What a 4 second timer is good for
Each suggestion opens in a space with a matching scene and alarm.
Box breathing: one four-second sideOpens the Rest spaceRest →4-7-8 breathing: the four-second in-breathOpens the Rest spaceRest →Tempo sets: a four-second loweringOpens the Move spaceMove →Sprint start: on your marks, goOpens the Move spaceMove →3, 2, 1 before a recording or a streamOpens the Stream spaceStream →
How to use the 4 second timer
- Press StartThe 4 second countdown begins at once. The Space bar starts and pauses it too; R resets it.
- Adjust as you goUse − and + to change it by 10 seconds, or click the digits and type any time, like 12:30, 1h30 or until 5:30pm.
- Hear the alarmA loud bell and beep rings at zero until you press Stop, with a vibration on phones. Pick a chime, a shorter ring or a silent glow under More.
- Make it yoursPick a scene and sound, press Fullscreen for a room-sized Clear view (Esc to exit), turn on notifications for a background tab, or add
?autostart=1to the link to start on load.
Shortcuts
SpaceStart / pauseRReset+Add time (− removes it)FFullscreen
Single-key shortcuts can be switched off under More.
4 second timer at a glance
| Accuracy | Counts to an absolute finish time, so it stays exact in a background tab and after the device sleeps. How the timing is tested |
|---|---|
| Alarm | Loud bell & beep that rings until you press Stop, with the whole screen flooding sunrise-warm. Chime, bell, beep, a shorter ring or a silent glow under More. |
| Display | Large digits that never jitter, a progress horizon, and a fullscreen Clear view (or Daylight, for bright rooms) readable across a room. |
| Sound | Optional rain, ocean, fireplace, café, night, brown or white noise and a focus pad — made in your browser, faded out at zero. |
| Memory | A running or paused countdown survives a reload or a browser restart, saved on this device only. |
| Price | Free. No ads, no signup, nothing to install — and it works offline once visited. |
Box breathing with a 4 second timer
| Step | Count |
|---|---|
| Breathe in through your nose | 4 seconds |
| Hold, lungs full | 4 seconds |
| Breathe out slowly | 4 seconds |
| Hold, lungs empty | 4 seconds |
| One full box | 16 seconds; four boxes take just over a minute |
Other ways to time 4 seconds
The same countdown as a picture, a soundscape, a projector view or a video.
About the 4 second timer
Four seconds is one side of box breathing (in for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four), the in-breath of 4-7-8 breathing, and the slow lowering lifters call a four-second eccentric. Press Start or Space and it beeps when the four seconds are up; R takes it straight back to 0:04.
A 4 second timer for box breathing, the 4-7-8 inhale and slow tempo reps. Big digits, a beep at zero and one-key restart. Free, no ads, no signup.
TimerHub calculates remaining time from an absolute finish timestamp, so missed browser callbacks do not create drift. Read the timing accuracy methodology and reproducible tests.
4s timer4 sec timerfour second timertimer 4 seconds
4 second timer FAQ
How do I use a 4 second timer for box breathing?
Start the timer as you begin to breathe in, and restart it (R, then Space) at each change: in, hold, out, hold. Each side is four seconds, so one full box takes 16 seconds and four boxes just over a minute. If you would rather close your eyes, the Meditation timer runs a whole session and ends with a gentle bell.
Can the 4 second timer repeat by itself?
This page counts one four-second span. For rounds that repeat on their own — four seconds on, four off, as many times as you like — set the Interval Timer to four-second work and rest periods and it will loop with a tone at every change.
What is a four-second eccentric?
In strength training the eccentric is the lowering half of a rep: the bar coming down in a squat or a bench press. Tempo programmes write it first, so 4-0-1-0 means four seconds down, no pause, one second up. Timing a few reps is the quickest way to learn what four seconds of control feels like.
Is the beep exactly four seconds after I press Start?
Yes. The countdown runs to an absolute end time instead of counting ticks, so a busy tab cannot stretch it, and it beeps the moment it reaches zero. Screen readers hear when it starts and when it ends.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, in any modern browser with nothing to install. The digits are large enough to read at arm's length, and a tap on Start — or Space on a keyboard — runs it again.
Related timers
Build repeating work and rest rounds in the Interval Timer →