Online Timer

Why a browser timer can drift, and why this one does not

A timer that subtracts one every second falls behind: browsers run a background tab's code at most about once a second, and after a few minutes some browsers let a repeating check run only once a minute. This timer stores the moment it ends instead, and every redraw shows that moment minus the current time, so it is right whenever you look.

The alert itself is scheduled once, for the end time, which browsers deliver within about a second even in a background tab. Closing the tab stops the page's own alert; with reminders with the tab closed switched on, TOEA's server sends a push notification at the end time instead, through the browser's own push service.

Durations, labels, and links

A bare number is read as minutes, 1:30 as minutes and seconds, and 1:00:00 as hours; units such as 90s, 2m30s, and 1h 15m work too. Label each timer when several run at once, so the notification tells you which one ended.

Add ?t=10m to the page's address to open it with that duration filled in, which makes a bookmark for a timer you use often. For work sessions with breaks, the pomodoro timer runs the whole cycle for you; for a fixed time of day, use the alarm clock.

How to use it

1. Click a preset such as 5 min, or type a duration and a label and press Start.
2. Allow notifications if you want an alert outside the tab.
3. When time is up, stop the alarm, add a minute, or restart the timer.

Privacy & limitations

Timers run in your browser and are kept in its storage. Only if you switch on reminders with the tab closed does the page send TOEA's server this browser's push address and the times the timers end, never their labels; each is deleted once sent or cancelled.