Time Tracking Command Group

The yt time command group provides comprehensive time tracking capabilities for YouTrack issues. Track work hours, generate reports, and analyze productivity across projects and teams.

Overview 

YouTrack time tracking helps teams monitor effort, generate reports, and understand project progress. The time command group allows you to:

Log work time on issues with flexible duration formats
List time entries with filtering options
Track different types of work (Development, Testing, etc.)
List available work types for your organization
View time summaries grouped by various criteria
Export time data for analysis and billing
Support for historical time entries and date flexibility
Automatic work type name resolution to IDs

Base Command 

yt time [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

Time Tracking Commands 

log 

Log work time to a specific issue.

yt time log ISSUE_ID DURATION [OPTIONS]

Arguments:

ISSUE_ID - The issue ID to log time against (required)
DURATION - Duration of work in various formats (required)

Options:

Option	Type	Description
`--date, -d`	string	Date for the work entry (YYYY-MM-DD, ‘today’, ‘yesterday’)
`--description, -desc`	string	Description of the work performed
`--work-type, -t`	string	Type of work (Development, Testing, Documentation, etc.)

Examples:

# Log time to an issue
yt time log ISSUE-123 "2h" --description "Implemented new feature"

# Log time with work type
yt time log ISSUE-123 "1h 30m" --work-type "Development" --description "Code review"

# Log time for a specific date
yt time log ISSUE-123 "45m" --date "2024-01-15" --description "Bug fixing"

# Log time for yesterday
yt time log ISSUE-123 "2h" --date "yesterday" --description "Testing"

# Log time with combined duration format
yt time log ISSUE-456 "2h 30m" --work-type "Documentation" --description "API docs"

list 

List time entries with filtering options.

yt time list [OPTIONS]

Options:

Option	Type	Description
`--issue`	string	Filter by specific issue ID
`--user-id, -u`	string	Filter by specific user ID
`--start-date, -s`	string	Start date for filtering (YYYY-MM-DD)
`--end-date, -e`	string	End date for filtering (YYYY-MM-DD)
`--format, -f`	choice	Output format: table, json (default: table)

Examples:

# List time entries for a specific issue
yt time list --issue ISSUE-123

# List time entries for a user
yt time list --user-id USER-456

# List time entries for a date range
yt time list --start-date "2024-01-01" --end-date "2024-01-31"

# List all time entries
yt time list

# Export time entries in JSON format
yt time list --format json --issue ISSUE-123

summary 

View time summaries with aggregation and grouping options.

yt time summary [OPTIONS]

Options:

Option	Type	Description
`--user-id, -u`	string	Filter by specific user ID
`--start-date, -s`	string	Start date for filtering (YYYY-MM-DD)
`--end-date, -e`	string	End date for filtering (YYYY-MM-DD)
`--group-by, -g`	choice	Group summary by: user, issue, type (default: user)
`--format, -f`	choice	Output format: table, json (default: table)

Examples:

# View time summary grouped by user (default)
yt time summary

# View time summary grouped by issue
yt time summary --group-by issue

# View time summary grouped by work type
yt time summary --group-by type

# Filter summary by date range
yt time summary --start-date "2024-01-01" --end-date "2024-01-31"

# Export summary in JSON format
yt time summary --format json --group-by issue

# User-specific summary for performance review
yt time summary --user-id USER-123 --start-date "2024-01-01" --end-date "2024-03-31"

work-types 

List available work types for time tracking.

yt time work-types [OPTIONS]

Options:

Option	Type	Description
`--issue, -i`	string	Issue ID to get project-specific work types
`--format, -f`	choice	Output format: table, json (default: table)

Examples:

# List all available work types
yt time work-types

# List work types in JSON format
yt time work-types --format json

# List project-specific work types for an issue
yt time work-types --issue ISSUE-123

# Export work types for documentation
yt time work-types --format json > work_types.json

Duration Formats 

The time tracking system supports flexible duration input formats:

Hours Format 

# Hours with decimal
yt time log ISSUE-123 "2h"        # 2 hours
yt time log ISSUE-123 "1.5h"      # 1.5 hours
yt time log ISSUE-123 "0.25h"     # 15 minutes

Minutes Format 

# Minutes only
yt time log ISSUE-123 "30m"       # 30 minutes
yt time log ISSUE-123 "45m"       # 45 minutes
yt time log ISSUE-123 "120m"      # 2 hours

Combined Format 

# Hours and minutes combined
yt time log ISSUE-123 "2h 30m"    # 2 hours 30 minutes
yt time log ISSUE-123 "1h 15m"    # 1 hour 15 minutes
yt time log ISSUE-123 "0h 45m"    # 45 minutes

Numeric Format 

# Numeric values (assumed to be minutes)
yt time log ISSUE-123 "90"        # 90 minutes (1.5 hours)
yt time log ISSUE-123 "120"       # 120 minutes (2 hours)

Date Formats 

Flexible date input supports various formats for logging historical time:

ISO Format 

# Standard ISO date format
yt time log ISSUE-123 "2h" --date "2024-01-15"
yt time log ISSUE-123 "1h" --date "2024-12-31"

US Format 

# US date format
yt time log ISSUE-123 "2h" --date "01/15/2024"
yt time log ISSUE-123 "1h" --date "12/31/2024"

European Format 

# European date format
yt time log ISSUE-123 "2h" --date "15.01.2024"
yt time log ISSUE-123 "1h" --date "31.12.2024"

Relative Dates 

# Relative date keywords
yt time log ISSUE-123 "2h" --date "today"
yt time log ISSUE-123 "1h" --date "yesterday"

Work Types 

YouTrack supports configurable work types for time categorization. The CLI automatically resolves work type names to their IDs when logging time.

Note

Work types are case-insensitive when logging time. The CLI will match “development”, “Development”, or “DEVELOPMENT” to the same work type.

Listing Available Work Types 

# List all available work types
yt time work-types

# List project-specific work types
yt time work-types --issue ISSUE-123

# Export work types for reference
yt time work-types --format json > available_work_types.json

Development Work 

# Development-related activities
yt time log ISSUE-123 "4h" --work-type "Development" --description "Feature implementation"
yt time log ISSUE-123 "2h" --work-type "Coding" --description "Bug fixes"
yt time log ISSUE-123 "1h" --work-type "Code Review" --description "PR review"

Testing Activities 

# Testing and QA work
yt time log ISSUE-123 "2h" --work-type "Testing" --description "Manual testing"
yt time log ISSUE-123 "1h" --work-type "QA" --description "Test case creation"
yt time log ISSUE-123 "30m" --work-type "Automation" --description "Test automation"

Documentation 

# Documentation activities
yt time log ISSUE-123 "1h" --work-type "Documentation" --description "API documentation"
yt time log ISSUE-123 "45m" --work-type "Writing" --description "User guide updates"

Analysis and Planning 

# Analysis and planning activities
yt time log ISSUE-123 "2h" --work-type "Analysis" --description "Requirements analysis"
yt time log ISSUE-123 "1h" --work-type "Planning" --description "Sprint planning"
yt time log ISSUE-123 "30m" --work-type "Research" --description "Technology research"

Common Workflows 

Daily Time Logging 

# Morning time logging routine
yt time log ISSUE-123 "2h" --description "Feature development" --work-type "Development"
yt time log ISSUE-456 "1h" --description "Bug investigation" --work-type "Analysis"
yt time log ISSUE-789 "30m" --description "Code review" --work-type "Review"

# Log time for yesterday if forgotten
yt time log ISSUE-123 "4h" --date "yesterday" --description "Feature completion"

Historical Time Entry 

# Log time for previous dates
yt time log ISSUE-123 "8h" --date "2024-01-15" --description "Major feature work"
yt time log ISSUE-123 "4h" --date "2024-01-16" --description "Testing and fixes"
yt time log ISSUE-123 "2h" --date "2024-01-17" --description "Documentation"

Time Reporting and Analysis 

# Weekly time list
yt time list --start-date "2024-01-15" --end-date "2024-01-21"

# Monthly summary by user
yt time summary --start-date "2024-01-01" --end-date "2024-01-31" --group-by user

# Project time analysis
yt time list --issue PROJECT-* --format json > project_time.json

# Individual productivity report
yt time summary --user-id john.doe --group-by type --start-date "2024-01-01"

Sprint Time Tracking 

# Track time during sprint
yt time log SPRINT-ISSUE-1 "6h" --work-type "Development" --description "Story implementation"
yt time log SPRINT-ISSUE-2 "2h" --work-type "Testing" --description "Acceptance testing"

# Sprint summary report
yt time summary --start-date "2024-01-15" --end-date "2024-01-29" --group-by issue

# Team sprint velocity analysis
yt time list --start-date "2024-01-15" --end-date "2024-01-29" --format json

Billing and Client Reporting 

# Client-specific time tracking
yt time log CLIENT-ISSUE-123 "4h" --work-type "Consulting" --description "Requirements gathering"

# Generate billable hours report
yt time list --start-date "2024-01-01" --end-date "2024-01-31" --format json

# Export for billing system
yt time summary --group-by user --format json > billing_report.json

Best Practices 

Regular Logging: Log time daily to ensure accuracy and completeness.
Descriptive Entries: Use clear, meaningful descriptions for time entries.
Consistent Work Types: Use standardized work type categories across the team.
Accurate Duration: Be honest and accurate with time duration estimates.
Historical Accuracy: Log time for the actual date work was performed.
Granular Tracking: Break down large tasks into smaller, trackable components.
Team Standards: Establish team conventions for work types and descriptions.
Regular Reviews: Review time entries for accuracy and completeness.
Reporting Cadence: Generate regular reports for project and team insights.
Integration: Use time data for sprint planning and capacity estimation.

Reporting and Analytics 

Time Summary Reports 

# Team productivity overview
yt time summary --group-by user --start-date "2024-01-01" --end-date "2024-01-31"

# Project effort analysis
yt time summary --group-by issue --start-date "2024-01-01" --end-date "2024-01-31"

# Work type distribution
yt time summary --group-by type --start-date "2024-01-01" --end-date "2024-01-31"

Detailed Time Reports 

# Individual performance report
yt time list --user-id john.doe --start-date "2024-01-01" --end-date "2024-03-31"

# Issue-specific time tracking
yt time list --issue MAJOR-FEATURE-123

# Team time allocation
yt time list --start-date "2024-01-15" --end-date "2024-01-21" --format json

Export and Integration 

# Export for external systems
yt time list --format json --start-date "2024-01-01" > time_export.json

# Generate CSV-compatible data
yt time summary --format json | jq -r '.[] | [.user, .duration, .count] | @csv'

# Billing system integration
yt time list --user-id contractor --format json > contractor_hours.json

Output Formats 

Table Format (Default)

┌─────────────┬──────────┬────────────┬─────────────────┬─────────────────────┐
│ Issue       │ Duration │ Work Type  │ Author          │ Description         │
├─────────────┼──────────┼────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────────┤
│ ISSUE-123   │ 2h       │ Development│ John Doe        │ Feature impl        │
│ ISSUE-456   │ 1h 30m   │ Testing    │ Jane Smith      │ Manual testing      │
│ ISSUE-789   │ 45m      │ Review     │ Bob Wilson      │ Code review         │
└─────────────┴──────────┴────────────┴─────────────────┴─────────────────────┘

JSON Format 

[
  {
    "id": "time-entry-1",
    "duration": 120,
    "date": "2024-01-15",
    "description": "Feature implementation",
    "author": {
      "id": "user-1",
      "fullName": "John Doe"
    },
    "issue": {
      "id": "ISSUE-123",
      "summary": "Implement new feature"
    },
    "type": {
      "name": "Development"
    }
  }
]

Summary Format 

Time Summary (Grouped by User)
┌─────────────────┬───────────────┬─────────────┬─────────────────┐
│ User            │ Total Time    │ Entries     │ Average/Entry   │
├─────────────────┼───────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ John Doe        │ 40h 30m       │ 23          │ 1h 45m          │
│ Jane Smith      │ 35h 15m       │ 19          │ 1h 51m          │
│ Bob Wilson      │ 28h 45m       │ 15          │ 1h 55m          │
└─────────────────┴───────────────┴─────────────┴─────────────────┘

Error Handling 

Common error scenarios and solutions:

Invalid Duration Format: Ensure duration follows supported formats (2h, 1h 30m, 90m, etc.).
Issue Not Found: Verify the issue ID exists and you have access to log time against it.
Invalid Date Format: Use supported date formats (YYYY-MM-DD, MM/DD/YYYY, DD.MM.YYYY, etc.).
Permission Denied: Ensure you have permission to log time on the specified issue.
Future Date Entry: Some organizations may restrict logging time for future dates.
Duplicate Entries: Be careful not to log duplicate time entries for the same work.
Invalid Work Type: The CLI will show available work types when an invalid type is provided. Use yt time work-types to list all available work types beforehand.

Performance Optimization 

# Limit listing scope for better performance
yt time list --start-date "2024-01-01" --end-date "2024-01-31"

# Use specific filters to reduce data volume
yt time list --user-id specific.user --issue ISSUE-123

# Export large datasets in JSON for processing
yt time list --format json --start-date "2024-01-01" > large_export.json