronode use?

Chronode uses less than 1% CPU when actively monitoring and under 50MB of memory during normal operation. It's designed to be lightweight and unobtrusive, running efficiently in the background without draining your battery or competing for system resources.

You can leave it running all day without noticing any impact on your Mac's performance.

What permissions does Chronode need?

Chronode requires Accessibility API access for project detection and file system read access for project files. These are standard macOS permissions requested during initial setup.

The Accessibility permission allows Chronode to detect active windows and read window titles, while file system access enables it to read configuration files for accurate project detection.

Does Chronode slow down my computer?

No. Chronode is optimized for very minimal resource usage and runs silently in the background without impacting performance.

The app uses efficient monitoring techniques that don't interfere with your other applications or system responsiveness. You can work at full speed while tracking runs invisibly in the background.

What happens if I force quit an app?

When you force quit a tracked app, Chronode immediately stops tracking that session and saves your accumulated time. If Chronode itself crashes or is force quit, don't worry. On the next launch it automatically recovers any incomplete sessions and saves them to your history. No time data is lost.

Troubleshooting

Why isn't project detection working?

First, ensure you've granted Accessibility permissions in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility. Verify that the application you're tracking is supported for project detection as not all apps have this capability.

If the app is supported and permissions are granted, restart the app after adding it to Chronode. Project detection requires both proper permissions and app support to function.

Can I pause tracking?

You can toggle active monitoring for any individual app or project using the menu options available in both the sidebar and analytics views. This allows you to temporarily stop tracking specific applications or projects without removing them from your list.

When you resume, Chronode picks up right where it left off, making it easy to control exactly what gets tracked and when.

How do I reset my data?

You can reset data for projects or entire apps from within Chronode. Both the sidebar and analytics views provide menu options for each app and project where you can reset all accumulated time data.

This clears the tracking history while keeping the app or project in your monitoring list, allowing you to start fresh without having to reconfigure anything. To access these options, right-click on any app or project in the sidebar, or use the three-dot menu in the analytics view.

Note that uninstalling Chronode does not automatically delete your data. You'll need to manually remove ~/Library/Application Support/CodelDev.Chronode/ to completely remove all data.

Does Chronode work offline?

The free version works completely offline with no internet connection required. All tracking, data storage, and analytics happen locally on your Mac.

Chronode Pro requires an internet connection for licence verification at app launch and during update checks. Without internet access, Pro features will be disabled but the app continues tracking in free mode. Once your connection is restored and you relaunch the app, Pro features will be reactivated.

This means you can use Chronode anywhere. On flights, in remote locations, or with Wi-Fi disabled—and tracking continues without interruption.

Updates & Support

Will I get future updates?

Yes. Your one-time purchase includes all future updates within the current major version at no additional cost. However, major version upgrades may require a separate purchase if they involve substantial new development.

This model ensures you continue receiving improvements, bug fixes, and new features while allowing for significant future developments that require additional investment.

How do I get support?

Email is the fastest way to get help, with typical response times within 48 - 72 hours.

You can reach us through the contact page, which provides direct email links and a contact form for your convenience.

Can I request features?

Absolutely. Feature requests are welcomed and considered for future releases based on user needs.

You can submit requests by contacting us. Your input helps shape the future development of Chronode.