Countdown Timer
Pick a target date and event name. Get a big countdown you can share with anyone.
Frequently asked questions
How do I create a countdown timer?
Enter your target date and time, type an event name, pick an accent color if you like, and click Start. The countdown begins immediately and updates every second with days, hours, minutes, and seconds remaining.
Can I share my countdown with friends?
Yes — click Copy link. The target date, event label, and theme color are encoded directly in the URL hash, so no data ever reaches a server. Anyone who opens the link sees the exact same countdown in their own browser.
Does the countdown keep running when I close the tab?
No. JavaScript pauses when the tab closes. When you or a friend reopens the shared link, the countdown recalculates from the current time to the target — so it always shows the correct remaining time, no matter how long the tab was closed.
How accurate is the countdown?
It updates every second using your device's system clock. Most devices sync automatically with internet time servers and are accurate to within a second. Long-distance sharing works fine because each viewer's device runs the same math: target time minus now.
What happens when the countdown reaches zero?
The display shows "Time's up!" and a confetti animation fires in the browser. The countdown stops at zero — it doesn't count up afterwards. Reload the page or click Edit to start a new countdown.
Can I use this for New Year's Eve?
Absolutely. Set the target to January 1 at midnight, label it "New Year 2027", copy the link, and send it to friends. Everyone who opens it sees the same live countdown ticking toward midnight. Put it on a TV in fullscreen for the party.
How long a countdown can I set?
The display supports up to 9,999 days (just over 27 years). You can pick any future date your browser's date picker accepts — typically well beyond that. There is no practical upper limit for everyday events.
Does the browser tab title update live?
Yes. While the countdown runs, the tab title shows the remaining time — for example "2d 14h 33m — My Event". You can keep the tab in the background and check time remaining just by glancing at the tab strip.
How do I use fullscreen mode?
Click the Fullscreen button below the countdown. The numbers scale up to fill your screen — great for a party countdown on a shared monitor, a product launch in a meeting room, or a wedding venue display. Press Esc or click the button again to exit.
Is my event data stored anywhere?
No. The target date, label, and theme color only exist in the URL hash. They are never transmitted to any server. Close the tab and the data is gone unless you saved or shared the link.
About this countdown timer
A countdown timer is one of those tools everyone reaches for at least once a year — New Year's Eve, a birthday, an exam date, a product launch, a vacation departure. Yet most countdown tools either require an account, store your event data on a server, or generate a link you have to trust with your details. This one doesn't.
How sharing works without a backend: when you click Copy link, the URL looks like countdown.plato-potato.com/#dt=2027-01-01T00%3A00&label=New+Year+2027&color=%23f59e0b. The part after # is the URL hash — it tells the browser where to scroll on a page, but it is never sent to the web server as part of the HTTP request. Every calculation happens in JavaScript on the recipient's device. The server sees only that someone loaded the page.
Common use cases:
- New Year's Eve — project the countdown on a TV. Guests share the link from their phones.
- Product launches — add the link to your pre-launch email. Every subscriber sees a live countdown to launch day.
- Exams and deadlines — set a countdown to exam day. Tab title shows remaining time while you study in other tabs.
- Weddings — "100 days until the wedding" shared in the group chat with a custom accent color.
- Sports and events — season opener or championship countdown shared on social media.
Fullscreen mode is built for shared-display scenarios. Place a laptop beside a venue screen or a party TV. The numbers scale up to fill the display, and the confetti animation fires right in the room when the moment arrives.
Live tab titles mean you can monitor a deadline from the tab strip without switching windows. The title updates every second, showing days, hours, and minutes so you always know where you stand.
Theme colors make the share link feel personal. Pick your school colors for exam season, gold for a wedding anniversary, or your brand's primary color for a product launch. The chosen color is encoded in the share URL so recipients see the same theme.
Everything runs in your browser with vanilla JavaScript — no frameworks, no npm packages, no accounts, no email required. The Cloudflare analytics beacon counts a page view per visit; your event details are never transmitted. You can verify this by opening DevTools → Network while using the timer: the only outbound request is the analytics beacon, and it carries no event data.
Worked examples
New Year 2027: Set target to January 1, 2027 00:00, label "New Year 2027". On December 31 at 11 pm the display shows 0d 1h 0m 0s. Share the link with friends watching at home — everyone's countdown ticks in sync toward midnight.
Exam in three weeks: Set target to your exam date and time, label "Final Exam — CS101". Bookmark the link. The tab title shows the remaining days and hours while you study in adjacent tabs — no need to switch windows to check.
Product launch email: Set target to your launch day at 9 am, label "We're live! 🚀". Copy the link and paste it into your pre-launch email. Subscribers click it and see the live countdown ticking to zero. At zero, "Time's up!" fires confetti and they know to refresh your site.