# How to set a timer on a Mac > Open the Clock app, click Timers, set the time and click Start. Steps for pausing, naming and repeating timers, and what happens when your Mac sleeps. Canonical: https://www.notchstar.com/tips/how-to-set-a-timer-on-mac/ Last updated: 2026-11-04 Published 2026-11-04. Yes, a Mac has a timer. Open the Clock app, click Timers at the top of the window, set how long you want, and click Start. The timer keeps counting if you switch to another app or your Mac goes to sleep, according to Apple's Clock guide. ## Steps 1. Open the Clock app. You can find it with Spotlight or in the Applications folder. 2. Click **Timers** at the top of the window, or choose **View > Timers**. 3. Set the countdown duration. 4. Click **Start**. While the timer runs you can click **Pause** to stop it for a moment and **Resume** to carry on. Click **Cancel** to reset it. ## When the timer ends Apple says you get a notification when a timer finishes. Click **Options** on the notification, then choose **Stop** to end it or **Repeat** to run the same timer again. If you do not see the notification, check that notifications are allowed for Clock in System Settings. ## Name it and pick a sound Click the **Add** button in the top right corner of the Timers window to make another timer. You can choose **Custom Timer**, or **Presets** for common lengths such as 5 minutes or 1 hour. Give the timer a name, then pick a sound from the pop up menu under the name field. A name helps when a tea timer and a work timer run together. The next tip covers [running several timers](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/run-several-timers-on-mac/). ## Remove a timer Click the timer in the sidebar and click **Cancel** at the bottom. On a trackpad you can also swipe left with two fingers and click **Delete**. ## Which macOS versions Apple's page, checked on 4 November 2026, shows these steps for macOS 27 and lists macOS Tahoe 26 and macOS Sequoia 15 in its version picker without listing any differences. ## A timer you can see without opening an app The Clock app is a window, so you have to switch to it. If you want a timer a hover away in the notch, NotchStar's [Timers tool](https://www.notchstar.com/features/timers/) offers a timer from 5 to 60 minutes, a stopwatch and a Pomodoro mode. It keeps counting while the notch is closed and plays a sound at the end. Timers reset when NotchStar quits, and the finish alert is a sound, not a banner. ## Quick answers. ### Does a Mac timer keep running if I switch apps or the Mac sleeps? Apple's Clock guide says the timer keeps running if you switch to another app or your Mac sleeps. ## Keep reading. - [Timer, stopwatch and Pomodoro in the notch](https://www.notchstar.com/features/timers/): A timer, stopwatch and Pomodoro with session tracking, always one hover away in the Mac notch. It keeps counting while the notch is closed. - [How to use a stopwatch on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/use-stopwatch-on-mac/): Open Clock, click Stopwatch, press Start, Lap and Stop. Switch between digital and analog faces, and know that timing continues if the Mac sleeps. - [How to make a Mac stop playing music after a timer](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/stop-music-with-a-timer-on-mac/): Set a timer in the Clock app and choose Stop Playing in the When timer ends menu, so music or video stops on its own, for example before you sleep. - [How to run more than one timer on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/run-several-timers-on-mac/): Add timers in the Clock app with Custom Timer or Presets, name each one, give it a sound, and see all of them at once. Steps and limits. - [How to run a Pomodoro timer on your Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/guides/pomodoro-timer-on-mac/): The Pomodoro technique in practice: block lengths, breaks, what to do when you get interrupted, and how to run it from the Mac notch. ## More in Timers and focus. - [How to use the Pomodoro technique on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/pomodoro-technique-on-mac/): Run 25 minute focus blocks with short breaks on a Mac using the Clock app and a Focus, and see when a dedicated Pomodoro timer is easier. - [How to make a Mac stop playing music after a timer](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/stop-music-with-a-timer-on-mac/): Set a timer in the Clock app and choose Stop Playing in the When timer ends menu, so music or video stops on its own, for example before you sleep. - [How to use a stopwatch on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/use-stopwatch-on-mac/): Open Clock, click Stopwatch, press Start, Lap and Stop. Switch between digital and analog faces, and know that timing continues if the Mac sleeps. - [How to run more than one timer on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/run-several-timers-on-mac/): Add timers in the Clock app with Custom Timer or Presets, name each one, give it a sound, and see all of them at once. Steps and limits. - [How to stop notifications while you focus on a Mac](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/focus-without-notifications-on-mac/): Turn on Do Not Disturb in Control Center or create a Focus in System Settings, choose who and what can get through, and schedule it by time or app. - [How to open the Clock timer from the Mac menu bar](https://www.notchstar.com/tips/open-the-clock-timer-from-the-menu-bar-on-mac/): Click the time in the menu bar, then the Clock widget, to start a timer or stopwatch faster. Also how to keep a timer visible while you work.