How much time do you actually spend coding each day?
I wanted an easy way to answer that without sending my coding activity to another service, so I built DevPulse, a local-first coding activity tracker for VS Code.
It tracks coding time, projects, programming languages, Git activity, streaks, and more while keeping the data on your machine.
DevPulse currently has 21 users, and I'm now looking for developers who use VS Code to try it and tell me what I should improve.
What is DevPulse?
DevPulse is a coding activity tracker built directly for VS Code.
The idea is simple: while you code, DevPulse records your local activity and turns it into useful information about your coding habits and progress.
You can see:
- Coding time
- Coding streaks
- Daily, weekly, and monthly goals
- Project activity
- Programming language statistics
- Git activity
- Weekly analytics
- Coding activity over time
- Monthly and yearly summaries
- Shareable progress cards
If you want to try it, you can install DevPulse from the VS Code Marketplace.
See where your coding time goes
One of the main things I wanted to understand was where my coding time actually goes.
DevPulse breaks activity down by project, workspace, files, hours, and programming languages.
Instead of only seeing a total number of hours, you can look back and see which projects you actually spent that time working on.
Git activity and weekly analytics
Coding time is only part of the picture.
DevPulse also brings Git activity and weekly coding statistics together so you can see how your week went.
You can view commits, coding time, daily averages, best days, sessions, and other weekly statistics.
The goal isn't to turn coding into a competition or tell you that you need to code more.
It's simply a way to look back and understand your own work.
Understand your programming languages
If you work on different projects, you probably switch between languages more often than you realize.
DevPulse gives you an overview of the programming languages you use and how your coding activity changes over time.
This can be useful when you're learning a new technology, working across multiple projects, or simply curious about what you actually spend your time writing.
Why I built it
I wanted a coding tracker that worked directly inside VS Code and stayed out of the way.
I also wanted to keep my coding data private.
DevPulse does not require an account, does not use telemetry, and does not send your coding activity to a server. Your data is stored locally on your machine, and you can export it whenever you want.
The idea is simple:
Open VS Code, write code, and understand your progress.
A local-first alternative to cloud-based coding trackers
There are already several useful coding activity and developer productivity tools, including WakaTime.
I'm not trying to claim that DevPulse is better for everyone.
Instead, I'm exploring a different approach: a local-first coding tracker for VS Code where your activity stays on your own machine.
If privacy and local data are important to you, that's the main reason you might prefer DevPulse.
Share your coding progress
I also wanted DevPulse to make it easy to share progress without sharing your complete coding history.
You can create shareable summaries using different layouts and copy them for use elsewhere.
It's a small feature, but it makes it easier to share milestones, weekly progress, or coding statistics with other developers.
What I'm trying to learn
DevPulse is still evolving, and this is the part where I need feedback from other developers.
I'm currently trying to grow from 21 users to my first 100, but the number itself isn't the most important part.
I want to find out whether DevPulse is actually useful.
If you try it, I'd especially like to know:
- What did you find most useful?
- What felt confusing or unnecessary?
- What feature would you want next?
- Would you keep using it?
You don't need to write a detailed review. Even a short comment about something you liked, disliked, or found confusing can help.
Try DevPulse
If you use VS Code, I'd love for you to give DevPulse a try.
Install DevPulse from the VS Code Marketplace
DevPulse is open source, so you can also inspect the project, report issues, or suggest improvements on GitHub:
About the project
I'm a student developer in Japan, and DevPulse is one of the open-source projects I'm building while learning and working on problems I find interesting.
I decided to share it here because I want feedback from developers who actually use VS Code.
If you try DevPulse, tell me what you think.
What would you change?
What would make you keep using it?
Your feedback will help shape the next version.
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