LongTime

Multi-timezone Time Management Tool

A command-line terminal user interface (TUI) tool developed with Rust and ratatui library for managing and displaying time information across multiple time zones.

Chinese version: README_zh

Features

• Multi-timezone Support: Simultaneously display current time in multiple time zones
• Work Hours Display: Show configured work time ranges for each time zone
• Work Status Indicator: Visually indicate whether each time zone is within working hours
• Time Adjustment: Manually adjust time in any time zone, with other time zones updating synchronously
• Configuration File Support: Easily add and manage time zones through TOML configuration file
• Interactive Interface: User-friendly interface with keyboard navigation and operations

Installation Requirements

• Rust programming environment (version 1.60.0 or higher)
• Cargo package manager

Quick Start

Installation

1. Compile the project:

cargo build --release

2. Run the program:

cargo run --release

Or directly run the compiled binary:

./target/release/time

Configuration

The program uses a timezones.toml configuration file to define time zone information. This file should be placed in the current directory where the program is executed.

Example configuration file:

# Multi-timezone configuration file

[[timezones]]
name = "Beijing"
timezone = "Asia/Shanghai"
work_hours = { start = "09:00", end = "18:00" }

[[timezones]]
name = "New_York"
timezone = "America/New_York"
work_hours = { start = "09:00", end = "17:00" }

[[timezones]]
name = "London"
timezone = "Europe/London"
work_hours = { start = "09:00", end = "17:30" }

[[timezones]]
name = "Tokyo"
timezone = "Asia/Tokyo"
work_hours = { start = "09:30", end = "18:30" }

[[timezones]]
name = "Sydney"
timezone = "Australia/Sydney"
work_hours = { start = "09:00", end = "17:00" }

Configuration item description:

• name: Time zone display name
• timezone: Time zone identifier (conforming to IANA time zone database format)
• work_hours: Work time range, including start (start time) and end (end time)

Usage

Interface Navigation

After starting the program, you'll see a list containing information for all configured time zones. Each time zone entry displays:

• Time zone name
• Current time (format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS)
• Work hours range
• Current work status (work hours/non-work hours)

Keyboard Shortcuts

Time Adjustment Function

When you adjust time using the left and right arrow keys, time in all time zones updates synchronously. This feature allows you to:

1. View the status of different time zones at specific time points
2. Plan meetings or activities across time zones
3. Estimate work time overlap between different time zones

Customization and Extension

Adding New Time Zones

To add a new time zone, simply add a new [[timezones]] entry in the timezones.toml file:

[[timezones]]
name = "Singapore"
timezone = "Asia/Singapore"
work_hours = { start = "09:00", end = "18:00" }

Modifying Work Hours

To modify the work hours of an existing time zone, update the work_hours value for the corresponding time zone entry:

[[timezones]]
name = "London"
timezone = "Europe/London"
work_hours = { start = "08:30", end = "16:30" }  # Updated work hours

Supported Time Zone Formats

This tool uses the chrono-tz library and supports all time zone identifiers in the IANA time zone database. Common time zone identifiers include:

• Asia/Shanghai (China Beijing Time)
• America/New_York (US Eastern Time)
• Europe/London (UK London Time)
• Asia/Tokyo (Japan Tokyo Time)
• Australia/Sydney (Australia Sydney Time)
• Europe/Paris (France Paris Time)

A complete list of time zones can be found here.

Technical Architecture

This tool uses the following Rust libraries:

• ratatui: For creating terminal user interfaces
• crossterm: For handling terminal events and control
• chrono and chrono-tz: For time zone and time calculations
• serde and toml: For configuration file parsing

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: The program won't start, showing configuration file errors?

A: Ensure the timezones.toml file is in the current directory where the program is executed and follows the correct TOML syntax format.

Q: How to restore to the real current time?

A: Exit the program and restart to reset the time offset.

Q: Can I change the time adjustment step size?

A: Currently, the time adjustment step is fixed at 15 minutes. If you need to modify it, you can edit the adjust_time_forward and adjust_time_backward functions in the source code.