Log time from GitHub

For members, managers and admins

With the ChronoTab browser extension installed, you can record time without leaving the GitHub issue you are working on. This page covers the button you will see, the drawer behind it and the keyboard shortcuts. It is for every role. If the extension is not installed yet, start with Install the browser extension.

The button on the issue page

Open any issue in a tracked repository — ChronoTab logs time against issues only, so nothing appears on pull request pages. ChronoTab adds a floating button showing the ChronoTab logo to the page; hover over it to reveal the time already logged on that issue, for example 2h 30m logged, and a Time tracking tooltip.

Repositories your organisation does not track are left alone: no button appears and nothing is sent to ChronoTab.

The drawer

Select the floating button to open the time-log drawer. Its title is Time on this issue, with the issue’s title beneath it, the total already logged (for example 2h 30m logged) and a Log time button. Below that it lists the entries already recorded on that issue, each showing who logged it, when, and whether it has been edited. If there are none yet, it reads No time logged for this issue yet.

• Select Log time to open the new-entry form. The drawer’s title changes to Log time.
• Each existing entry has Edit entry (the pencil) and Delete entry actions. Deleting asks you to confirm in place first.
• Selecting the floating button again (or pressing the shortcut) closes the drawer. While a form is open, Esc takes you back to the list.

The drawer follows GitHub’s own light or dark theme, so it matches the page you are on.

Fill in the entry

The form matches the dashboard’s Log time sheet:

1. Duration — type the time, for example 2h 30m, 2.5 or 2:30, or pick a quick chip (15m, 30m, 1h, 4h). The line under the field reads Accepts 2h 30m, 2.5 or 90m until the value parses, then shows the total, such as = 150 min. A total over 24 hours is rejected.
2. Work date — type a date (such as today, yesterday or 8 Oct) or pick one from the calendar. It defaults to today, and a future date is not accepted.
3. Activity and Billable — choose how the time was spent and whether it should appear on client-facing timesheets.
4. Optionally add a Description (up to 500 characters; a counter shows how many you have used).

Select Log time to record the entry, or press ⌘↵ (Ctrl+↵ on Windows and Linux). A short confirmation appears, such as Logged 2h 30m on #142, and the issue’s total updates. Save & add another records the entry and keeps the form open for the next one.

To change an entry, select its Edit entry pencil. The Edit entry form has Save changes and Delete entry; deleting asks Delete this 2h 30m entry? before it removes anything.

Keyboard shortcuts

While you are on an issue page, and not typing into a text field:

• Alt+T (⌥+T on a Mac) opens and closes the time-log drawer.
• Alt+N (⌥+N on a Mac) opens the new-entry form directly.

If the extension cannot reach ChronoTab

The extension keeps a queue of entries that have not yet been sent to ChronoTab, and retries them in the background. The extension popup, which also has an Open My week button to jump to the dashboard, shows what is waiting — for example 3 entries unsynced — with a Retry sync button, and the toolbar button shows the same count as a badge. If you are not connected to an organisation yet, the popup reads Sign in to log time from GitHub issues. with a Sign in button, and issue pages show a Set up ChronoTab for prompt instead of the floating button. The popup follows your operating system’s light or dark setting.

Next steps

• Edit or delete an entry — correct an entry from My week.
• My week — see everything you have logged for the week.
• Install the browser extension — connect another organisation.