Help · Getting started

Install and first run

owntime is a Mac app you download and keep. There is no account to make, no email to confirm, and nothing to sign into.

1. Download and open

1. Get the disk image from the download page and open it.
2. Drag owntime into Applications, then open it.
3. If macOS asks whether you are sure, that is Gatekeeper doing its job on a direct download. The app is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized, so it opens normally.

Requires macOS 12 or later on Apple silicon. There is no Windows or Linux build yet, and the app will tell you rather than pretend otherwise.

2. Pick your industry

First run asks what kind of work you do. This renames nouns to match, so a law firm sees Matters instead of Projects, and it may preset a rounding rule and a daily goal. It changes no behaviour and touches no data. You can switch any time in Settings.

3. Add one client and one project

That is the whole setup. Everything else, rates, budgets, invoices, hangs off those two. If you would rather not type them, import a list instead.

Where the file lands

Your timesheet is created at ~/Documents/owntime/timesheet.db. One SQLite file. Copy it, back it up, open it in any SQLite browser.

The 14 day trial starts when you first open the app, not when you download it.

Next: the loop · clients and projects · where your data lives