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URL Tracking on Linux: How It Works in TimoDesk

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At TimoDesk, our goal is simple: give teams accurate, transparent time and activity tracking across Windows, macOS, and Linux - without the noise, and without getting in your way.

URL tracking is a big part of that. On Windows and macOS it works the moment you install the app. On Linux, the approach is a little different - and this post explains exactly how we track URLs on every platform, which browsers we support, and why Linux gets its own (still effortless) path.

URL Tracking on Windows & macOS

On Windows and macOS, the TimoDesk desktop app detects everything it needs natively:

  • The active browser
  • The current website - full URL and domain
  • App and window focus changes

That means seamless URL tracking with zero setup. Nothing to install, nothing to configure - it just works.

Supported Browsers (Windows & macOS)

We support every major browser - including all the popular Chromium-based ones:

  • Google Chrome / Chromium
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Brave
  • Opera & Opera GX
  • Vivaldi
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Safari (macOS)

Accurate by Design

Tracking the wrong thing is worse than tracking nothing. TimoDesk records only real, visited websites - it intelligently ignores the noise:

  • Local files and image previews (e.g. report.pdf, screenshot.png)
  • Internal browser pages (settings, downloads, extension pages)
  • Anything that isn’t a genuine web address

The result: clean, meaningful activity reports - real domains, real time, nothing junk.

Why Linux Is Different

Linux is powerful - but it’s also highly decentralized, with a huge variety of:

  • Desktop environments (GNOME, KDE, XFCE, and more)
  • Window managers
  • Security models

Because of this, Linux doesn’t expose a single, reliable system-level API for reading browser URLs from a desktop app alone. Rather than rely on something fragile or invasive, we chose a clean, secure, and user-controlled approach.

URL Tracking on Linux - via Official Browser Extensions

On Linux, TimoDesk tracks URLs through official, lightweight browser extensions - accurate, transparent, and fully in your control.

Supported Browsers (Linux)
  • Google Chrome / Chromium (and other Chromium-based browsers - Brave, Edge, Opera, Vivaldi - via the same extension)
  • Mozilla Firefox
Official Extensions

Once installed, the extension securely sends only:

  • The active tab’s URL
  • The domain name
  • A timestamp

…to the TimoDesk desktop app running on your machine - and only while tracking is on. No page content, no browsing history, and nothing at all when you’re off the clock.

The Same Result, Everywhere

However your team works - Windows, macOS, or Linux - TimoDesk delivers accurate, privacy-respecting URL tracking. Native and invisible where the OS allows it; clean and extension-based where it doesn’t. Either way, you set it up once and get back to work.

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