Shareable Timer

How the link works

Everything this timer knows lives in the address bar, and the first step decides what kind of link it is. A length first makes a duration sequence: a Pomodoro, an interval set. Start writes s, the start time as an epoch millisecond, so whoever opens the link computes what has elapsed and lands at the identical point. Pausing swaps s for e, the elapsed time at the pause, so a paused link stays paused for everyone; skipping moves the recorded start earlier by the time skipped, so every reload still agrees.

A clock time first: 6:30am, makes a standing schedule: t carries the steps, @0630~Session+starts+in,1h~Session+ends+in, and tz the zone the clock time is read in. Nothing starts it, so a schedule link never carries s or e, and the same link is right today and ten days from now.

Either way tz, an IANA name such as Asia/Kolkata, is pinned in the link (the zone a schedule's clock times mean, and the zone a sequence's end times are printed in) so 6:30 AM in Kolkata stays 6:30 AM in Kolkata when opened in New York. A finish message travels as d=Session+over and replaces the big Done for everyone. There is no server: wall-clock time is the shared reference, the URL the only state, and anything the page cannot read is ignored.

t

The steps in order, [length][@HHMM or @HHMMSS][~name] each, comma-separated

s

Start time, epoch ms: a running duration sequence; never on a schedule

e

Elapsed ms at the pause. A paused duration sequence; never on a schedule

tz

IANA zone: what a schedule's clock times mean (always present), or where a sequence's end times are printed (once a clock-time step has been resolved, or a zone chosen)

d

The finish message, in place of Done, up to forty characters, spaces as +; on any link that has one

focus

focus=1 opens a live link straight into the focus view

steps

steps=1 pins the focus view's steps strip through the fade

meta

meta=1 pins its progress line the same way

Steps that run back to back

A sequence is a list of named countdowns: when one reaches zero the next starts on its own, until the last ends. A two-note chime at each hand-over, a three-note flourish at the finish. The segment rail under the digits draws every step at a width proportional to its length (a Pomodoro reads wide-narrow-wide-narrow before anything has elapsed), and the sequence list prints the wall-clock time each step will end. Presets cover Pomodoro, 52/17 deep work, HIIT and Tabata intervals, box breathing, eggs, meditation, presentations, screen time and a power nap; the builder takes up to fifty steps of one second to twenty-four hours, typed as 25, 25m, 1h30m, 90s, 1:30 or 1:30:00.

Every end time, the Till line above the digits, the time beside each step, the Finished stamp at the finish: is printed in one zone with its abbreviation, 11:47 PM IST, never a bare time. Pick it in the builder's Time zone row or, once running, by pressing the Till line; it is saved in your browser as your default and written into the link as tz, so someone in another city sees the same clock times you do. Use browser default clears it; a link without tz uses the viewer's saved default, else their browser's zone.

Timers that go off at a clock time

A step can end at a time of day instead of after a length: type 6:30am, @18:45 or noon, 9:35:55am to the second, and it runs from wherever the previous step ends until the clock next reads that, later today or else tomorrow: 6:30am then 7:50am makes the second step eighty minutes; 6:30am then 1h ends at 7:30. The link stores the clock time as @0630 (@093555 with seconds) beside the length it worked out to: while a duration sequence runs everyone sees that same length, so the shared timeline never moves; an unstarted link is a template, worked out afresh when opened, and Start writes the zone into the link as tz.

A clock time in the first step makes a standing schedule: open the link any day and it counts down to the next 6:30 AM, runs the steps that follow, and repeats at every 6:30 AM, with no start button: that step is never given a length (it is whatever remains until the clock next reads it) and every later step is worked out from that reading each cycle: a 9:30am after a 6:30am is three hours today and three hours next month. When a run ends the page plays the finish and holds Done until the next day's start, or until you press Next for the countdown. A schedule has no Start, Pause, Skip or Reset ( the wall clock runs it) and editing one keeps the same link, so a reload while editing lands on the running stage. Sound stays locked until a page has been touched, so a schedule opened cold shows Tap anywhere to arm the chime in the rail until the first tap or key (any but Esc, Tab or a modifier key); nothing else waits for it.

A schedule keeps two zones apart: the builder's row, labelled Schedule time zone, sets the zone its clock times mean and writes it into the link; the Till popover only changes the zone shown on your screen. Saved in your browser, never in the link: and when the two differ the Till line prints the schedule's own reading beside yours, 9:00 PM EDT · 6:30 AM GMT+5:30.

The focus view and fullscreen

The digits size themselves to the window, and a screen wake lock keeps a phone or laptop awake while a sequence runs. The focus view strips the page to the current step's name, the countdown, the steps with their end times, and whether the timer is running: the Till line comes with it, set larger, and still opens the time-zone popover when pressed; fullscreen puts that view on the whole display. After three seconds of stillness the controls, the steps and the progress line fade, leaving the name, the digits and the rail; move the pointer and they return, or press Pin steps or Pin progress to keep either on screen: the button then reads Steps pinned or Progress pinned, and at icon-only widths a caption under the controls names the pins that are on. The hint on entry says how to leave: Esc, or the Exit button where the pointer is a finger: and that the pins keep what should stay. The link carries the focus view as focus=1 and the pins as steps=1 and meta=1; fullscreen needs a press (browsers will not enter it on page load) and where it is refused the focus view stands in. Esc leaves either.

Keyboard shortcuts

A schedule has no Start, Pause, Skip or Reset, and the focus view offers neither Edit nor Reset, so E and R do nothing there. While a duration sequence is running or paused, Edit and Reset ask first, a card above the button: Stop & edit or Keep running, Reset or Cancel. Enter confirms, Tab moves between the two; Esc, a click outside, the same button or key again, or opening the Till popover cancel, the card never expires on its own. A schedule, or a sequence that is ready or done, opens the builder at once.

Space

Start, pause, resume, restart when done (duration sequences); go live from the builder; Next on a finished schedule run

S

Skip to the next step (duration sequences)

R

Reset to the start: asks first (duration sequences)

E

Edit the sequence, asks first while running or paused

F

Fullscreen

Z

Focus view, no distractions

M

Mute or unmute the chime

L

Pin the steps (focus view)

I

Pin the progress line (focus view)

Esc

Leave the focus view or fullscreen; cancel a confirm card

Your recent timers

The builder keeps the last fifteen timers you actually used (started, gone live, restarted, or opened from a live link) as cards above the presets: press one to load it, the link glyph to copy its link, × to forget it. They live only in this browser's local storage; another device or a private window starts with none.

Your finish message

The When it ends, show row replaces the big Done with your own words (up to forty characters, counted as you type) for everyone who opens the link, at the end of a duration sequence or a schedule's run. It travels as d, is scaled to fit Done's box (three or more words go on two lines when they must), comes back into the row when you edit, and is cleared by a preset: Undo restores it.

Questions

Does the timer keep running if I close the tab?

Yes. The link records the moment you pressed Start, so reopening it (from history, a bookmark or the copy you shared) lands at the right point in the sequence, just as it does for anyone else. Only the chime and the screen wake lock need the page open. A schedule needs nothing at all: the wall clock runs it.

Will the link show the same countdown in another time zone?

Yes. The countdown measures the time elapsed since a recorded instant, so it is identical everywhere. Clock readings are the part that differs, and the link pins its time zone as tz: a schedule’s 6:30 AM means 6:30 AM in that zone wherever it is opened, and a sequence’s end times are printed in it with the abbreviation beside them. On a schedule, a viewer can switch the times shown on their own screen to their own zone without changing the link.

Can I set a timer for 6:30 AM every day?

Yes. Type 6:30am as the first step and the sequence becomes a standing schedule: press Go live and the link counts down to the next 6:30 AM, runs whatever steps follow, and repeats at every 6:30 AM for as long as the link exists. There is no start button. Open the link any day and it is already right.

Why do I need to tap before the chime plays?

Browsers keep sound locked until a page has been touched. Pressing Start is that touch. But a link that opens straight onto a running timer has had none, whether it is a schedule or a running sequence someone shared with you, so it shows Tap anywhere to arm the chime in the rail until the first tap or key (any key but Esc, Tab or a modifier key). Nothing else waits for it; the countdown runs regardless.

Is anything uploaded?

The timer itself is not. There is no account and no backend of ours: the steps, the start time and the finish message live in the link, the chime is synthesised with the Web Audio API rather than loaded from a file, and no fonts are fetched: what does run here runs on every page of this site (Google Analytics and the AdSense loader) and analytics records the page address, which on this page carries your steps and your finish message inside it. Your sound preference, your default time zone and your recent timers are kept in your browser’s local storage and nowhere else.

Can I pause a scheduled timer?

No. A schedule is run by the wall clock, so it has no Start, Pause, Skip or Reset. It is always running, and it repeats daily. You can still change it: press Edit (E) to change the steps and the link stays the same schedule, or make the first step a length instead to get a sequence you start, pause and reset by hand.

How many steps can a sequence have?

Up to fifty. Each step runs from one second to twenty-four hours, or ends at a clock time (type 25m, 1h30m, 1:30 or 6:30am) and can carry a name of up to forty characters. The presets are ordinary sequences: load one and change anything.

Does it work on a phone, a TV or a projector?

Yes. The digits size themselves to the window, a screen wake lock keeps a phone or laptop awake while a sequence runs, and the focus view (Z) and fullscreen (F) put only the name, the countdown and the steps on a shared screen. Fullscreen needs a press (browsers will not enter it on page load) and where it is refused, as on an iPhone, the focus view stands in.

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