Day Quality Tracker 5 _^(v1.2.0)

Day Quality Tracker (DQT) is a simple Python CLI that helps you record and track daily “day quality” ratings and visualize them over time using the matplotlib.pyplot module.

By Morpheus

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Pre-installation Requirements

• Python 3.12 or later
• An internet connection (only for dependency installation)

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Quick Start

If you want the shortest path to running DQT:

1. Download and unzip the project from the latest release
2. Open a terminal in the project folder
3. Install dependencies with python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
4. Start the program with python -m dqt

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Installation

On the GitHub page:

• Scroll down on the right column
• Under "Releases", select the option labeled "Latest"
• Scroll down to "Assets"
• Click on "Source code (zip)" (recommended for basic installation)
• Unzip the ZIP file on your machine to produce a new folder.

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Notes

Before running any commands from this guide in your terminal, ensure your terminal is running from the correct directory. You can open a terminal window from the new dqt folder:

• macOS:
  1. Open the folder in finder
  2. Right-click the folder and select "New Terminal at folder"
• Windows (10/11):
  1. Click on the address bar in File Explorer (or press Alt + D), type cmd or powershell, and press Enter. To use the Windows Terminal app, type wt instead.
  2. Hold the Shift key and right-click on an empty space inside the folder or on the folder icon itself. Select "Open PowerShell window here" or "Open Command Prompt here".
  • Windows 11 Context Menu:
    • Right-click an empty space in the folder and select "Open in Terminal" directly from the context menu.

Alternatively:

1. Open a new Terminal window
2. Run cd path/to/day_quality_tracker
   • Replace path/to/day_quality_tracker with the actual path to the DQT folder

If the command python does not work on your system, try python3 (common on macOS/Linux) or py (common on Windows).

Installing Dependencies

Then, from the project directory, install the required dependencies:

python -m pip install -r requirements.txt

Alternatively, run scripts/package_installer.py to install everything listed in requirements.txt for you:

python scripts/package_installer.py

After the dependencies are installed, you can start DQT.

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How to use

To start the program from the project directory, run:

python -m dqt

You can also initialize and run the tracker manually by opening and running dqt/__main__.py with an editor.

from dqt.tracker import Tracker

dqt = Tracker()
dqt.run()

What happens on first run

On the first run, DQT will create its logs file automatically if it does not already exist.

• If the data/ directory does not exist yet, DQT will create it.
• Your logs are stored in data/dq_logs.json

You usually do not need to create this file manually.

Useful files

• dqt/settings.py: user-editable configuration file
• data/dq_logs.json: where your ratings and memory entries are stored
• requirements.txt: Python dependencies needed by the app

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Ratings

Each day, if you have not yet entered a rating, the program will prompt you to do so. By default, the earliest time you can enter a rating is 8:00 PM (configurable).

You may also enter a null rating, indicating that you are unable or unwilling to rate your day at the moment. Ratings can be edited at any time.

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Memory entries

You may optionally add a memory entry alongside your rating. Memory entries function like short diary notes and can span a few lines.

You may enter anything you wish to remember for the future, or leave the entry empty if you do not wish to write one.

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Main menu

After entering your log for the day, you have a number of options:

View ratings graph

Visually display your ratings on a line graph. The graph also shows your average, highest, and lowest ratings. When the graph window opens, close it to return to the program.

Edit today's log

Choose to edit the rating or memory (or both) you entered today.

Edit previous log

To choose the log to edit, the program will prompt you to enter either:

• The date of the log you wish to edit
  • By default, the format you must use is YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2026-01-20)
• The number of days ago the log is for
  • e.g.: yesterday → 1, last week → 7

Choose to edit the rating or memory (or both) you entered for that day.

See stats

View detailed statistics about your ratings, including averages, highs, lows, and more.

View all logs

Choose either to:

• Print logs as standard output
• Open the file with your system's default application

Open settings

Open dqt/settings.py to customize your experience. See more below.

Back up logs

Occasionally, errors or interruptions may corrupt or erase the JSON file where logs are stored. To prevent data loss, it is recommended to back up your logs periodically.

This option creates a copy of your log JSON file in a directory of your choosing.

Import logs

You can easily migrate your logs between versions of DQT or between different devices.

The program reads and copies the data from a chosen JSON file over to the current JSON file used by the program.

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Missed logs

After running the program, it first checks if you've missed any prior logs.

You may choose to enter the missed logs immediately or skip them for later.

If you skip missed logs, they must be entered manually at a later time (unless the program is exited before entering today’s log). This is because the program determines missed logs by comparing dates against the most recent recorded entry.

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Custom Configurations

To configure and customize DQT, open dqt/settings.py (the main menu provides an option to do this).

Each configuration comes with a description, and to change a setting, simply change the value after the colon.

For example, to set the earliest hour of day a log entry is accepted to 10:00 PM:

# (Simplified)
CONFIGS: dict[str, dict[str, ...]] = {
    'tracker': {
        'min_time': 22,  # Earliest hour of day a log entry is accepted...

Remember to save any changes made and rerun the program for changes to take effect.

Feel free to experiment with each setting to tune DQT to your preferences.

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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