Hackatime Quick Start Guide - Free WakaTime Alternative

Get up and running with Hackatime in under 5 minutes! Start tracking your coding time across 40+ editors with our free, open source WakaTime alternative.

What is Hackatime?

Hackatime is a free and open source alternative to WakaTime that automatically tracks your coding time across all your favorite editors and IDEs. It works with every existing WakaTime editor plugin by simply configuring your ~/.wakatime.cfg file to point to Hackatime's servers instead of WakaTime's.

Step 1: Create Your Account

Visit hackatime.hackclub.com and sign up using:

• Your Hack Club Slack account (recommended)
• Email address

Step 2: Run Automated Setup

🚀 Visit the Hackatime Setup Page - this will:

1. Auto-detect your operating system
2. Provide a copy-paste command that configures everything
3. Create your ~/.wakatime.cfg file pointing to Hackatime
4. Send a test heartbeat to verify setup
5. Show you when it's working!

The setup page handles all configuration automatically - no manual editing required!

Step 3: Install WakaTime Plugin

Hackatime works with any WakaTime plugin. Install for your editor:

Popular Editors

• VS Code: Search "WakaTime" in Extensions marketplace
• IntelliJ/PyCharm: Settings → Plugins → Install "WakaTime"
• Vim/Neovim: Install vim-wakatime plugin
• Sublime Text: Install via Package Control
• Atom: Install wakatime package

All Other Editors

Visit wakatime.com/plugins for 40+ supported editors.

Step 4: Configure Plugin to Use Hackatime

If you used the setup page: Your ~/.wakatime.cfg is already configured! The WakaTime plugin will automatically use Hackatime.

Manual configuration: Edit ~/.wakatime.cfg:

[settings]
api_url = https://hackatime.hackclub.com/api/hackatime/v1
api_key = YOUR_API_KEY_HERE
heartbeat_rate_limit_seconds = 30

Step 5: Start Coding!

That's it! Open your editor and start coding. Your time will be automatically tracked and appear on your Hackatime dashboard.

Verification

Check that it's working:

1. Code for a few minutes in your editor
2. Visit your dashboard
3. You should see your coding activity appear

Features You Get

• ⏱️ Automatic time tracking - no manual timers
• 📊 Language & project insights - see what you code most
• 🏆 Leaderboards - compare with other Hack Club members
• 🔒 Privacy-first - only metadata tracked, never your actual code
• 🆓 Completely free - no premium features or paywalls

Troubleshooting

Not seeing activity?

1. Re-run the setup page to verify configuration
2. Check that your WakaTime plugin is enabled in your editor
3. Make sure you're actively coding (not just viewing files)

Need help?

• Visit the Hackatime Setup Page for guided troubleshooting
• Join Hack Club Slack (#hackatime-v2 channel)
• Create an issue on GitHub

Migrating from WakaTime?
Just run the automated setup script on the Hackatime Setup Page - it will automatically update your ~/.wakatime.cfg file and all your existing plugins will work immediately!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Hackatime really free? Yes! Hackatime is completely free with no premium features or paywalls. It's open source and maintained by Hack Club.

Which editors work with Hackatime? All 70+ editors that support WakaTime work with Hackatime, including VS Code, IntelliJ IDEA, Sublime Text, Vim, Neovim, PyCharm, and many more.

How is Hackatime different from WakaTime? Hackatime is free, open source, privacy-focused, and includes unique features like leaderboards for Hack Club members.

Can I import my existing WakaTime data? Currently, data import is not supported, but you can start fresh with Hackatime while keeping your WakaTime account.

Is my code data secure? Hackatime only tracks metadata (file names, languages, project names) - never your actual code content. All data is encrypted in transit.