How to use the timer
Pick a mode from the tabs, set the time, and press Start. Here is the usual flow, step by step.
- Choose a mode. Countdown, stopwatch, start/end time, repeat (work/rest) or room booking.
- Set the time. For a countdown, type hours, minutes and seconds, or press the 5, 10 or 30 minute shortcut. For the repeat mode, choose a preset.
- Set the alerts. In the alerts section choose whether to be warned a few minutes before the end, the alarm sound, its volume and how many times it repeats. The Test sound button lets you hear it first.
- Press Start with a click or tap. Browsers only allow sound after a direct user action, so the click on Start is what switches the alarm on.
- Carry on working. The remaining time is shown in the tab title, so you can see it from any other tab. If you refresh the page, the timer picks up where it was.
- Reset when it is over. Pressing Reset clears the finished timer so you can set the next one.
One detail about accuracy: the timer does not subtract a second at a time. When you start, it fixes an end timestamp and always calculates the difference from the current clock. That is why the time stays right even when the browser slows down a background tab or the computer pauses for a moment.
What each mode does
Countdown
The classic timer that counts down to zero. Enter hours, minutes and seconds, or use the shortcut buttons. You can pause and resume, and the alarm sounds at zero. The longest setting is 99 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds.
Stopwatch
Counts up from zero in hundredths of a second. Each press of Lap stores the total so far and the split since the previous lap. It suits timing separate sections of a song, or noting how long each take lasted.
Start and end time
Instead of a length, you give clock times. Enter a start and an end, press Apply, and you see the total length, the elapsed time, the time left and a progress bar. Before the start it shows how long until it begins, and it plays a sound when the start time arrives. If the end is earlier than the start, the session is treated as running past midnight, so a night session from 23:00 to 01:00 can be entered exactly as it is.
Repeat (work/rest)
Alternates a work block and a rest block. There are three presets: mixing 45 minutes plus a 5 minute ear break, Pomodoro 25 plus 5, and practice 20 plus 5. Change any number and it becomes a custom plan, and you can set how many rounds to run. Leave the cycle count at 0 and it repeats until you press Reset. The sound at the start of work is higher than the sound at the start of rest, so you know which way it switched without looking, and the current round is always on screen.
Room booking
A one-press preset for spaces you rent by the hour, such as rehearsal rooms and studios. Press 1, 2 or 3 hours and the countdown starts at once, with a single early warning 10 minutes before the end (you can change the number). The idea is to protect the time you need to pack up.
Alerts, sound and screen options
Early warning plays one gentle sound and shows a message a few minutes before the end. Turn it on when you want to know about the last stretch, for example to finish a mix or start tidying a room.
Alarm sound can be a bell, a beep or a chime, with its own volume and repeat count. The sounds are synthesized by the browser on the spot rather than loaded from files. If you hear nothing, check the device volume, the silent switch and the tab mute.
Desktop notifications only ask for permission at the moment you tick the box. Once allowed, a notice appears when time is up even if another window is in front.
Keep the screen awake stops the display from turning off while a timer is running. The option only appears in browsers that support it and is quietly hidden elsewhere. It uses more battery, so switch it on only when you need it.
The tab title shows the remaining time, and the full screen button turns the clock into a big display, handy on a tablet standing on a desk. Everything is stored only in this browser on this device, and nothing is sent to a server. If the page is restored while the browser is blocking audio, tap the page once so the alarm can sound.
Using it for mixing, recording and rehearsals
Planning ear breaks while mixing
Engineers often say that long listening dulls both the ears and the judgment. There is no single right answer for how long to work and how long to rest, but short, regular breaks tend to help reduce ear and decision fatigue. The default of 45 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest is simply a starting point; change the numbers to suit your own way of working and the state of the song.
During the break, turn the monitors down or off and, if you can, stand up, drink some water and look at something far away. When you return, try playing the whole song from the top at a low level before touching the track you were on; fresh ears are good at judging overall balance. Saving your session when the break alarm sounds is a useful habit as well.
Splitting a mix into rounds
For a mix with a deadline, divide the job by the number of rounds. With three rounds, the first can be balance and fader rides, the second effects and space, and the third a comparison against reference tracks. Staying on one song for too long makes it easy to over-process, so a rule of finishing what you are doing when the alarm sounds can keep things moving.
In a recording session
A performer's concentration is the most valuable resource in a recording session. Timing each take with the stopwatch helps you find sections later, and noting how long setup and sound check took helps you plan the next session. For vocals and wind instruments, use the rest block as the time for water and breathing.
Managing rehearsal-room and studio time
A booking includes the time to set up and the time to pack away, and it is easy to forget the second part. Enter the booking in the start/end time mode or press a booking button with the 10 minute warning on, and you will still have time to decide whether to play the song once more or start clearing. For a one-hour booking, you might plan 10 minutes of setup, 40 of playing and 10 of tidying. If you want to rely on sound alone, raise the alarm volume enough to be heard over the drums.
Frequently asked questions
Will the alarm still sound if I switch tabs or my computer sleeps?
If the tab is still open, yes, even when you are looking at another tab. If you close the tab, there is no alarm. When a computer sleeps the browser pauses too, but on waking it recalculates the time left from the stored end time.
I cannot hear the alarm.
Press Test sound first. If nothing plays, check the device volume, silent mode, a Bluetooth headset connection and the tab mute. A timer restored after a refresh needs one tap on the page before the browser will allow sound.
Is my data stored on a server?
No. Settings and progress are kept only in this browser's localStorage on this device and disappear if you clear the site data.
Can I run a stopwatch and a countdown at the same time?
Only one timer runs at a time; starting another mode stops the current one. If you need more, open several tabs, but remember that tabs on the same device share storage and can overwrite each other's saved progress.
How long should a break be?
There is no fixed answer. Many people use 5 to 10 minutes after 45 to 60 minutes of work, and short, frequent breaks seem to help more with long listening sessions. Find what suits you and save it as a custom plan.