Time
Exam Timer
Countdown for exams; remaining time, a progress bar, and optional fullscreen clocks.
Free to use — no sign-up or login.
This free exam timer counts down remaining time in the browser. Set hours, minutes, and seconds — or tap a preset such as 60 or 90 minutes — then press Start. Pause freezes what is left; Reset returns to the duration you set and clears the start and planned end times. You do not need an account.
The face reads hours:minutes:seconds — HH:MM:SS, not stopwatch hundredths. A progress bar shows remaining time as a shrinking share of the total. Space starts or pauses; Ctrl+R (Cmd+R on a Mac) resets. Fullscreen enlarges the widget card so Time left, the large digits, the bar, and the buttons fill the wall. This is a browser timer, not an official invigilation clock.
What remaining time and the progress bar show
Remaining time is how much of the sitting is still left: the duration you set, minus time that has actually run. It does not include pauses, and it does not go below zero. The progress bar is that remaining amount divided by the original duration — full when you start, empty when the clock hits 00:00:00. The bar is a visual share, not a second clock; read the HH:MM:SS face for the exact leftover time. For counting up from zero instead, use the Stopwatch.
How to set duration and use presets
Choose hours, minutes, and seconds before you start, or tap a preset: 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 minutes. Ninety minutes is stored as 1 hour 30 minutes, so the face still reads HH:MM:SS. Duration fields and presets lock once the exam has started so a stray edit cannot change the sitting length mid-paper. Reset unlocks them. A duration of zero will not start. The optional exam name and the start/end checkboxes stay editable during the sitting.
Exam started, planned end, pause, and reset
At the first Start, the timer stamps Exam started from your device’s local clock and sets Exam ends to that start plus the original duration — a 90-minute paper begun at 09:00 is posted to end at 10:30. Pause freezes remaining time; it does not move that posted end. Reset clears both stamps, puts remaining time back to the configured duration, and fills the progress bar again. Those clocks are not on the in-page face. They follow Display start time and Display end time in the Fullscreen display cluster (both on by default) and show in fullscreen only. Untick either if you want it off the wall. To add hours onto a wall-clock time instead of counting down a sitting, use the Time Calculator. For the span between two date-times, use the Hours Calculator.
Keyboard shortcuts and fullscreen
Space toggles Start and Pause. Ctrl+R resets, or Cmd+R on a Mac. Pressing R alone does not reset. Those shortcuts skip when you are typing in a duration or name field. The Fullscreen display cluster sits above Duration: an optional exam name plus the two clock checkboxes. Fullscreen enlarges the widget card, not the Fullscreen button. On that wall you see Time left, the large HH:MM:SS digits, the progress bar, and the control buttons. The exam name appears only if you typed one — there is no fallback title such as “Exam timer”. Start and end times appear only if you checked them. Setup, the beep checkbox, and the keyboard hint stay off the wall. Esc exits fullscreen.
Last five minutes and time's up
When five minutes or fewer remain, the digits and progress bar shift color so the warning is visible without sound. On the in-page face the status line also reads Last 5 minutes; in fullscreen that line stays off until zero. At zero the face stays on 00:00:00, the bar is empty, and Time’s up appears — including on the fullscreen wall. An optional beep plays only if you ticked it and you have already pressed Start — the page will not blare audio on its own. A short visual flash marks the end; it settles to a still highlight if you prefer reduced motion.
Exam timer vs stopwatch and calendar countdowns
This page counts down a sitting you configure. A stopwatch counts up from zero, can mark laps, and shows hundredths of a second; this timer stays on whole seconds. The How Long Until Calculator shows days, hours, and minutes until a date-time. The Event Countdown Calculator subtracts one day-number from another. For a study-block plan rather than a live countdown, try the Pomodoro Planner Calculator.
Worked example: a 90-minute paper from 09:00
Set 90 minutes (1 hour 30 minutes) and press Start at 09:00:00 local time. Remaining begins at 01:30:00 and the progress bar is full. Exam started is 09:00 and the planned end is 10:30 — start plus the original duration. After 30 minutes of running time — 09:30 if you never paused — remaining is 01:00:00 and the bar is two-thirds full. A pause at 09:20 would freeze remaining without moving that 10:30 posted end. The last-five-minutes warning appears at 10:25 if you ran straight through. At 10:30 the face reads 00:00:00, the bar is empty, and the status is Time’s up. If you typed a name such as Final exam, fullscreen shows that heading; a blank name leaves the wall without a title. Reset would wipe the stamps and return the face to 01:30:00.
\[ 01:00:00 = 90\,\mathrm{min} - 30\,\mathrm{min} \]
Frequently asked questions
How do I start, pause, and reset the exam timer?
Set a duration, then press Start or Space. Pause, or Space again, freezes remaining time. Start from a pause continues from that leftover, not from a fresh duration. Reset restores the duration you configured, unlocks the duration fields, and clears the exam-started and planned end times.
What does the progress bar represent?
The bar is remaining time divided by the original duration. It is full at the start of the sitting and empty at zero. Read HH:MM:SS for the exact time left; the bar is the visual share of that total.
When are the exam started and planned end times set?
Both stamps are taken at the first Start of this sitting: Exam started is your device’s local clock, and Exam ends is that start plus the original duration. Pause does not move the posted end. Reset clears both until you start again. They appear in fullscreen only, and only if Display start time or Display end time is checked.
What do the Space and Ctrl+R keys do?
Space starts or pauses. Ctrl+R resets, or Cmd+R on a Mac. Pressing R alone does not reset. In fullscreen, Esc exits fullscreen. The keys are ignored while you are typing in a duration or name field.
What happens in the last five minutes and at zero?
From five minutes left, the digits and bar change color. On the in-page face the status also reads Last 5 minutes. At zero the face stays 00:00:00 and reads Time’s up, including in fullscreen. It does not go negative. An optional beep plays only if you enabled it and already pressed Start.
Can I use this for official exam invigilation?
No. This is a browser timer. Tab sleeps, display refresh, and the computer clock can drift. Use a certified clock for invigilation records or any official sitting.
References
Assumptions and limitations
This exam timer is a browser countdown, not official invigilation timing. Do not use it for certified exam records, race timing, or any clock that must meet a board or laboratory standard.