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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/ActivityWatch/activitywatch/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

ActivityWatch is designed to be running in the background within minutes of downloading it. This guide walks you through downloading a release package, launching the application, and confirming that your activity is being recorded. No configuration is required to start tracking — ActivityWatch begins collecting data as soon as the watchers are running.
1

Download

Go to the ActivityWatch releases page and download the latest release for your platform:
  • Windows — download the .exe installer (e.g., activitywatch-v0.x.x-windows-x86_64-setup.exe)
  • macOS — download the .dmg disk image (e.g., activitywatch-v0.x.x-macos-x86_64.dmg)
  • Linux — download the .zip archive (e.g., activitywatch-v0.x.x-linux-x86_64.zip)
2

Install

Install ActivityWatch for your operating system:
  • Windows — run the .exe installer and follow the setup wizard. ActivityWatch will be installed and added to your Start menu.
  • macOS — open the .dmg file and drag the ActivityWatch application into your Applications folder.
  • Linux — extract the .zip archive to a location of your choice (e.g., ~/activitywatch) and make the binary executable:
unzip activitywatch-*.zip -d ~/activitywatch
chmod +x ~/activitywatch/aw-qt
3

Launch

Start ActivityWatch by running aw-qt (the system tray manager):
  • Windows / macOS — launch ActivityWatch from the Start menu or Applications folder.
  • Linux — run ./aw-qt from the directory where you extracted the archive, or python -m aw_qt if you installed from source.
aw-qt appears as an icon in your system tray and automatically starts aw-server on port 5600. The built-in watchers (aw-watcher-window and aw-watcher-afk) begin collecting data immediately.
4

Open the dashboard

Open your web browser and navigate to:
http://localhost:5600
The ActivityWatch web dashboard loads directly from the local server. You will see the activity timeline and summary views once data starts coming in — typically within a few seconds of the watchers starting.
5

Verify watchers

In the dashboard, click Buckets in the top navigation. You should see at least two buckets listed:
  • aw-watcher-window_<hostname> — confirms the window tracker is running
  • aw-watcher-afk_<hostname> — confirms the AFK tracker is running
If both buckets appear and show recent events, ActivityWatch is recording your activity correctly.
ActivityWatch runs as a background service. You can configure it to start automatically on login through the system tray icon menu, or by enabling autostart in the ActivityWatch settings. See the installation guide for platform-specific instructions.

Build from source

Need to compile ActivityWatch yourself? The installation guide covers building from source with Python and Make.

Dashboard guide

Learn how to navigate the timeline, filter by category, and export your activity data.

Watchers

Install additional watchers for browser tabs, editor activity, and more.

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