ActivityWatch includes experimental sync support viaDocumentation 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.
aw-sync, a tool that reads from and writes to a sync folder on your local filesystem. Combined with a file-sync service like Syncthing or Dropbox, you can merge activity data from multiple devices into a single unified dashboard. Because aw-sync operates on exported files rather than a central server, your data stays under your control — no third-party service ever has direct access to the ActivityWatch database.
How sync works
aw-sync acts as a bridge between the local aw-server and a shared folder that a file-sync tool keeps in sync across devices:
aw-syncreads events from the localaw-serverand exports them as JSON files into the sync folder — one file per device/bucket combination.- A file-sync tool (Syncthing, Dropbox, or any shared folder solution) copies the sync folder to your other devices.
- On each remote device,
aw-syncreads the JSON files placed there by the sync tool and imports the events into that device’s localaw-server. - The web dashboard on any device then shows activity from all synced devices together in the Buckets view.
The sync folder contains one JSON file per device/bucket. You can inspect these files directly, back them up manually, or use them to restore data to a fresh ActivityWatch installation.
Setting up sync with Syncthing
Syncthing is a free, open-source, decentralized file synchronization tool that works well withaw-sync because it synchronizes folders directly between devices without passing through any central server.
Install Syncthing on all devices
Download and install Syncthing from syncthing.net on every device you want to sync. Syncthing provides native packages for Windows, macOS, and Linux.Start Syncthing and open its web interface (usually at
http://localhost:8384) on each device.Configure a shared sync folder
On the first device, add a new folder in the Syncthing interface — for example,
~/activitywatch-sync — and share it with your other devices by adding them as remote devices in Syncthing.Accept the shared folder on each remote device and choose a local path (for example, ~/activitywatch-sync) where the synced files will be stored.Wait for Syncthing to complete an initial sync between the devices before proceeding.Run aw-sync pointing to the shared folder
Run You can run
aw-sync on each device, pointing it to the shared sync folder. aw-sync will export local activity data into the folder and import any files created by other devices:aw-sync on a schedule (for example, with a cron job or a systemd timer) to keep the exported data up to date:Verify data from other devices appears in the dashboard
Open the ActivityWatch web dashboard at
http://localhost:5600 and navigate to the Buckets view. You should see buckets from your other devices listed alongside your local buckets. Events from remote devices appear in the timeline and activity views alongside local data.Sync status
aw-sync is bundled with the Rust server implementation, aw-server-rust, and is built alongside it when you compile ActivityWatch from source with the Rust backend. In release packages, aw-sync is included as a standalone binary in the aw-server-rust/ directory of the distribution.
Sync is considered experimental. It is functional for the described use case but has not been through the same level of production testing as the core server and watchers. Edge cases — such as clock drift between devices, very large datasets, or concurrent writes — may produce unexpected results.
Configuration
Configure aw-server port, storage backend, and watcher settings.
Privacy
Understand what data ActivityWatch collects and where it is stored.
REST API
Use the REST API to query, export, and delete activity data.