Baralga

Limitations

• Unrecorded shutdown stop times: closing the application while a timer runs fails to log an end timestamp, accumulating phantom hours until manually corrected (GitHub issue #2).
• Linux tray icon failures: desktop environments without standard tray support, like modern Ubuntu GNOME, throw exceptions on startup unless notification extensions are installed (GitHub issue #86).
• Manual macOS setup: running on macOS requires a local Java runtime and archive extraction rather than a signed graphical installer package (GitHub issue #72).
• No built-in billing rates: logs raw hours without hourly rate multipliers, budget tracking, or fixed-fee caps, leaving calculations to external spreadsheets (GitHub issue #85).

Who should use it

• Freelancers and contractors who bill hourly clients: tracks task durations from a lightweight tray menu and produces clean Excel timesheets for invoices.
• Privacy-sensitive professionals who reject desktop surveillance: logs project hours manually without background window monitoring or mandatory cloud accounts.
• Small teams and administrative staff who manage hours internally: unifies timesheets across desktop clients through an optional self-hosted backend while keeping full data ownership.

FAQ

Baralga vs Timely — which time tracker fits your routine? Choose Baralga if you want a free desktop timer that exports timesheets to Excel without cloud accounts or background monitoring; choose Timely if you need automated activity tracking that reconstructs your workday from open apps and websites.

Is Baralga free for commercial use? Yes. Baralga is open-source software available for personal and commercial timekeeping without seat limits or subscription tiers.

Does Baralga require an internet connection? No. In default single-user mode, Baralga operates entirely offline and stores project records in your local user directory.

Verdict

Baralga is an effective choice for independent professionals who want a simple desktop timer for billable work without ongoing subscriptions or cloud activity monitors. Continued maintenance through mid-2026 alongside a GPL-3.0 terms structure ensures the software remains freely inspectable, adaptable, and usable offline indefinitely. If you rely on automatic application logging to remember your day, Timely is the better fit, but for deliberate and private time accounting, Baralga delivers clean results.