Screen Recording Countdown Timer – On‑Screen Overlay

There are three easy methods to use this countdown timer as an overlay in OBS Studio or Streamlabs:

1. Fullscreen Overlay (Recommended): Click the "Fullscreen Overlay" button. The countdown will fill your entire screen with your chosen background. In OBS, add a Display Capture or Window Capture source pointing to your browser. If you selected a green or blue background, apply a Chroma Key filter in OBS to remove the background and keep only the digits.
2. Pop-out Window: Click "Pop-out Window" to open the countdown in a separate, minimal window. In OBS, use Window Capture and select that pop-out window. Enable "Allow Transparency" in OBS if you set the background to transparent.
3. Browser Source: In OBS, add a Browser source and paste the tool URL. Adjust the width/height to match your canvas, and set custom CSS in OBS to hide controls if needed.

Pro Tip: For green‑screen keying, choose the green preset ( #00b140) from the Quick Presets, then apply OBS's Chroma Key filter with default settings.

Absolutely! Expand the "Appearance Settings" panel to access:

• Text Color: Any hex color for the countdown digits.
• Background Color: Solid colors, semi‑transparent, or fully transparent backgrounds.
• Background Opacity Slider: Fine‑tune from 0% (fully transparent) to 100% (fully opaque). This is great for subtle overlays that let your video content show through.
• Font Size Slider: Adjust the digit size to fit your scene perfectly.
• Quick Presets: One‑click presets for dark mode, green screen, blue screen, pure black, semi‑transparent, and fully transparent backgrounds.

Keyboard shortcuts make the tool faster to use, especially in fullscreen mode:

Note: Shortcuts are disabled when you're actively typing in the time input fields to avoid accidental triggers.

Yes! When Audio Beeps is enabled (default), the timer produces:

• Countdown beeps: A short beep at 3, 2, and 1 seconds remaining — perfect for on‑camera countdowns.
• End alert: A longer, more prominent beep when the countdown reaches zero.

You can toggle audio on/off using the switch in Appearance Settings. The audio uses the Web Audio API and works in all modern browsers. Important: Some browsers require a user interaction (like a click) before audio can play — simply click the Start button to enable audio context.

Yes! Enable the "Loop Countdown" toggle in Appearance Settings. When the countdown reaches zero, it will automatically reset and start again. This is ideal for:

• Interval training videos
• Repeating on‑screen timers for live streams
• Pomodoro-style productivity sessions
• Trade show or event display loops

The countdown uses setInterval with a 1‑second interval, which is accurate enough for screen recording, live streaming, and video production. For most use cases under 60 minutes, the drift is negligible (± a few milliseconds per interval). The timer also updates the progress bar smoothly. For applications requiring millisecond‑level precision (such as scientific timing), a dedicated hardware timer would be more appropriate.

Yes! The tool is fully responsive and works on smartphones and tablets. While the fullscreen overlay feature is most useful on desktop (for OBS capture), the countdown itself functions perfectly on mobile browsers. The digit size scales automatically for smaller screens, and all controls remain touch‑friendly. You can use it as a portable countdown timer for presentations, workouts, or classroom activities directly from your phone.

The maximum countdown duration is 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds (23:59:59). This covers virtually all screen recording and streaming scenarios. If you need longer durations, you can enable Loop Countdown mode, which automatically restarts the countdown each time it reaches zero, effectively allowing unlimited total duration.

Absolutely! This tool is designed with streamers in mind. Use the Fullscreen Overlay mode with a green or blue background, capture it in OBS, apply a Chroma Key filter, and position the countdown anywhere on your stream layout. The semi‑transparent background option also works great for a subtle countdown overlay. Many streamers use this for:

• "Starting soon" countdown screens
• BRB (Be Right Back) timers
• Giveaway or raffle countdowns
• Challenge or speed‑run timers

Press the R key on your keyboard to instantly reset the timer. If you're in fullscreen overlay mode, this is especially convenient — no need to exit fullscreen or click any buttons. The timer resets to the original time you set, ready to start again immediately.