Manipulating data

Besides the normal tracking workflow with start, stop, pause etc., Track provides a simple but effective way to edit all kinds of underlying data.

All data is stored in human-readable formats. Thus, it can be edited by letting Track open it as a temporary file in a text editor. After editing the file, the user closes it to confirm. Track checks the data for consistency, and only then overwrites any files.

Editing the config

For Track's editing to work properly, the text editor to be used must be set in the config file. On Windows, notepad.exe is set as the default, while it is nano on other systems. You can try if the setup works for you by editing the config:

track edit config

This should open the config YAML file and wait for the user to edit, save and close it. If this does not work properly, set the editor manually. Open the config file under

%USER%/.track/config.yml

There, set the text editor entry to a program of your choice, e.g.:

textEditor: vim

Then, save the file and try to edit using Track again with track edit config.

For more configuration options, see chapter Configuration.

Editing records

There are two ways for editing records:

  • Edit a single record with track edit record [[DATE] TIME]
    Good for changing a record's project, note or pauses, but limits editing of start and end time of the record.

  • Edit all records of a day in a single file with track edit day [DATE]
    Allows for changing start and end times, in addition to the other properties. Also checks consistency between records (no overlap etc.).

The file format/syntax for editing records should be quite obvious. It is the same format that Track uses to store records.

When editing a full day, records are separated by lines starting with 4 dashes: ----.

For details on the file format, see appendix File formats.

Editing projects

Projects can be edited just like the config or records:

track edit project MyProject

Projects are stored and edited as YAML files. For details, see chapter Projects.

Renaming projects

Renaming projects via file editing is prohibited due to it's side effects.

Projects can, however, be renamed via the CLI:

track edit project MyProject --rename OtherProject

All records of the project will have their project changed to the new name. The project hierarchy is also changed to reflect the name change.

Archiving projects

Projects can be archived. Archiving a project has no effects except that the project is excluded from lists and reports.

Some commands have a flag --archived to include archived projects.

To archive on un-archive a projects, use the --archive flag:

track edit project --archive
track edit project --archive=false

To "really" archive projects, the command track move project PROJECT WORKSPACE can be used to move a project and all associated records to a different (archives) workspace.

Deleting records and projects

Records and entire projects (including all their records) can be deleted using the CLI.

Delete a record:

track delete record 2023-01-01 15:05

Delete a project, including all records of the project:

track delete project MyProject

The delete commands ask for user confirmation before actually deleting anything.