tigtools

Countdown Timer & Stopwatch

Set a countdown with hours, minutes and seconds, or switch to the stopwatch to time laps. Press Space to start or pause.

Runs in your browser No sign-up

Mode

Quick set:
00:05:00

Keyboard: press Space to start, pause or resume while the timer display or the page area around it has focus (not while typing in a field).

How to use it

  1. For a countdown, enter hours, minutes and seconds, or pick a quick preset such as 5 or 25 minutes.
  2. Press Start (or Space). The remaining time also appears in the browser tab title, so you can see it from another tab.
  3. Pause, resume or reset at any time. When the time is up, the display turns green, a message appears and, if enabled, three beeps play.
  4. For the stopwatch, switch modes, press Start and use Lap to record split times. “Copy laps” copies a table you can paste into a spreadsheet.

How it works

The timer does not count ticks. It stores the moment it started (from the browser's high-resolution clock, performance.now) and calculates the remaining or elapsed time from it on every update. Browsers slow down or pause timers in background tabs, so the display may refresh less often there, but the time itself stays correct and is right as soon as you return.

The end of a countdown is detected on the next update after the target time. In a visible tab that is within a fraction of a second. In a hidden tab, some browsers delay timers by a second or more, and Chrome can delay them by up to a minute after a tab has been hidden for several minutes, so the beep may come late. For alarms that must be on time, keep the tab visible.

The beep is a short tone generated with the Web Audio API; no sound file is loaded. Browsers only allow sound after you interact with the page, which is why the audio is prepared when you press Start. The countdown display rounds up, so it shows 00:00:01 until the final second has passed. The stopwatch shows hundredths of a second; lap times are the time since the previous lap, and the total is the time since the start, excluding pauses. Screen readers are told when the time is up, but not every second.

Examples

A Pomodoro work session

Choose the 25 min preset and press Space. Work until the beeps, then set 5 minutes for a break. The tab title shows the remaining time while you work in another tab.

Timing intervals on a run

Start the stopwatch at the start line and press Lap at each kilometre marker. Afterwards, copy the laps into a spreadsheet to compare your splits.

Keeping a presentation on time

Set 0 hours, 12 minutes and 0 seconds and turn the sound off. Pause during questions and resume when you continue; paused time is not counted.

Frequently asked questions

Does the timer keep running if I switch tabs or lock my phone?

The time keeps counting because it is calculated from the start time, not from ticks. The end alert can be delayed in a background tab, and on phones the browser may suspend a locked page completely, so keep the page open and visible for reliable alerts.

Why did I not hear a sound?

Check that the sound option is on and the device is not muted or in silent mode. Some phones do not play web audio in silent mode, and browsers only allow sound after you have pressed a button on the page.

What is the longest countdown I can set?

99 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds. The stopwatch has no practical limit.

Is the timer kept if I reload the page?

No. Timers and laps exist only while the page is open. Copy your laps before closing or reloading the page.

Privacy

The timer and stopwatch run entirely in your browser. Times and laps are not stored or sent anywhere; only an anonymous event that the tool was used is recorded.