Create a new countdown timer

Countdown Timer

Configure an event, generate a private shareable link. Nothing is sent to any server — all data lives in the link itself.

Interpreted in your current local timezone, then stored as an absolute moment in the link.

Units to display
At zero

Frequently Asked Questions

How this works, what it does with your data, and what it can’t protect you from.

Getting started

What is this?

A countdown timer where the whole timer lives in the link. You fill out a short form, get a URL, and share it. Anyone who opens it sees a live countdown. No account, no sign-up, no database.

How do I make one?

Open this page with no # in the URL and you get the builder: an event title, a target date and time, which units to show (days/hours/minutes/seconds), and what happens at zero. Hit Generate link, then Copy link.

How do I share it?

Paste the copied link anywhere — chat, email, a calendar invite. Opening the link is the timer; there’s nothing to install.

What happens if I open a broken or half-copied link?

You get the builder back with an inline message explaining what was wrong (bad timestamp, bad units, bad zero-behavior) rather than a blank page or an error. Nothing crashes.

Behavior

What are the “At zero” options?
  • Stop at zero — freezes at 00 and shows a “✓ Title has arrived.” banner.
  • Count up — past the target it keeps going, showing elapsed time in red.
Does the timer work across timezones?

Yes. Your date and time are entered in your local timezone, but the link stores an absolute UTC instant. Everyone who opens it counts down to the exact same moment, whatever their timezone.

Will it drift if I leave the tab open, or if my laptop sleeps?

No. Every tick recomputes from the current wall clock rather than subtracting one second from a counter, so it self-corrects after sleep/wake and after browsers throttle background tabs.

Why does the browser tab title show the time only sometimes?

When the tab is in the background, the tab title shows the running clock (e.g. 02d:14h — Launch Day, or +00m:42s when counting up) so you can watch it from another tab. Focus the tab and the title goes back to just the event name.

Can I edit a countdown after sharing it?

Not in place — the link is the timer. Make a new one and share the new link. The old link keeps working until people stop using it.

Privacy

Does the site know what I’m counting down to?

No. Settings go after the # in the URL, and browsers never send that fragment to the server. A host serving this file sees only GET /index.html — never your title or date.

Does it store anything on my device?

No cookies, no localStorage, no sessionStorage, no IndexedDB.

Does it make any network requests?

None at runtime. No CDN scripts, web fonts, analytics, or remote images — even the hourglass favicon is inlined. A Content-Security-Policy blocks outbound requests at the browser level, so it’s enforced, not just promised.

Is there any tracking or analytics?

No.

Can I use it offline?

Yes. Save this page as a single index.html and open it via file:// — builder and viewer both work with no internet.

So the link is completely private?

Almost — three things are outside this page’s control and worth knowing:

  • Browser history. The full URL, title and all, lands in local history like any URL. If browser sync is on, it syncs to the vendor and your other devices, and it shows up in address-bar autocomplete on shared machines.
  • Clipboard managers. “Copy link” writes plain text to the OS clipboard; any clipboard-history tool retains it.
  • Access logs. If hosted, the host logs that a request happened (IP, time, user agent) — never what the countdown is about.
Is the link secret or encrypted?

No. It’s readable by anyone who has it — treat it like an unlisted link, not a password-protected one.

Appearance

Why doesn’t my light/dark choice stick?

The toggle in the top-right cycles auto → light → dark for the current session only. Persisting it would require storage, which this page deliberately never uses, so it resets to auto on reload. Auto follows your operating system’s setting.

Can I show only days, or only minutes and seconds?

Yes — pick any combination under “Units to display.” Whatever you leave out gets rolled into the largest unit shown (turn days off and hours accumulate past 24, and so on). Display order is always days → hours → minutes → seconds regardless of how you check them.

Does it work on phones?

Yes — the layout scales fluidly and the number boxes wrap on narrow screens.

Can I self-host it?

Yes. It’s one self-contained HTML file, MIT-licensed, with no build step. Drop it on any static host. Include the _headers file on Cloudflare Pages or Netlify to also get the CSP, HSTS, and anti-clickjacking headers.