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IDE Plugins: How to Track Activity in VS Code, IntelliJ, Eclipse, Xcode, and More

· 10 min read
Artur Pan
Artur Pan
CTO & Co-Founder at PanDev

Commits and pull requests tell you what was delivered. But they miss the hours of debugging, refactoring, and research that happen between pushes. IDE plugins capture that missing layer — how much time was spent coding, which files were touched, and when developers were most active.

PanDev Metrics offers plugins for VS Code, JetBrains (IntelliJ, PhpStorm, WebStorm), Eclipse, Xcode, Visual Studio, PL/SQL Developer, a Chrome extension, and a CLI for everything else. This guide covers installation and configuration for all of them.

Coding activity heatmap by hour and day Once IDE plugins are installed, PanDev visualizes your team's coding activity as a heatmap — showing exactly when developers are most active throughout the week.

How IDE Tracking Works​

Every PanDev IDE plugin works the same way under the hood:

  1. The plugin detects coding activity — keystrokes, file saves, file switches, debugging sessions
  2. It records heartbeats — lightweight events with a timestamp, file path, project name, language, and activity type
  3. Heartbeats are batched and sent to the PanDev API every 2 minutes
  4. PanDev aggregates heartbeats into coding sessions — continuous activity windows with gaps of less than 5 minutes

No code content is ever sent. PanDev only tracks metadata: file names, project names, timestamps, and languages.

What Counts as "Active" Time​

ActivityTracked?
Typing codeYes
Navigating between filesYes
Using the debuggerYes
Running tests from IDEYes
Reading code (scrolling, no keystrokes for 5+ min)No
IDE open but minimizedNo
Meetings on a different screenNo

The 5-minute inactivity threshold is configurable per organization.

Before You Start: Get Your API Key​

Every plugin needs an API key to authenticate with PanDev:

  1. Log in to PanDev Metrics
  2. Go to Profile → API Key
  3. Click Generate Key (or copy your existing key)
Your API key: pdm_k_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

You'll use this key during plugin setup. It's tied to your personal account — each developer generates their own.

VS Code​

The most popular IDE in our user base. Installation takes 30 seconds.

Install​

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
  3. Search for "PanDev Metrics"
  4. Click Install

Alternatively, install via command line:

code --install-extension pandev.pandev-metrics

Configure​

After installation, VS Code prompts for your API key:

  1. A notification appears: "PanDev Metrics: Enter your API key"
  2. Paste your API key and press Enter

Or configure manually in settings.json:

{
  "pandev.apiKey": "pdm_k_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
  "pandev.apiUrl": "https://api.pandev-metrics.com"
}

For on-premise deployments, change apiUrl to your internal PanDev instance.

Verify​

  1. Open any project and type a few characters
  2. Check the VS Code status bar — you should see a PanDev icon with a green dot
  3. In PanDev Metrics, go to Dashboard → Activity Feed — your coding session should appear within 2 minutes

VS Code-Specific Settings​

{
  "pandev.apiKey": "pdm_k_xxxx",
  "pandev.apiUrl": "https://api.pandev-metrics.com",
  "pandev.excludeFiles": [
    "*.log",
    "*.lock",
    "node_modules/**"
  ],
  "pandev.projectDetection": "git",
  "pandev.debug": false
}
SettingDescription
excludeFilesGlob patterns for files to ignore
projectDetectionHow to detect the project name: git (from remote URL), folder (from folder name), or custom
debugEnable verbose logging in the Output panel

JetBrains (IntelliJ IDEA, PhpStorm, WebStorm, PyCharm, GoLand, Rider)​

One plugin covers the entire JetBrains family.

Install​

  1. Open your JetBrains IDE
  2. Go to Settings → Plugins → Marketplace
  3. Search for "PanDev Metrics"
  4. Click Install → Restart IDE

Or install via JetBrains Toolbox CLI:

# Example for IntelliJ IDEA
idea installPlugins pandev.pandev-metrics

Configure​

After restart, a setup dialog appears:

  1. Paste your API key
  2. (Optional) Set the API URL for on-premise deployments
  3. Click Save

The configuration is stored in:

~/.config/JetBrains/IntelliJIdea2025.3/options/pandev.xml

Verify​

  1. Open a project, make some edits
  2. Check the bottom-right status bar for the PanDev icon
  3. Click it to see your current session stats: coding time today, current project, last heartbeat sent

JetBrains-Specific Settings​

Settings → Tools → PanDev Metrics

API Key:          pdm_k_xxxx
API URL:          https://api.pandev-metrics.com
Timeout (sec):    30
Exclude patterns: *.log, *.lock, build/**, .idea/**
Log level:        INFO

Eclipse​

Eclipse users aren't forgotten. The PanDev plugin works with Eclipse 2023-03 and later.

Install​

  1. Open Eclipse
  2. Go to Help → Eclipse Marketplace
  3. Search for "PanDev Metrics"
  4. Click Install → follow the wizard → Restart Eclipse

Or install via update site:

Help → Install New Software → Add...
Name: PanDev Metrics
URL: https://plugins.pandev-metrics.com/eclipse/

Configure​

  1. Go to Window → Preferences → PanDev Metrics
  2. Enter your API key
  3. Click Apply and Close

Verify​

Check the Eclipse status bar (bottom) for the PanDev icon. Hover to see connection status.

Xcode​

For iOS and macOS developers.

Install​

The Xcode plugin is distributed as a macOS app that runs as a background service:

brew install --cask pandev-metrics

Or download from pandev-metrics.com/downloads.

Configure​

  1. Launch PanDev Metrics from Applications
  2. The app appears in your menu bar
  3. Click the menu bar icon → Settings
  4. Enter your API key
  5. Grant accessibility permissions when prompted (required to detect Xcode activity)
System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility
  ✅ PanDev Metrics

How It Works​

Unlike traditional IDE plugins, the Xcode integration monitors the active Xcode process at the OS level. It detects:

  • File open/save events
  • Active file changes
  • Build and run events
  • Debugging sessions

Verify​

  1. Open an Xcode project and start coding
  2. Click the PanDev menu bar icon — it shows current session info
  3. Check PanDev Metrics dashboard for activity within 2 minutes

Visual Studio (Windows)​

For .NET, C++, and other Visual Studio developers.

Install​

  1. Open Visual Studio
  2. Go to Extensions → Manage Extensions
  3. Search for "PanDev Metrics"
  4. Click Download → Restart Visual Studio to complete installation

Or install via the VSIX package:

# Download from pandev-metrics.com/downloads
code --install-extension pandev-metrics.vsix

Configure​

  1. Go to Tools → Options → PanDev Metrics
  2. Enter your API key
  3. Click OK

Visual Studio-Specific Notes​

  • Supports Visual Studio 2019 and later
  • Tracks C#, C++, F#, VB.NET, and all other Visual Studio languages
  • Solution name is used as the project name by default

PL/SQL Developer​

For Oracle database developers using PL/SQL Developer.

Install​

  1. Download the PanDev plugin DLL from pandev-metrics.com/downloads
  2. Copy it to the PL/SQL Developer plugins directory:
C:\Program Files\PLSQL Developer\PlugIns\pandev-metrics.dll
  1. Restart PL/SQL Developer
  2. Go to Tools → Configure Plug-Ins → enable PanDev Metrics

Configure​

After enabling, a configuration dialog appears:

  1. Enter your API key
  2. Set the API URL (default or on-premise)
  3. Click Save

What Gets Tracked​

  • Active editing in SQL windows
  • Package, procedure, and function editing
  • Time spent in the SQL beautifier and query builder

Chrome Extension​

The Chrome extension tracks time spent on developer-related web activities:

Install​

  1. Visit the Chrome Web Store and search for "PanDev Metrics"
  2. Click Add to Chrome
  3. Click the extension icon → enter your API key

What Gets Tracked​

The extension tracks time on developer-related sites only:

Tracked domains (default):
  ✅ github.com
  ✅ gitlab.com
  ✅ bitbucket.org
  ✅ stackoverflow.com
  ✅ developer.mozilla.org (MDN)
  ✅ docs.microsoft.com
  ✅ Your Jira / ClickUp instance (configurable)

Not tracked:
  ❌ Social media
  ❌ Email
  ❌ Shopping sites
  ❌ Everything else

You can customize the domain list in the extension settings.

Privacy​

The Chrome extension sends only the domain name and page title to PanDev — never the full URL, page content, or any sensitive data. It can be fully disabled for specific domains.

CLI (Command Line)​

For editors without plugin support (Vim, Neovim, Emacs, nano) or custom development environments.

Install​

# macOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://get.pandev-metrics.com/cli | sh

# Or via package managers
brew install pandev-cli          # macOS
sudo apt install pandev-cli      # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo yum install pandev-cli      # RHEL/CentOS

Configure​

pandev-cli setup
# Enter your API key when prompted
# Configuration saved to ~/.pandev/config.toml

Configuration file:

# ~/.pandev/config.toml
api_key = "pdm_k_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
api_url = "https://api.pandev-metrics.com"
exclude_patterns = ["*.log", "*.lock", "node_modules/**"]

Usage with Vim/Neovim​

Add a file-save hook to your .vimrc or init.vim:

autocmd BufWritePost * silent! execute '!pandev-cli heartbeat --file ' . shellescape(expand('%:p')) . ' --project ' . shellescape(fnamemodify(getcwd(), ':t')) . ' &'

For Neovim, a dedicated Lua plugin is available:

-- ~/.config/nvim/lua/plugins/pandev.lua
return {
  "pandev-metrics/pandev.nvim",
  config = function()
    require("pandev").setup({
      api_key = os.getenv("PANDEV_API_KEY"),
    })
  end,
}

Usage with Emacs​

;; ~/.emacs.d/init.el
(use-package pandev
  :ensure t
  :config
  (setq pandev-api-key (getenv "PANDEV_API_KEY"))
  (global-pandev-mode 1))

Manual Heartbeats​

For custom integrations, send heartbeats directly:

pandev-cli heartbeat \
  --file /path/to/file.py \
  --project my-project \
  --language python \
  --activity coding

Verifying Everything Works​

After installing plugins on your team's machines, verify data flow:

Individual Check​

Each developer can verify at Profile → Activity → Today:

Today's Activity
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Total coding time:  2h 34m
Projects:           backend-api (1h 48m), frontend (46m)
Languages:          Python (1h 12m), TypeScript (52m), SQL (30m)
Editors:            VS Code (1h 48m), IntelliJ IDEA (46m)
Last heartbeat:     12 seconds ago ✅

Admin Check​

As an admin, verify at Settings → Team → Plugin Status:

Developer        Plugin            Version    Last Heartbeat    Status
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Alice Wong       VS Code           2.4.1      2 min ago         ✅ Active
Bob Park         IntelliJ IDEA     2.4.0      5 min ago         ✅ Active
Chen Li          VS Code           2.3.8      3 days ago        ⚠️ Stale
Diana Ray        Eclipse           2.4.1      1 min ago         ✅ Active
Erik Svensson    —                 —          Never             ❌ Not installed

Follow up with developers who show "Stale" or "Not installed" — common issues are expired API keys or corporate proxy blocking.

Troubleshooting​

IssueSolution
Plugin installed but no data in PanDevCheck the API key. Regenerate if unsure
"Connection timeout" in plugin logsCorporate proxy or firewall blocking api.pandev-metrics.com. Configure proxy settings in the plugin or whitelist the domain
Activity shows 0 minutes despite codingCheck excluded file patterns — you might be excluding the files you're editing
Wrong project nameAdjust projectDetection setting. For git-based detection, ensure the folder has a .git directory with a remote URL
Multiple editors counting doublePanDev deduplicates overlapping heartbeats. If both VS Code and Chrome are active simultaneously, each gets its own activity type

"As a CTO and for our tech leads, it's important to see not individual employees but the state of the development process: where it's efficient and where it breaks down. The product allows natively collecting metrics right from the IDE, without feeling controlled or surveilled." — Maksim Popov, CTO ABR Tech (Forbes Kazakhstan, April 2026)

Privacy and Data​

PanDev IDE plugins collect metadata only:

  • File path and name
  • Project name (from git remote or folder name)
  • Programming language
  • Timestamp
  • Editor name and version
  • Activity type (coding, debugging, building)

Never collected: file contents, code snippets, clipboard data, keystrokes, screenshots, or anything that could expose source code.

All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256). For maximum control, deploy PanDev on-premise and keep all data within your network. For details on the VS Code extension API model, see the VS Code Extension API documentation. JetBrains plugin architecture is documented in the IntelliJ Platform Plugin SDK.

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