Time Tracking

Time Tracking

Log work on issues with direct entry or timer mode.

Prerequisites

• Authenticated profile (atlcli auth login)
• Jira permission: Work on Issues

Timer Mode

Start a timer, work, then stop to log time automatically:

# Start timer
atlcli jira worklog timer start PROJ-123

# Check active timer
atlcli jira worklog timer status

# Stop and log time
atlcli jira worklog timer stop

Timer Options

# Start with comment
atlcli jira worklog timer start PROJ-123 --comment "Starting code review"

# Stop with rounding
atlcli jira worklog timer stop --round 15m

# Cancel timer without logging
atlcli jira worklog timer cancel

Profiles

timer start records the auth profile that is active at the time — either the one named with --profile, or the current profile from your config. timer stop logs the worklog with that recorded profile.

Pass --profile <name> to stop to override it, for example after renaming a profile:

atlcli jira worklog timer stop --profile work

Timer State

Timer state is stored in ~/.atlcli/timer.json:

{
  "issueKey": "PROJ-123",
  "startedAt": "2026-01-14T09:00:00.000Z",
  "profile": "work",
  "comment": "Working on feature"
}

Your tracked time is safe if stop fails

The timer file is only deleted once Jira has confirmed the worklog. If stop fails — an unparseable --round, an unknown profile, an expired token, a network error or a Jira 5xx — the elapsed time is preserved and the error says so. Fix the cause and run atlcli jira worklog timer stop again; the worklog is still logged from the original start time.

Use atlcli jira worklog timer cancel if you want to discard it instead.

Direct Entry

Log time directly without using the timer:

atlcli jira worklog add PROJ-123 2h
atlcli jira worklog add PROJ-123 30m --comment "Bug investigation"
atlcli jira worklog add PROJ-123 1h --started "2026-01-14T09:00:00"

Options:

Flag	Description
--comment	Work description
--started	Start time (defaults to now)
--round	Round time to interval

Time Formats

atlcli supports flexible time input formats:

Duration Formats

Format	Example	Description
Hours	2h, 1.5h	Hours (decimal supported)
Minutes	30m, 45m	Minutes
Combined	1h 30m, 1h30m	Hours and minutes
Days	1d	Days (= 8h by default)
Weeks	1w	Weeks (= 5d by default)
Full	1w 2d 3h 4m	All units combined
Colon	1:30	Hours:minutes format
Verbose	1 hour 30 minutes	Natural language

Date/Time Formats

For --started flag:

Format	Example
ISO 8601	2025-01-14T09:00:00
Date only	2025-01-14 (assumes start of day)
Relative	today, yesterday
Time only	09:00, 14:30 (today)

Examples

# Various time formats
atlcli jira worklog add PROJ-123 1h30m
atlcli jira worklog add PROJ-123 1.5h
atlcli jira worklog add PROJ-123 "1 hour 30 minutes"
atlcli jira worklog add PROJ-123 1:30
atlcli jira worklog add PROJ-123 "1w 2d"

# Various date formats
atlcli jira worklog add PROJ-123 2h --started yesterday
atlcli jira worklog add PROJ-123 2h --started "2026-01-14T09:00:00"
atlcli jira worklog add PROJ-123 2h --started 09:00

Rounding

Round logged time to common intervals:

# Round to 15 minutes
atlcli jira worklog add PROJ-123 37m --round 15m
# Result: 45m

# Round on timer stop
atlcli jira worklog timer stop --round 15m

Common rounding intervals:

Interval	Description
5m	Round to 5 minutes
15m	Round to quarter hour
30m	Round to half hour
1h	Round to full hour

Rounding uses standard rounding rules (rounds up at midpoint).

List Worklogs

View all worklogs on an issue:

atlcli jira worklog list --issue PROJ-123

Options:

Flag	Description
--issue	Issue key (required)
--limit	Maximum results

Update Worklog

atlcli jira worklog update --issue PROJ-123 --id 10001 --time 3h
atlcli jira worklog update --issue PROJ-123 --id 10001 --comment "Updated description"

Delete Worklog

atlcli jira worklog delete --issue PROJ-123 --id 10001 --confirm

Time Report

Generate a time report for a user across all issues:

# Current user, last 30 days (default)
atlcli jira worklog report

# Specific date range
atlcli jira worklog report --since 2026-01-01 --until 2026-01-14

# Specific user
atlcli jira worklog report --user john@example.com

# Group by issue or date
atlcli jira worklog report --group-by issue
atlcli jira worklog report --group-by date

Options:

Flag	Description
--user	User email or me (default: me)
--since	Start date (default: 30 days ago)
--until	End date (default: today)
--group-by	Group results: issue or date

Date formats for –since/–until

Format	Example	Description
Relative days	7d, 30d	Days ago
Relative weeks	1w, 2w	Weeks ago
Relative months	1m, 3m	Months ago
Absolute date	2026-01-01	Specific date
Relative	today, yesterday	Named dates

Report Output

The report includes:

• Summary: Total time, worklog count, issue count, average per day
• Worklogs: List of all worklogs with issue key, summary, time, and comment
• Grouping: Optional byIssue or byDate breakdown

atlcli jira worklog report --since 7d --json

{
  "schemaVersion": "1",
  "user": "Björn Schotte",
  "dateRange": { "from": "2026-01-07", "to": "2026-01-14" },
  "summary": {
    "totalTimeSeconds": 5400,
    "totalTimeHuman": "1 hour 30 minutes",
    "worklogCount": 1,
    "issueCount": 1,
    "averagePerDay": "12 minutes"
  },
  "worklogs": [
    {
      "issueKey": "PROJ-123",
      "issueSummary": "Implement feature",
      "timeSpent": "1h 30m",
      "timeSpentSeconds": 5400,
      "started": "2026-01-14T09:00:00.000+0100",
      "comment": "Initial work"
    }
  ]
}

JSON Output

All worklog commands support --json for structured output:

atlcli jira worklog list --issue PROJ-123 --json

{
  "schemaVersion": "1",
  "worklogs": [
    {
      "id": "10001",
      "author": "Alice",
      "authorId": "557058:abc123",
      "timeSpent": "2h",
      "timeSpentSeconds": 7200,
      "timeSpentHuman": "2 hours",
      "started": "2026-01-14T09:00:00.000+0000",
      "comment": "Initial investigation"
    }
  ],
  "total": 1
}

Best Practices

1. Use timer mode - More accurate than manual entry
2. Add comments - Describe what work was done
3. Round consistently - Use same interval across team
4. Log daily - Don’t let work accumulate
5. Review reports - Track where time is spent

Related Topics

• Issues - Work with individual issues
• Analytics - Sprint velocity and metrics
• Boards & Sprints - Sprint management