Hamster vs Timewarrior
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted time tracking options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Hamster | Timewarrior |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 49 · Fair | 85 · Excellent |
| Category | Time Tracking | Time Tracking |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,126 | ★ 1,663 |
| First released | 2008 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Toggl, RescueTime | Toggl |
What are Hamster and Timewarrior?
Hamster
Hamster is a free desktop time tracking application that helps individuals record how long they spend on activities. It groups entries by category and produces simple overviews and exports of tracked time.
- Activity categorization
- Daily and weekly overviews
- Local SQLite storage
- Export to common formats
Timewarrior
Timewarrior is a command-line time tracking utility that records start and stop times of tracked activities. It offers flexible tagging, reports, and analytics for personal productivity.
- Pure command-line workflow
- Tag-based tracking
- Flexible reports and charts
- Integrates with Taskwarrior
Hamster vs Timewarrior: key differences
Hamster is written in Python, while Timewarrior is built with C++. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Hamster versus MIT for Timewarrior. Timewarrior is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Hamster. Hamster is the more established project (first released 2008), while Timewarrior arrived in 2016.
Why pick each one
Choose Hamster if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Choose Timewarrior if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is Hamster or Timewarrior better?
Neither is universally better. Timewarrior has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Hamster and Timewarrior free and open-source?
Yes. Hamster is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Timewarrior under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hamster and Timewarrior with Docker?
Hamster: check the project docs for container support. Timewarrior: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Hamster or Timewarrior?
Timewarrior has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Hamster. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.