Merge pull request #76 from DylanDevelops/ravel/alternative-tracking-logic

feat: Non-directory specific tracking support

Author: DylanDevelops

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -176,11 +176,13 @@ All user data is stored locally in:
 ```text
 ~/.tmpo/              # Production (default)
   ├── tmpo.db         # SQLite database
-  └── config.yaml     # Global configuration (optional)
+  ├── config.yaml     # Global configuration (optional)
+  └── projects.yaml   # Global projects registry (optional)
 
 ~/.tmpo-dev/          # Development (when TMPO_DEV=1)
   ├── tmpo.db         # SQLite database
-  └── config.yaml     # Global configuration (optional)
+  ├── config.yaml     # Global configuration (optional)
+  └── projects.yaml   # Global projects registry (optional)
 ```
 
 The database schema includes:
@@ -200,9 +202,14 @@ The database schema includes:
 
 When a user runs `tmpo start`, the project name is detected in this priority order:
 
-1. **`.tmporc` file** - Searches current directory and all parent directories
-2. **Git repository** - Uses `git rev-parse --show-toplevel` to find repo root
-3. **Directory name** - Falls back to current directory name
+1. **`--project` flag** - Explicitly specified global project (e.g., `tmpo start --project "My Project"`)
+2. **`.tmporc` file** - Searches current directory and all parent directories
+3. **Git repository** - Uses `git rev-parse --show-toplevel` to find repo root
+4. **Directory name** - Falls back to current directory name
+
+**Global Projects:**
+
+Users can create global projects with `tmpo init --global`, which stores project configurations in `~/.tmpo/projects.yaml`. These projects can be tracked from any directory using the `--project` flag.
 
 This logic lives in `internal/project/detect.go`.
 

README.md

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 
 - **🚀 Fast & Lightweight** - Built in Go, tmpo starts instantly and uses minimal resources
 - **🎯 Automatic Project Detection** - Detects project names from Git repos or `.tmporc` configuration files
+- **🌐 Global Projects** - Track time for any project from any directory without configuration files
 - **🎯 Milestone Tracking** - Organize time entries into sprints, releases, or project phases
 - **💾 Local & Private Storage** - All data stored locally in SQLite - your time tracking stays private
 - **📊 Rich Reporting** - View stats, export to CSV/JSON, and track hourly rates
@@ -58,6 +59,23 @@ tmpo stats
 tmpo milestone start "Sprint 1"
 ```
 
+### Track Projects From Anywhere
+
+Create global projects to track time from any directory:
+
+```bash
+# Create a global project
+tmpo init --global
+
+# Track time from anywhere on your system
+cd /tmp
+tmpo start --project "Client Work" "Implementing new feature"
+tmpo stop
+
+# View entries from anywhere
+tmpo log --project "Client Work"
+```
+
 For detailed usage and all commands, see the [Usage Guide](docs/usage.md).
 
 ## Configuration
@@ -80,16 +98,26 @@ This opens an interactive wizard to configure:
 
 ### Per-Project Settings
 
-Optionally create a `.tmporc` file in your project to customize settings:
+**Local Projects (directory-specific):**
 
 ```bash
-# Interactive form (prompts for name, rate, description)
+# Create a .tmporc file in your project directory
 tmpo init
 
 # Or skip prompts and use defaults
 tmpo init --accept-defaults
 ```
 
+**Global Projects (track from anywhere):**
+
+```bash
+# Create a global project you can use from any directory
+tmpo init --global
+
+# Now track time from anywhere
+tmpo start --project "Project Name"
+```
+
 See the [Configuration Guide](docs/configuration.md) for details.
 
 ## Feedback

cmd/entries/edit.go

@@ -14,7 +14,10 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
-var showAllProjects bool
+var (
+	showAllProjects bool
+	editProjectFlag string
+)
 
 func EditCmd() *cobra.Command {
 	cmd := &cobra.Command{
@@ -73,8 +76,8 @@ func EditCmd() *cobra.Command {
 
 				projectName = selectedProject
 			} else {
-				// Use current project
-				detectedProject, err := project.DetectConfiguredProject()
+				// use current project or explicit project using --project flag
+				detectedProject, err := project.DetectConfiguredProjectWithOverride(editProjectFlag)
 				if err != nil {
 					ui.PrintError(ui.EmojiError, fmt.Sprintf("detecting project: %v", err))
 					os.Exit(1)
@@ -437,6 +440,7 @@ func EditCmd() *cobra.Command {
 	}
 
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&showAllProjects, "show-all-projects", false, "Show project selection before entry selection")
+	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&editProjectFlag, "project", "p", "", "Edit entries for a specific global project")
 
 	return cmd
 }

cmd/entries/manual.go

@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
+var (
+	manualProjectFlag string
+)
+
 func getDateFormatInfo(configFormat string) (displayFormat, layout string) {
 	switch configFormat {
 	case "MM/DD/YYYY":
@@ -24,7 +28,6 @@ func getDateFormatInfo(configFormat string) (displayFormat, layout string) {
 	case "YYYY-MM-DD":
 		return "YYYY-MM-DD", "2006-01-02"
 	default:
-		// Default to MM-DD-YYYY
 		return "MM-DD-YYYY", "01-02-2006"
 	}
 }
@@ -49,7 +52,7 @@ func ManualCmd() *cobra.Command {
 			// Get date format for prompts and validation
 			dateFormatDisplay, dateFormatLayout := getDateFormatInfo(globalCfg.DateFormat)
 
-			defaultProject := detectProjectNameWithSource()
+			defaultProject := detectProjectNameWithSource(manualProjectFlag)
 
 			var projectLabel string
 			if defaultProject != "" {
@@ -243,6 +246,8 @@ func ManualCmd() *cobra.Command {
 		},
 	}
 
+	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&manualProjectFlag, "project", "p", "", "Create entry for a specific global project")
+
 	return cmd
 }
 
@@ -323,12 +328,8 @@ func normalizeAMPM(input string) string {
 	return strings.ToUpper(input)
 }
 
-func detectProjectNameWithSource() (string) {
-	if cfg, _, err := settings.FindAndLoad(); err == nil && cfg != nil && cfg.ProjectName != "" {
-		return cfg.ProjectName
-	}
-
-	projectName, err := project.DetectProject()
+func detectProjectNameWithSource(explicitProject string) string {
+	projectName, err := project.DetectConfiguredProjectWithOverride(explicitProject)
 	if err != nil {
 		return ""
 	}

cmd/history/export.go

@@ -42,10 +42,15 @@ func ExportCmd() *cobra.Command {
 			var entries []*storage.TimeEntry
 
 			if exportMilestone != "" {
-				projectName, err := project.DetectConfiguredProject()
-				if err != nil {
-					ui.PrintError(ui.EmojiError, fmt.Sprintf("detecting project: %v", err))
-					os.Exit(1)
+				// if --project flag is used, ensure global project config is used
+				projectName := exportProject
+				if projectName == "" {
+					detectedProject, err := project.DetectConfiguredProject()
+					if err != nil {
+						ui.PrintError(ui.EmojiError, fmt.Sprintf("detecting project: %v", err))
+						os.Exit(1)
+					}
+					projectName = detectedProject
 				}
 				entries, err = db.GetEntriesByMilestone(projectName, exportMilestone)
 			} else if exportToday {

cmd/history/log.go

@@ -13,11 +13,11 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	logLimit      int
-	logProject    string
-	logMilestone  string
-	logToday      bool
-	logWeek       bool
+	logLimit     int
+	logProject   string
+	logMilestone string
+	logToday     bool
+	logWeek      bool
 )
 
 func LogCmd() *cobra.Command {
@@ -40,10 +40,15 @@ func LogCmd() *cobra.Command {
 			var entries []*storage.TimeEntry
 
 			if logMilestone != "" {
-				projectName, err := project.DetectConfiguredProject()
-				if err != nil {
-					ui.PrintError(ui.EmojiError, fmt.Sprintf("detecting project: %v", err))
-					os.Exit(1)
+				// if --project flag is used, ensure global project config is used
+				projectName := logProject
+				if projectName == "" {
+					detectedProject, err := project.DetectConfiguredProject()
+					if err != nil {
+						ui.PrintError(ui.EmojiError, fmt.Sprintf("detecting project: %v", err))
+						os.Exit(1)
+					}
+					projectName = detectedProject
 				}
 				entries, err = db.GetEntriesByMilestone(projectName, logMilestone)
 			} else if logToday {