In this tutorial, we’ll build a desktop app that tracks how much time you spend on each application on your PC. It’s offline, lightweight, and beginner-friendly.
Check out the full source code here: PCUsageTimeTracker on GitHub
We’ll use:
tkinter → GUI
ttkbootstrap → modern dark/light theme for Tkinter
pygetwindow → detect active windows
psutil → optional system info
matplotlib → draw charts
Step 1: Set Up Your Project
Create a project folder and install required packages:
pip install ttkbootstrap pygetwindow psutil matplotlib
Why these packages?
ttkbootstrap: stylish GUI
pygetwindow: track which app is active
psutil: get system info
matplotlib: visualize usage with charts
Step 2: Import Modules
Create main.py:
import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import filedialog, messagebox
import ttkbootstrap as tb
from ttkbootstrap.constants import *
import time
import json
import threading
from pathlib import Path
from datetime import datetime
import psutil
import pygetwindow as gw
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
These handle GUI, time, files, threading, and charting.
Step 3: Create the Main Class
class PCUsageTimeTracker:
APP_NAME = "PC Usage Time Tracker"
APP_VERSION = "1.0.0"
def __init__(self):
self.root = tk.Tk()
tb.Style(theme="darkly")
self.root.title(f"{self.APP_NAME} v{self.APP_VERSION}")
self.root.geometry("1000x650")
Explanation:
tk.Tk() → main window
tb.Style(theme="darkly") → dark theme
geometry → window size
Step 4: Set Up Data Storage
self.app_dir = Path.home() / ".pc_usage_time_tracker"
self.app_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
self.data_file = self.app_dir / "usage_data.json"
self.running = True
self.current_app = None
self.last_switch = time.time()
self.usage = self.load_data()
Stores usage locally in a hidden folder.
Tracks the current app and last switch time.
Step 5: Load and Save Data
def load_data(self):
if self.data_file.exists():
try:
return json.loads(self.data_file.read_text())
except Exception:
return {}
return {}
def save_data(self):
self.data_file.write_text(json.dumps(self.usage, indent=2))
Loads previous usage if it exists
Saves usage in JSON format
Step 6: Detect Foreground App
def get_foreground_app(self):
try:
win = gw.getActiveWindow()
if not win:
return "Unknown"
return win.title or "Unknown"
except Exception:
return "Unknown"
Gets the title of the active window
Returns "Unknown" if nothing is active
Step 7: Add Time to Apps
def add_time(self, app, seconds):
today = datetime.now().strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
self.usage.setdefault(today, {})
self.usage[today].setdefault(app, 0)
self.usage[today][app] += seconds
Tracks usage per day
Adds seconds to the current app
Step 8: Tracker Loop
def tracker_loop(self):
while self.running:
app = self.get_foreground_app()
now = time.time()
if self.current_app is None:
self.current_app = app
self.last_switch = now
elif app != self.current_app:
delta = now - self.last_switch
self.add_time(self.current_app, delta)
self.current_app = app
self.last_switch = now
self.save_data()
time.sleep(1)
Runs in the background
Updates usage when the active app changes
Step 9: Build the GUI
def _build_ui(self):
tb.Label(self.root, text=self.APP_NAME, font=("Segoe UI", 22, "bold")).pack(pady=(10, 2))
tb.Label(
self.root,
text="Offline Application Usage Tracker",
font=("Segoe UI", 10, "italic"),
foreground="#9ca3af"
).pack(pady=(0, 10))
Adds title and subtitle
Tabs for Usage and Charts
self.tabs = tb.Notebook(self.root)
self.tabs.pack(fill="both", expand=True, padx=10, pady=6)
self.tab_usage = tb.Frame(self.tabs)
self.tab_charts = tb.Frame(self.tabs)
self.tabs.add(self.tab_usage, text="Usage & Guide")
self.tabs.add(self.tab_charts, text="Charts")
Step 10: Display Usage Instructions
self.usage_box = tk.Text(self.tab_usage)
self.usage_box.pack(fill="both", expand=True, padx=10, pady=10)
guide = (
"How to use:\n\n"
"• Leave the app running in the background.\n"
"• It automatically tracks which application is active.\n"
"• View today’s usage here.\n"
"• Open Charts to see visual summaries.\n"
"• Export data anytime.\n"
"• Reset if you want a fresh start.\n\n"
"Privacy:\n"
"• No keystrokes\n"
"• No screenshots\n"
"• No internet\n"
"• All data stored locally in usage_data.json\n"
)
self.usage_box.insert(tk.END, guide)
Step 11: Add Buttons
ctrl = tb.Frame(self.root)
ctrl.pack(fill="x", padx=10, pady=10)
tb.Button(ctrl, text="🔄 Refresh", command=self.refresh_usage).pack(side="left", padx=4)
tb.Button(ctrl, text="💾 Export", command=self.export_data).pack(side="left", padx=4)
tb.Button(ctrl, text="🧹 Reset", bootstyle="danger-outline", command=self.reset_data).pack(side="left", padx=4)
tb.Button(ctrl, text="ℹ Info", bootstyle="info-outline", command=self.show_about).pack(side="right", padx=4)
Refresh → updates usage
Export → saves JSON to a file
Reset → clears usage
Info → shows app info
Step 12: Refresh Usage
def refresh_usage(self):
self.usage = self.load_data()
today = datetime.now().strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
apps = self.usage.get(today, {})
self.usage_box.delete("1.0", tk.END)
self.usage_box.insert(tk.END, f"Today: {today}\n\n")
for app, secs in sorted(apps.items(), key=lambda x: -x[1]):
mins = int(secs // 60)
self.usage_box.insert(tk.END, f"{app[:80]} — {mins} min\n")
Step 13: Show Charts
def show_today_chart(self):
today = datetime.now().strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
apps = self.usage.get(today, {})
if not apps:
messagebox.showinfo("Charts", "No data for today yet.")
return
labels = list(apps.keys())
values = [v / 60 for v in apps.values()]
plt.figure()
plt.barh(labels, values)
plt.title("Today's Application Usage (minutes)")
plt.tight_layout()
plt.show()
Step 14: Export and Reset Data
def export_data(self):
path = filedialog.asksaveasfilename(defaultextension=".txt")
if not path:
return
with open(path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
json.dump(self.usage, f, indent=2)
messagebox.showinfo("Export", "Usage data exported successfully.")
def reset_data(self):
if messagebox.askyesno("Reset", "Clear all tracked usage?"):
self.usage = {}
self.save_data()
self.refresh_usage()
Step 15: Run the App
if __name__ == "__main__":
tracker = PCUsageTimeTracker()
threading.Thread(target=tracker.tracker_loop, daemon=True).start()
tracker.run()
✅ That’s it! You now have a fully functional PC Usage Time Tracker.
Tracks active apps automatically
Stores data locally
Shows usage and charts
Allows export and reset
You can view and clone the full project here: https://github.com/rogers-cyber/PCUsageTimeTracker
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