A free countdown timer for presentations, conferences, worship services, and live broadcasts. The same traffic-light concept used in hardware stage timers — now in a desktop app with a stopwatch, clock, buzzer, blackout, and modern integrations.
v1.1.1 — September 22, 2026
StageTime started as a software version of the hardware countdown timers you see on stages everywhere — the ones with a big clock and a traffic light. All the core features that make those units reliable are here, plus a Companion module that puts your timer controls right on your Stream Deck and an HTTP API for automation. And it runs on hardware you already own.
Green when there's time, yellow at your wrap-up threshold, red at zero. A large, high-contrast display designed to be read from across any stage.
Count down with overtime shown in red past zero, or freeze at 00:00. Run a stopwatch with optional milliseconds. Or show the time of day in any time zone for holding screens and pre-show.
Enter the moment a session has to end and StageTime sets and starts a countdown that hits zero right then. The remote shows the ends-at time while it runs.
Push a short message onto the display, full screen or beneath the timer. Save the ones you use most as one-tap quick messages, or have one appear automatically at zero.
Save up to five named presets for recurring session lengths. Load one and the timer is set — no manual entry, no mistakes during a fast changeover.
A built-in REST API on a configurable port, with a live Server-Sent Events feed. Start, stop, set time, show messages, black out the display, and read status from anything on the local network.
StageTime ships with a Bitfocus Companion module. Map buttons to start, stop, set time, load presets, show messages, and switch modes. Feedbacks mirror the traffic-light color on your Stream Deck. Variables put the live countdown on any button. Install the module, point it at StageTime's IP and port, and you're controlling the timer from your surface in seconds. Module 1.1 covers everything: blackout, buzzer, quick messages labelled straight from the app, count down to a clock time, and every option, with feedback that updates the instant the timer does.
Redesigned in 1.1. Pick Countdown, Stopwatch, or Clock and the remote shows only the options that apply, so it fits on a 13-inch laptop without scrolling. A large readout at the top mirrors the display with the light, total, and ends-at time. Keyboard shortcuts cover start, stop, time adjustment, blackout, and messages. Every action from Companion, the API, or the remote stays in sync across all surfaces, and your options are remembered between launches.
Set a threshold in minutes and seconds. When the countdown drops below it, the light goes from green to yellow.
The red indicator flashes at a half-second interval the moment the timer hits zero. Add a red glow that pulses around the timer box for something a speaker can't miss from the lectern.
Three short beeps when the countdown reaches zero. No audio file needed. The Test button asks for confirmation first, so it can't fire by accident into a live line.
Past zero, the digits turn red with a leading minus sign so overtime is unmistakable. Or freeze at 00:00. Change it on the fly from the remote or Companion.
One button, or the B key, turns the display fully black instantly. The timer keeps running underneath and comes back exactly where it should.
An optional bar under the digits, colored to match the light, and a small time-of-day clock in the corner so speakers can see the actual time.
Switch the display background from black to blue for chroma-key compositing — useful when you need to key the timer over a video feed or IMAG output.
The display goes fullscreen on your external output and the remote stays on your screen. Plug in a monitor and the display moves there; unplug it and it falls back to a window. A running timer survives the move.
The timer is derived from the system clock rather than counted in ticks, so it never loses seconds when the machine is busy or the display is in the background.
StageTime is free. Download it and put it on your tech table.
Go to DownloadsAvailable for macOS 13+ and Windows 10+.
StageTime is free and always will be. If it's saved you time on a show, you can buy me a coffee to help fund future development.
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