Alternative ways to set a timer on macOS

Solution 1:

This free and open-source Timer app seems pretty clean and simple.

It can be downloaded as the zipped file Timer.app.zip in the Assets list on the Releases · michaelvillar/timer-app page at GitHub.

It can also be installed using brew:

brew install --cask michaelvillar-timer

Solution 2:

Here's a little timer shell function. Paste this into Terminal (after you read it and understand it, as always, because pasting random commands from the Internet into Terminal is dangerous):

setalarm() {
    sleep $(echo "$1 * 60" | bc)
    say "Beep boop"
}
setalarm .1

That's 0.1 minutes (in other words, 6 seconds).

If you want to make the alarm repeat until you press Ctrl+C, then paste this instead:

setalarm() {
    sleep $(echo "$1 * 60" | bc)
    for x in $(seq 1000); do say "Beep boop"; sleep 0.5; done
}
setalarm .1

Solution 3:

This isn't necessarily a regular MacOS application, but if you are alright with using the Terminal, termdown is a really nice Terminal Stopwatch. Starting a timer is very simple. For example, termdown 1h30m starts a 1 hour 30 minute timer. .

Solution 4:

I wrote a countdown timer called Super Easy Timer every day for my Pomodoro and writing work sessions.

It can recognize natural language, so that you can set the timer by typing "20 minutes" or "2 days 20 hours and 13 minutes".

You can also update the timer on the fly, or reset it with a keyboard shortcut. (Command + R)

And if you have an upcoming meeting, or happy hour, you can type "5pm" to get a countdown to your next event.

You can try the timer here, or you can download it from the Mac App Store.

There are keyboard shortcuts and natural language here:

Disclaimer: I created the app because I wasn't happy with the other timer apps I found. I wanted a quick, simple to use, and reliable timer app.