ManicTime Server brings all information collected on various devices together. It is recommended that the machine, on which the server is running, runs all the time, but it is not a requirement. When the server is running, ManicTime Clients will send the data.
Similarly ManicTime Clients are fully functional when you are working off-line. When the connection is available, ManicTime clients will send the data.
Hardware requirements and the approximate size of the database
ManicTime uses two databases, Core and Reports. Core is the more important one, it is the only one you need to backup. Reports can be recreated from Core, so there is no need to have a backup plan for Reports.
ManicTime Server and database engine can run on two different machines, although they can run on the same machine. In the table below we assume they are running on different machines.
| Number of users | Suggested hardware | Database size |
| 100 |
Machine with ManicTime Server: 2 core, 4GB memory
Machine with database Server: 2 core, 8GB memory |
ManicTimeCore database: 1.5 GB per year
ManicTimeReports database: 25 GB per year |
| 200 |
Machine with ManicTime Server: 2 core, 8GB memory
Machine with database Server: 2 core, 16GB memory |
ManicTimeCore database: 3 GB per year
ManicTimeReports database: 50 GB per year |
| 1000 |
Machine with ManicTime Server: 4 core, 16GB memory
Machine with database Server: 4 core, 32GB memory |
ManicTimeCore database: 15 GB per year
ManicTimeReports database: 250 GB per year |
Before you get started with installing ManicTime Server, decide on two things:
- which database to use
- which authentication type to use
Which database to choose?
ManicTime Server needs a database to run. You can use one of three options:
- SQLite (default) - You don't need to install anything, it will work out of the box. We recommend this only for up to 3 users or for testing purposes.
- PostgreSQL - This is a great free to use open source database. You need to install it before you run ManicTime Server setup.
- Microsoft SQL Server - You need to install it before you run ManicTime Server setup (you can use free MS SQL Express version, but beware of the size constraints).
Database comparison table
| SQLite | PostgreSQL | Microsoft SQL Server | |
| Is it free? | Yes | Yes | MS SQL Express is a free version, supporting databases of up to 10GB in size |
| Backup plan | You can stop the server and copy database file | Yes | Yes |
| Need to install before installing ManicTime Server | No | Yes | Yes |
| Recommended number of users | Up to 10, but may work OK with more | No limit | No limit |
| Use SQL to transfer data from ManicTime Server to some other database | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can be hosted on a different machine | No | Yes | Yes |
Which user type to choose?
ManicTime Server can authenticate users in two ways:
- Windows authentication (only on Windows)
- ManicTime Server custom authentication
You can select user type during installation. If you would like to change it, run the setup.bat (next to ManicTimeServer.exe) to start the setup wizard.
Windows authentication
Choose Windows users if your users are already a part of a domain. This way you don't have to do anything, Windows domain users will be able to access ManicTime Server automatically.
This option also allows you to use Group policy to deploy ManicTime across your organization. When a user visits the server with a browser, he/she can use Windows account credentials to log in.
ManicTime Server custom authentication
Choose ManicTime Server native users if the machine where you are installing ManicTime is a standalone server, not part of any domain. This is also a better option if you have a lot of Mac or Linux users.
If you choose this option, you will have to create user accounts for each user once the server is installed.
Installation options
You can install it on: