DevFlow Recorder is a local-first workflow recorder for Linux developers. It watches the active window on Wayland desktops, merges focus changes into a readable timeline, and stores the result locally so you can review what you worked on during the day.
The project is currently an MVP. It is useful for testing real desktop activity collection, especially on GNOME Wayland, but the reporting and browser/project integrations are still early.
The screenshot above is captured from the repository's browser preview mode. The rows are explicitly marked as example data; real GNOME/Hyprland/Sway activity is shown only when the Tauri backend and a desktop provider are connected.
- Records active application and window title changes.
- Aggregates repeated focus switches into activity segments instead of appending noisy duplicate rows.
- Restores today's timeline after restarting the app.
- Persists activity data in a local SQLite database.
- Enriches terminal activity with lightweight process hints such as
hermes x3,codex,node, orreasonix. - Provides a GNOME Shell extension bridge for GNOME Wayland, where ordinary desktop apps cannot directly read global window focus.
- Keeps the privacy boundary intentionally narrow: no screenshots, no keyboard logging, no terminal command arguments.
Most activity trackers are either too invasive, too cloud-oriented, or not designed for Wayland's security model. DevFlow Recorder explores a different path:
- Local data first.
- Explicit desktop providers instead of fragile global hacks.
- Developer-oriented context, especially terminals, editors, browsers, and project windows.
- A timeline that is useful for daily review rather than a raw stream of focus events.
The long-term goal is to turn local activity into a concise Chinese daily report and a searchable development memory.
- Frontend: React + Vite
- Desktop shell: Tauri 2
- Backend: Rust
- Storage: SQLite via
rusqlite - GNOME integration: GNOME Shell extension + local HTTP bridge
- Hyprland provider:
hyprctl activewindow -j - Sway provider:
swaymsg -t get_tree
The Tauri backend owns the timeline state, local bridge, persistence, and provider polling. The frontend renders snapshots and can pause or resume recording.
| Desktop | Status | How It Works |
|---|---|---|
| GNOME / Mutter | Working MVP | GNOME Shell extension reports focused window metadata to the local bridge. |
| Hyprland | Basic support | Backend polls hyprctl activewindow -j. |
| Sway | Basic support | Backend scans swaymsg -t get_tree for the focused node. |
| KDE / KWin | Planned | Needs an explicit KWin script or DBus provider. |
| Browser tabs | Planned | A browser extension bridge is reserved but not implemented yet. |
Wayland intentionally prevents ordinary clients from globally inspecting other windows. DevFlow Recorder treats each desktop environment as a separate provider instead of trying to bypass that model.
DevFlow Recorder is designed to be open-source friendly and privacy-conscious.
It currently records:
- Window title
- Application name / app id / wm class
- Window pid when provided by the compositor or GNOME Shell
- Workspace id when provided by GNOME Shell
- Activity timestamps and segment durations
- Terminal child process names,
argv0basename, and cwd for lightweight context
It does not record:
- Screenshots
- Keyboard input
- Mouse input
- Clipboard contents
- Terminal command arguments
- Terminal environment variables
- File contents
- Browser URLs from the system layer
Browser URL collection, when implemented, should be opt-in through a browser extension and should strip query strings and fragments by default.
Runtime data is stored under:
~/.local/share/devflow-recorder/
Important files:
devflow-recorder.sqlite: local activity databasedevflow-recorder.sqlite-wal: SQLite WAL filedevflow-recorder.sqlite-shm: SQLite shared memory filebridge-token: local token used by the GNOME Shell extension when posting to the bridge
These files are runtime data and should not be committed to Git.
You need Node.js, npm, Rust, Cargo, and the native dependencies required by Tauri 2 on Linux.
Install JavaScript dependencies:
npm installBuild the frontend:
npm run buildRun the desktop app in development mode:
npm run tauri:devGNOME Wayland needs the included Shell extension to expose focused window metadata.
Install the extension:
./tools/install-gnome-extension.shEnable it:
gnome-extensions enable devflow-recorder@localIf GNOME says the extension was not found, log out and back in on Wayland, then enable it again.
If you update extension.js while already logged in, GNOME Wayland may keep the old extension code in the running Shell process. In that case, log out and back in, then run the app again.
When enabled, the top bar shows a small DF indicator. The extension reports focused window metadata to the local bridge:
http://127.0.0.1:45173/v1/gnome/window
The backend generates a local bridge-token on startup. The extension reads that token and sends it with the X-DevFlow-Token header. Requests without the token are rejected.
For troubleshooting, the extension writes a small status-only diagnostic log to:
~/.cache/devflow-recorder/gnome-extension.log
The log contains lifecycle and HTTP status events such as enable, send:soup2, send:soup3, and ok:204. It does not include window titles.
npm install
npm run build
npm run tauri:devRust checks:
cd src-tauri
cargo check
cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features.
├── gnome-extension/ # GNOME Shell extension provider
├── src/ # React frontend
├── src-tauri/ # Rust / Tauri backend
├── tools/ # Local helper scripts
├── README.md
└── package.json
- Browser extension for active tab title and sanitized URL.
- KDE / KWin provider.
- Better project detection from Git repositories, editor windows, and terminal cwd.
- Settings page for retention, provider toggles, export, and clearing local data.
- Daily report generation from local timeline data.
- Packaging for easier Linux installation.
MIT