A free, open-source stage timer for live production. Big, clear countdown on any screen — stage, projector, OBS, or a phone in your hand. Runs on macOS and Windows, with a Serbian / English interface.
👉 Download for macOS or Windows — free, no sign-up
- 🟢 Countdown, stopwatch & clock — plus "count down to an exact time" (e.g. end the block at 2:30 PM)
- 🎨 Clean output screen — just the time; you pick the background and digit colors
- 🔴 Color warnings — white → yellow → red as the end approaches; counts past zero into the negative with a flash
- 🖥️ Any screen — send the output to a second monitor / projector in fullscreen with one click
- 🔲 Grid placement — pick a cell of a 3×3 / 5×5 / 7×7 / 9×9 grid and the output window becomes that exact cell of the screen — a small, frameless timer window sitting precisely where you want it (pair with Transparent for a clean see-through corner overlay)
- 📐 Compact window — when not fullscreen, the output window can hug the timer: a small timer means a small window, no big black box
- 📺 OBS / NDI / vMix — built-in network output; add it as a Browser Source (transparent background for overlays)
- 📱 Phone remote — start the timer and send messages to the speaker from your hand, over Wi-Fi
- 🎛️ Stream Deck / Companion — a dedicated Companion module with live feedbacks and a time variable, or the built-in Generic HTTP module — plus a plain HTTP GET API for
curland automations - 🎚️ OSC input — control from QLab, TouchOSC or any OSC sender (
/protimer/starton UDP 7879) - 📄 CSV import / export — build the rundown in Excel or Google Sheets and import it (or just paste it in); export back to CSV
- 🔗 Share with anyone — a QR code to scan on-site, or a one-click public link that works from any network
- 🗒️ Rundown — a run of segments with durations, notes, colors and planned clock times
- 🎭 Backstage view — a crew/guest screen with NOW / NEXT, the full schedule and live clock times
- ⏰ Over / Under — see at a glance whether the show will finish ahead or behind schedule
- 📍 NOW / NEXT on the stage screen — presenters always see what's current and what's next
- 💬 Messages to the speaker + ✍️ on-screen text ("BREAK", "WELCOME")
- 🌍 Serbian / English interface, ⌨️ keyboard shortcuts, ⚡ low latency (no lag, no drift)
The control window — your cockpit: transport, modes, colors, rundown and the network/OBS links:
The Backstage view — NOW, NEXT, the schedule and an over/under indicator, on any screen or phone:
ProTimer doesn't try to beat the big tools at everything — it aims to be the simplest free one that just works for the core job.
| ProTimer | StageTimer | Ontime | CueTimer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free → $210–980 | Free (cloud paid) | $50+/yr |
| Open-source | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Runs locally, no account | ✅ | desktop tier | ✅ | ✅ |
| Transparent OBS overlay | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Phone remote · QR · public link | ✅ | ✅ | partial | ✅ |
| Rundown + backstage view | ✅ basic | ✅ | ✅ advanced | ✅ |
| HTTP API (Stream Deck / Companion) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| OSC input | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | partial |
| Companion module | ✅ module | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| CSV rundown import/export | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Serbian interface | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Honest take: if you need multi-operator collaboration or deep rundown automation, Ontime and StageTimer are more mature — they're great tools. ProTimer wins when you want something free, simple, no-account and bilingual that you open and use in seconds — and it now covers the pro-AV control stack too (Stream Deck, OSC, HTTP, CSV).
Grab the latest build from the Releases page:
| System | File | How |
|---|---|---|
| 🍎 macOS (Apple Silicon) | ProTimer-*-arm64.dmg |
Open → drag to Applications. First launch: right-click → Open. |
| 🪟 Windows | ProTimer Setup *.exe |
Run the installer. SmartScreen: More info → Run anyway. |
| 🪟 Windows (no install) | ProTimer-*-portable.exe |
Just double-click — nothing gets installed. |
The app isn't paid-signed (that costs money), hence the "right-click → Open" / "Run anyway" the first time. It's completely safe — the source is right here, open.
- Open ProTimer — you immediately get two windows: Control (for you) and Screen (clean time).
- Type a duration (e.g.
5:00) or click the5mbutton, then START (orSpace). - Drag the Screen window onto your projector — or pick a monitor at the top and click "Send to screen" for fullscreen.
- Done. Use the
±buttons to add/remove time live while the timer runs.
- Countdown — the main mode. Enter a duration (
10= minutes,10:30= MM:SS,1:00:00= HH:MM:SS). - Stopwatch — counts up from zero.
- Clock — shows the current time of day.
- "End at" — enter a time (e.g. 20:30) and it counts down to that moment.
At the top, pick a monitor and click "Send to screen" — on a second monitor it goes fullscreen automatically. Plug in a projector mid-show? The output jumps to it. On the output window, double-click = fullscreen, Esc = back.
The "Network → OBS · Phone" panel shows a URL (e.g. http://192.168.1.50:7878).
- In OBS, add a Browser Source and paste that URL.
- Enable "Transparent background" in ProTimer → the timer becomes a clean overlay over your video.
- For NDI: run that browser source through OBS and enable OBS NDI output (DistroAV plugin).
Open the same URL on any computer/TV on the network as a confidence monitor.
The same panel has a Remote URL (…:7878/remote). Open it in your phone's browser (same Wi-Fi). You get big buttons: Start/Pause, Reset, ±time, GO next, blackout, quick durations, and messages to the speaker. (The main ProTimer must stay open on the computer.)
Every command is a simple HTTP GET — the network panel shows a ready-made API URL (with your session token) to copy:
http://<ip>:7878/cmd?type=start&t=<token>
Available type values: start (toggles start/pause), reset, go (next cue), blackout, adjust&value=<seconds> (e.g. -60), setDuration&value=<ms>, mode&value=countdown|countup|clock, message&value=<text>, clearMessage, text&value=<text>, clearText.
Stream Deck via Bitfocus Companion: two options:
- Dedicated module — companion-module-protimer: nice actions, live feedbacks (running = green, blackout = red) and a
$(protimer:time)variable for the button face. Install via Companion's developer-modules path (registry submission pending). - Zero-install — add a Generic HTTP connection, create a button with an HTTP GET action, and paste the API URL (change
typeper button).
Works from curl, Keyboard Maestro, or any automation too. The token changes on every app launch (security), so re-copy the URL after restarting ProTimer.
ProTimer listens for OSC on UDP port 7879. Addresses mirror the HTTP API:
/protimer/start /protimer/reset /protimer/go
/protimer/blackout /protimer/adjust 60 /protimer/setDuration 600000
/protimer/message "WRAP UP" /protimer/clearMessage
Arguments: int/float/string (first argument = value). OSC has no token — it's LAN-trusted like QLab/Ontime, so keep the machine on a network you control.
- Colors: pick the background and digit color. "Warning colors" turn yellow/red near the end (you can turn them off).
- Transparent background: makes the screen see-through — for OBS overlays, and the desktop output window itself becomes a frameless floating overlay you can drag onto anything.
- On-screen text: type a message (e.g.
BREAK) — it sits above the time, or enable "Text only" to replace the time entirely. - Message to speaker: a short line at the bottom of the screen, with an optional flash.
Build your run on the right: each item has a name, duration, an optional note and a color. Set a Start time for the show and ProTimer fills in the planned clock times for every item. Click an item to load it; GO (N) jumps to and starts the next one. Optional auto-advance. The Over / Under badge shows whether you'll finish ahead or behind your planned end.
Turn on "NOW / NEXT on screen" to show the current and next item under the timer on the stage screen.
Next to every link in the network panel there's a QR button — show it and people scan it with their phone to watch the timer (same Wi-Fi). Need someone off your network (a remote client, another venue)? Click Share online and ProTimer gives you a public https:// link that works from anywhere. (First-time visitors to a public link may see a one-time “Click to continue” page.)
The network panel has a Backstage URL. Open it on any screen, laptop or phone and everyone sees the same picture: the current item with its live timer, what's next, the full schedule with clock times, and the planned vs projected finish with the over/under indicator. Ideal for a green room, a stage manager, or a lobby screen.
Switch between SR / EN with the toggle next to the logo, top-left. The choice is remembered and also applies to the phone remote.
| Key | Action | Key | Action | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Space |
Start / pause | B |
Blackout | |
R |
Reset | F |
Fullscreen | |
N |
Next cue | M |
Message (Enter sends) | |
↑ / ↓ |
± 1 minute | C |
Clear message | |
← / → |
± 10 seconds | Esc |
Exit fullscreen |
You need Node.js.
git clone https://github.com/srdjankotarlic/protimer.git
cd protimer
npm install
npm start # run the app
npm run smoke # automated test (windows + network + remote)
npm run dist:mac # build the macOS .dmg
npm run dist:win # build the Windows installer + portableClean stack, almost no dependencies: Electron + plain HTML/CSS/JS + a Node http server (SSE), with qrcode and localtunnel for the share features. All the logic lives in controller.html (control), output.html (screen/OBS), backstage.html (crew schedule), remote.html (phone), and main.js (windows + server).
Ideas on the list (feedback very welcome — open an issue to vote or suggest):
- Signed / notarized builds (no “unidentified developer” warning)
-
Import a rundown from Excel / Google Sheets / CSV— done (import, paste and export) - Groups/blocks in the rundown (e.g. Morning Sessions, Lunch)
-
HTTP control API— done (works with Companion's Generic HTTP module + Stream Deck) -
Native OSC + dedicated Bitfocus Companion module— done (module repo; official registry submission pending) - More languages
- Multiple independent timers
Being honest about where it's at:
- Unsigned builds. macOS shows “unidentified developer” (right-click → Open) and Windows shows SmartScreen (More info → Run anyway) on first launch. Code signing is on the roadmap.
- Network sharing needs the same Wi-Fi — unless you use the optional Share online link, which is beta (a tunnel; may show a one-time “continue” page, and reliability depends on the tunnel service). For shows, the LAN + QR path is the dependable one.
- Remote control is link-based. Anyone with the exact
…/remote?t=…link can control the timer — share it deliberately. - OSC has no authentication (UDP, LAN-trusted — same model as QLab/Ontime). Anyone on your network can send OSC commands; use it on networks you control.
- Single operator — no real-time multi-user collaboration (see Ontime/StageTimer if you need that).
- Builds: macOS (Apple Silicon) and Windows (x64). No Intel-mac or Linux builds yet.
Issues and pull requests are welcome — bug reports, feature ideas, translations, docs.
- Open an issue (there are templates for bugs and features).
- For code: fork,
npm install, make your change, runnpm run smoke, open a PR. - Keep it simple — the whole point of ProTimer is that it stays small and obvious.
If you use ProTimer on a show, a ⭐ or a quick note about what worked (or didn't) genuinely helps.
ProTimer is created and maintained by Srdjan Kotarlic — built from real live-production needs.
- GitHub: @srdjankotarlic
- LinkedIn: Srdjan Kotarlic
If it helps your show, a ⭐ on the repo means a lot. Issues and ideas are welcome.
© 2026 Srdjan Kotarlic. Released under the MIT License — free to use, modify and share, with attribution.