Task Time Tracking

Every task in PrimeTask has a built-in timer. Click Start on any task and PrimeTask tracks elapsed time until you click Stop - the session is saved as a time entry with its duration. Step away mid-session and Pause keeps it open without counting the break. If you forgot to start the timer or tracked time elsewhere, add the entry yourself with its real start and end, and correct the times on any entry later.

While the timer is running, you can type timestamped notes to capture what you're working on - and later convert those notes into subtasks. The active timer appears in the app header so you always know what you're tracking, no matter where you navigate. If a task belongs to a project, its tracked time (along with focus session time) accumulates in the project's time summary.

Time tracking works from task cards, the task detail page, automations, and AI agents - giving you multiple ways to start and stop the clock.

What you can do

How to track time

From the Task Details Page

To add time without using the timer, click Add. See Adding time manually below.

Only one timer can run at a time across the entire app. If another task's timer is running, the Start button is disabled and a message tells you which task is currently tracking.

From the task list

Right-click any task in a task list to Start Time Tracking without opening it. Right-click the task that is currently running and the same row reads Stop Time Tracking.

From task cards

Every task card (in Board View, List View, and other card-based views) has a timer button in its action bar. Click it to start or stop the timer directly from the card - no need to open the detail page.

From a task card you can also open the task's time notes, to see its total tracked time, add notes while the timer runs, and look back over its notes and entries. You can start, stop, and add notes all from the card.

From the app header

When a timer is running, the app header shows the active timer: the task name and elapsed time, updated in real time. Click it to navigate directly to the task being tracked. The header timer is always visible regardless of which page you're on, so you never lose track of a running session.

Via automations

PrimeTask includes built-in automation templates for time tracking:

• Start timer when Active - automatically starts the timer when a task's status changes to an active status (like In Progress)
• Stop timer when task completed - automatically stops the timer when a task is marked complete

You can also create custom automation rules that use Timer Started and Timer Stopped as triggers (to do something when tracking begins or ends) or Start Timer and Stop Timer as actions (to control the timer from other events). See Automations Settings.

Via AI agents (MCP)

The PrimeTask MCP server exposes timer tools that AI agents (Claude Code, Cursor, and others) can call:

• Start timer - start tracking for a specific task by name or ID
• Stop timer - stop the active timer, optionally adding a note
• Get active timer - check whether a timer is running and which task it's on
• List time entries - retrieve time entries filtered by task, project, or date range

This lets agents manage your time tracking as part of automated workflows. See External Integrations Settings.

Focus Mode sessions

When you run a Focus Mode session (Pomodoro timer) on a task, the session time is tracked separately from the task timer - but both contribute to the task's total time when viewed at the project level. Focus sessions capture actual focus duration and break duration independently. See Task Focus Mode and Focus Mode.

Things worth knowing

One timer at a time

PrimeTask runs a single timer across the entire app. You can't track time on two tasks simultaneously. If you try to start a timer while another is running, PrimeTask tells you which task currently has the timer. Stop the active timer first, then start a new one.

Pausing the timer

Click Pause when you step away and Resume when you come back. The session stays open the whole time, and the minutes you spend paused are left out of its duration, so a coffee break or a phone call doesn't need a stop and a fresh start.

You can pause and resume wherever the running timer shows: the Time Tracking section on the task, the timer in the app header, task cards, the split view beside your task list, and the list, board, calendar and Gantt views.

Timer notes - timestamped observations

While the timer is running, you can type notes and press Enter to capture them. Each note is tagged with a timestamp showing how many seconds into the session it was added. This creates a chronological log of what you did during the session - useful for time reports, stand-ups, or just remembering what you worked on.

Converting notes to subtasks

Any timer note - whether from an active session or a saved entry - can be converted into a subtask with one click. The note text becomes the subtask title, and the subtask inherits the parent task's status, priority, assignees, and project. The original note is removed after conversion.

Adding time manually

Click Add in the Time Tracking section to log time you didn't track live, then choose how to enter it:

• Start and end - pick a date, a start time and an end time. The entry covers exactly that stretch, so a meeting you forgot to time goes in with its real times.
• Duration - enter hours and minutes. The entry ends at the moment you add it, which suits a quick "I just spent half an hour on this".

Add an optional description and save. Manual entries appear alongside timer entries in the task's time history.

To pick a time, open Start or End and choose from the list, or type a time and the list jumps straight to it. Now fills in the current time. Once a start is set, End offers one-click lengths such as 1h or 2h and shows how long each later time would make the entry. Times follow the clock format you've chosen in System Preferences.

You can pick a future date too, for work you've planned ahead. Like any other entry, it counts towards your totals and reports as soon as you save it, so edit or delete it if plans change.

Time entry history

Every task shows a list of all time entries - both timer sessions and manual entries. Each entry displays its duration, and timer entries show their notes with timestamps. You can edit or delete entries, and delete individual notes, from the history.

Correcting a time entry

Click Edit on any entry in the task's time history to change its date, start and end, then Save. It works on timer sessions too, so if you started the timer late you can move the start back to when you really began. The entry's duration updates to match.

The description has its own edit button on the entry, so changing the times never touches what you wrote.

Timer persists across app restarts

If you close PrimeTask while a timer is running, the timer state is saved. When you reopen the app, the timer resumes from where it left off - the elapsed time reflects the full duration since you originally clicked Start, including the time the app was closed.

Active timer in the header

The header timer is your at-a-glance indicator that something is being tracked. It shows the task name (truncated if long) and elapsed time in HH:MM:SS format. Click it to navigate to the task. The indicator appears in every page and view throughout the app.

Time tracking on task cards

Task cards let you start, pause and stop the timer, and open the task's time notes, without leaving your board or list. The time notes show the total tracked time and recent notes grouped by session. While the timer runs you can add new notes there, and you can remove a session you no longer need.

Counting subtask time towards a task

If you break work into subtasks and track time on each one, the parent task can show you the combined figure.

When a task has subtasks with time on them, an Include subtasks button appears alongside the total on the task detail page. Turn it on and their time is added in. Leave it off and the total stays exactly as it was, matching the time entries listed for that task.

It works however deeply you nest your work, so time tracked on a subtask of a subtask still counts towards the task at the top. PrimeTask remembers which way you left it, and the button only appears when there is subtask time to add.

Project time accumulation

When a task belongs to a project, its tracked time contributes to the project's total time. The project's time summary combines two sources:

• Timer entries - from the task time tracker (start/stop sessions + manual entries)
• Focus sessions - from Focus Mode Pomodoro sessions run on project tasks

Both sources are aggregated for every task in the project (including subtasks), giving you a complete picture of time invested.

A project's time breakdown has the same Include subtasks option. Turn it on and each task shows what it has really cost, with its subtasks folded in rather than listed as separate rows. Your overall totals stay the same, because nothing is counted twice - you are only changing how the work is grouped. Open a task to see its entries and each one names the subtask it came from, so a bigger number never leaves you wondering where it came from. Exporting to CSV follows whatever you are looking at, and includes a Parent Task column so a subtask still makes sense once the file is open in a spreadsheet.

CRM task time tracking

Time tracked on CRM tasks (tasks linked to a CRM contact or company) is automatically synced to the CRM record. Time entries appear on the CRM task and contribute to CRM reporting. See CRM Tasks.

Common questions

Where to go next