Sublime Text

Follow these steps to start tracking your coding time in Sublime Text with Hackatime. The screenshots are from Sublime Text 4 on macOS, but the steps are the same on Linux and Windows.

Step 1: Log into Hackatime

Make sure you have a Hackatime account and are logged in.

Step 2: Run the setup script

Visit the setup page to automatically configure your API key and endpoint. This ensures everything works perfectly with Hackatime.

Step 3: Install Package Control

Skip this step if you already have Package Control.

Open the command palette by pressing Cmd+Shift+P on Mac or Ctrl+Shift+P on Linux and Windows. Type Install Package Control and press Enter.

After a few seconds, Sublime Text tells you that Package Control was installed. Press OK.

Step 4: Install the WakaTime package

Open the command palette again, type Install Package and choose Package Control: Install Package.

Wait for the list of packages to load, then search for wakatime and press Enter on WakaTime.

The package downloads wakatime-cli in the background, so the status bar shows WakaTime: Initializing… for a moment. It reads your API key and Hackatime’s server address from the setup script, so you won’t be asked for a key. If you skipped Step 2, open ~/.wakatime.cfg (%USERPROFILE%\.wakatime.cfg on Windows) in a text editor and add both. Use the API key from your Hackatime settings:

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

Without api_url, your time is sent to WakaTime instead of Hackatime. Plugin settings lists the other options. If Sublime Text asks for a key, paste the same one. The prompt only saves the key, not the server address.

Step 5: Check that it’s running

Open a project folder and edit a file. Your coding time for today appears on the left of the status bar.

Your time will also appear on your Hackatime dashboard within a few minutes.

What gets tracked

Sublime Text sends a heartbeat when you edit a file or move the cursor in it, at most once every two minutes for the same file, and every time you save. Your project, branch, language, line and cursor position come along with it. The project name comes from the git repository, or from the folder you opened if there’s no repository. Files you haven’t saved yet aren’t tracked.

Troubleshooting

• Not seeing your time? Make sure you completed the setup page first, or that ~/.wakatime.cfg has both api_url and api_key from Step 4. Then edit a file. Heartbeats can take a few minutes to show up.
• Stuck on “WakaTime: Initializing…”? The package downloads wakatime-cli from GitHub the first time it runs. Check your connection, wait a while if GitHub is rate limiting your network, then restart Sublime Text.
• Something else? Open the console with View → Show Console and look for lines starting with [WakaTime].
• Still stuck? Ask for help in Hack Club Slack (#hackatime-help channel).

Next steps

Once configured, your coding time will automatically appear on your Hackatime dashboard. Happy coding!