Track coding time in Zed & VS Code

What are WakaTime and Wakapi?

WakaTime is an IDE extension that automatically tracks in the background how long you work on each project, file, and programming language. It is available for VS Code, Zed, and other editors. Wakapi is a separate, more compact dashboard that also uses the WakaTime extension.

What is the difference between the two?

WakaTime is the better-known solution and is particularly suitable for teams because it can combine everyone's statistics. Without a subscription, however, WakaTime only displays data from the past seven days.

Wakapi, on the other hand, stores data without a time limit, can be self-hosted, and also provides a leaderboard. Its minimalist interface makes the information much easier to review. If you work alone and want a clean dashboard, Wakapi is a good choice.

Installation in VS Code

WakaTime in VS Code

Search the Extensions Marketplace (Ctrl + Shift + X) for “WakaTime” and install the extension. After restarting VS Code, open the settings (Ctrl + ,) and search for “wakatime”. Enter the API key from your WakaTime dashboard.

Retrieve the WakaTime API key

# Find your API key here:
https://wakatime.com/settings/account

Wakapi in VS Code

The process is almost identical to WakaTime: Install the WakaTime extension from the Marketplace, restart VS Code, and enter both the API key and the API URL for your Wakapi dashboard in the settings (Ctrl + ,).

Wakapi settings

# API key:
https://wakapi.dev/settings#api_keys

# API URL:
https://wakapi.dev/api

Installation in Zed

WakaTime in Zed

Install the WakaTime extension in Zed. Restart Zed, open the settings file with Ctrl + Alt + ,, and add the following block:

settings.json

"lsp": {
      "wakatime": {
        "initialization_options": {
          "api-key": "waka_your_api_key"
        }
      }
    }

Wakapi in Zed

The process is almost identical to WakaTime: Install the WakaTime extension from the Marketplace and add the following code block to your settings (Ctrl + Alt + ,):

settings.json

"lsp": {
      "wakatime": {
        "initialization_options": {
          "api-key": "your-token-here",
          "api-url": "https://wakapi.dev/api"
        }
      }
    }

What happens next?

Once you have configured the extension, tracking runs entirely in the background—whether you are writing code, editing .md files, or changing something else. You do not have to start or stop anything manually.