# How to Vibe Code Your Own Toggl Track (and Stop Paying for It)

> Time Tracking Software for Any Workflow

- Site: https://toggl.com
- Category: Productivity & Time Tracking
- Verdict: **Solid side project** (65/100 vibecodeable)
- Estimated effort: 2-3 weeks part-time

## Verdict

Build a solid web-based subset with Next.js and Turso, but keep paying if you rely on polished cross-platform desktop background tracking and 100+ native integrations.

You can successfully build a personal-use clone of Toggl Track featuring the core web timer, project/tag management, manual/live entries, and summary/detailed reporting in a couple of weeks. However, building reliable native desktop background activity hooks for macOS and Windows, maintaining instant offline-first sync across browser extensions, and replicating 100+ third-party integrations requires immense unglamorous engineering effort. For personal productivity tracking, a custom web app built with modern agentic tools is a rewarding project; for business-critical billing and compliance, the paid product wins easily.

### What you can't replicate

- Two decades of continuous bug fixing and edge-case handling across native desktop and mobile platforms
- Official pre-built browser extension hooks embedded inside Jira, Asana, Salesforce, and 100+ other enterprise apps
- Enterprise compliance accreditations (SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001)

## What it does

A time-tracking and productivity platform providing real-time timers, manual hour logs, project profitability analysis, and reporting.

### Core features

- Real-time and manual time entry CRUD with projects and tags
- Interactive timer widget with pause/resume and duration calculations
- Calendar integrations (Google & Outlook) to convert events into time entries
- Comprehensive reporting engine (Summary, Detailed, and Workload views with filtering)
- Billable rates calculation and revenue tracking
- Team member management and workspace permission roles
- Idle time detection and desktop background activity tracking
- PDF and CSV export for timesheets and reports

## The business

### Pricing

- Free: $0 — Free for individuals and small teams up to 5 users.
- Starter: $9/mo — For small teams needing billing and estimates.
- Premium: $14/mo — For growing teams needing profitability and approvals.

Founded 2006.
Team size: ~140 employees.

## The hard parts

- Multi-platform real-time state synchronization across Web, Desktop (macOS/Windows), and Browser Extensions without race conditions
- Native OS-level background activity tracking hooks on macOS and Windows that capture active window titles without violating security sandboxes or triggering antivirus false positives
- Complex multi-dimensional reporting engine that aggregates thousands of time entries grouped by member, client, project, tag, and date range on the fly
- Bidirectional calendar sync and conflict resolution with external providers (Google and Microsoft)

## How to vibe code Toggl Track

### Prerequisites

- Node.js (free): Required runtime for running the Next.js frontend and local build scripts.
- GitHub (free): Source control and deployment pipeline integration.
- Cursor (free tier): AI-native code editor for iterative full-stack development.

### Recommended AI tools

- Cursor: Provides exceptional inline editing and Composer mode for building relational database models and complex UI views.
- Claude Code: Ideal for scaffolding the initial database schema, API routes, and running test suites directly from the terminal.

### Stack

- Frontend: Next.js
- Backend: Next.js API Routes
- Database: Turso
- Auth: better-auth
- Payments: None
- Other: Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, PostHog

### Hosting

- Vercel (Hosting the Next.js web application and serverless API endpoints.): $0/mo
- Turso (Serverless SQLite database for storing time entries, projects, clients, and user workspaces.): $0/mo

### Build guide

1. **Project Scaffolding & Database Schema** — Initialize the Next.js project with Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, and configure the Turso database client with Drizzle ORM.

```
Scaffold a new Next.js project using TypeScript and Tailwind CSS. Integrate shadcn/ui component library primitives (buttons, dialogs, dropdowns, tables, input fields). Set up Drizzle ORM connected to a Turso SQLite database. Define the complete database schema with tables for users, workspaces, clients, projects, tasks, tags, and time_entries. Time entries must support start time, end time, duration, billable status, user ID, project ID, and task ID. Write migration scripts and test database connectivity locally.
```

2. **Authentication & Workspace Setup** — Implement local authentication using better-auth and configure multi-tenant workspace separation.

```
Integrate better-auth into the Next.js application supporting email/password sign-up and sign-in. Create database tables for sessions and accounts. Implement user onboarding flows that automatically create a default personal workspace upon registration. Protect all dashboard and API routes with middleware verifying active session tokens. Build user profile and workspace switching UI components.
```

3. **Core Timer & Time Entry Management** — Build the live running timer widget and manual time entry creation views.

```
Build a persistent floating timer bar component at the top of the application dashboard. Implement real-time duration ticking using React state and useEffect when a timer is active. Create API endpoints for starting, stopping, and creating manual time entries (specifying description, project, task, tags, start/end timestamps, and billable toggle). Build a list view of historical time entries grouped by date, allowing inline editing, deletion, and quick-restarting of past entries.
```

4. **Projects, Clients, and Tasks Management** — Create the administrative interfaces for organizing billable work items.

```
Build a dedicated Projects and Clients management dashboard. Implement CRUD operations for clients, projects (with color codes, client association, and default billable rates), and nested tasks. Add project budget tracking supporting estimated hours and visual progress bars. Ensure all forms include client-side validation and optimistic UI updates.
```

5. **Reports and Analytics Engine** — Develop Summary and Detailed time reports with advanced filtering and grouping.

```
Build a comprehensive Reports page featuring Summary and Detailed tabs. Implement server-side aggregation queries in Drizzle ORM to group time entries by project, client, team member, tag, or date range. Include visual charts (using Recharts) for time distribution and revenue calculations based on billable rates. Add filter controls for date ranges, billable status, and search keywords with URL query parameter synchronization.
```

6. **Calendar Integration & Export Polish** — Add Google/Outlook calendar mock/integration and CSV/PDF export capabilities.

```
Implement a Calendar View page that displays weekly calendar grids and allows syncing or importing events as draft time entries. Add export functionality enabling users to download filtered time reports as CSV files or printable PDF summaries. Perform end-to-end testing of all timer flows, reports generation, and UI responsiveness.
```

### Cost vs paying

**Starting costs (one-time):**

- Custom Domain (optional): $12/yr
- Total: ~$12 one-time

**Ongoing costs (monthly):**

- Vercel Hobby Hosting: $0/mo
- Turso Database Free Tier: $0/mo
- Total: $0/mo

- Paying for the SaaS instead: $9 - $18 / user / mo
- Build time: 35-50 hours
- AI tool credits: $20 (Cursor Pro)
- Break-even: N/A (Personal build)

## Sources

- [Toggl Track Official Website & Pricing](https://toggl.com)
- [GetLatka Toggl Revenue and Company Profile](https://getlatka.com)