Slack Timer: How to Set a Countdown, Pomodoro or Focus Timer in Slack

Slack has no timer or stopwatch button. The fastest way to set a timer in Slack is the /remind command: type /remind me to take a break in 25 minutes in any message box and Slack shows the reminder in your Activity tab when the time is up. To show the timer to your team, set a status and pick a Duration, and it clears itself. To mute pings for a focus block, type /dnd for 25 minutes. For a countdown other people can read in a channel, post a message with Slack's date token, which we tested below.

Ways to run a timer in Slack

Slack timer command: /remind

/remind is the closest thing Slack has to a timer command. It follows the pattern /remind [me or #channel] [what] [when], and the "when" can be a delay:

/remind me to take a break in 25 minutes
/remind me to check the build in 10 minutes
/remind me "Stand up and stretch" in 1 hour
/remind #team to wrap up the retro in 15 minutes

Slackbot confirms what it understood right after you send it, so check the time in the confirmation. When the time is up, the reminder does not arrive as a Slackbot DM any more. In our test on 29 September 2026 it showed up as a card in Activity, with a Mark Complete button, and at the top of Later with an "Overdue" label; Slack reminder not working has the screenshot. A channel reminder posts in the channel instead. One-time reminders you set for yourself stay in Later until you complete or delete them. More patterns, including repeats, are in Slack /remind command examples.

A reminder has two limits as a timer. It shows no running countdown, only the card at the end. And it cannot repeat more often than once a day: in our 28 September test, reminders set every 15 minutes and every hour both got "Sorry, I didn't quite get that". An every-30-minutes timer needs several reminders or an app. To build a command without guessing the wording, use the /remind builder.

Show a timer on your status

A status is the way to tell your team "back in 30 minutes" without anyone doing the math. When you set a custom status in the Slack web app, open Duration and pick Don't clear, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, Today, This week, or Choose a start and end time. We read that list from the web app on 29 September 2026; it picks Today by default. Slack's help center still calls the field Remove status after, and Clear after on mobile. The emoji and text disappear on time. Tick Pause notifications until status is cleared in the same dialog and your notifications stay paused until the status clears. Every option is covered in Slack status clear after.

For a fixed daily block, such as focus time every morning, schedule the status instead of setting it by hand.

Focus timer: pause notifications for a set time

/dnd pauses notifications for a length of time you type:

/dnd for 25 minutes
/dnd for 2 hours
/dnd until 3pm
/dnd off

The same choices are in the menu under your profile picture, Pause notifications, with a Custom option. While notifications are paused, a small Z shows on your dot, and people who message you are told you have paused notifications. They can still choose to notify you if it is urgent. How that works, and how a daily schedule can pause Slack on its own, is in Slack Do Not Disturb.

Slack pomodoro timer with built-in tools

A pomodoro is 25 minutes of focus and a 5-minute break. You can run one with four commands and no app:

• /remind me to take a break in 25 minutes
• Set a status such as "Focusing" with Duration, 30 minutes.
• /dnd for 25 minutes
• When the reminder card appears in Activity: /remind me to start again in 5 minutes

If you run pomodoros all day, a Marketplace pomodoro app saves the typing. Search the Slack Marketplace for "pomodoro" or "timer". An app your workspace has not approved may need an admin to approve it.

Countdown timer in a channel

Slack has a date token that turns a Unix timestamp into relative time, so one message can say "in 23 minutes" to every reader, in their own time zone. We sent these lines to a test DM with chat.postMessage on 29 September 2026 at 4:12 PM, with the break ending at 4:37 PM:

:hourglass_flowing_sand: <!date^1790667441^Break ends {ago}, at {time}|Break ends at 4:37 PM>
:hourglass_flowing_sand: Break ends <!date^1790667441^{ago}|in 25 minutes> (at <!date^1790667441^{time}|the half hour>)



What the test showed:

• • {ago} counts down. It read "in 25 minutes" when sent, "in 23 minutes" two and a half minutes later, and "< 1 minute ago" on a second test line whose time had passed.
• • It is capitalised when it starts the token. <!date^...^{ago}> rendered "In 23 minutes", so the second line reads "Break ends In 23 minutes". Put your words inside the token, as in the first line, to get "in 23 minutes".
• • It does not tick while you watch. With the conversation open, the short test line stayed at "In 2 minutes" for two minutes, including 30 seconds after its time had passed. It updated when we opened the conversation again. So it suits "back in 20 minutes" or a workshop timer people glance at, not a stopwatch on a screen.
• • It only works when an app sends it. Typed into the Slack message box, <!date^...> stays as plain text. Send it with chat.postMessage, an incoming webhook or a bot.

Our Slack timestamp tool builds the token from a date and time you pick, with the {ago} format ready to copy. For days to a launch date, a countdown app from the Marketplace can post the days left on a schedule, and Workflow Builder can post a message on a schedule you pick, though it will not count the days for you. Recurring posts are in how to schedule a recurring message in Slack.

A bot can also edit one message every minute with chat.update so the number changes in place. That needs a bot token with the chat:write scope, explained in Slack bot token. Keep the interval at a minute or more.

The Slack inactivity timer

Many people who search for a Slack timer mean the one that turns them away. On desktop, Slack marks you away after 10 minutes with no mouse or keyboard input anywhere on the computer (Slack desktop 4.52.178 code, checked 7 Oct 2026). That timer is fixed; you cannot change it in preferences. The details, and what resets it, are in how long Slack stays active.

FAQ

Does Slack have a built-in timer?

No. /remind with a delay, a status with a Duration, and /dnd for a set time cover most timer needs without an app.

Where does a Slack reminder show up when the time is up?

In the Activity tab as a reminder card, and in Later with an "Overdue" label. In our 29 September test nothing arrived in the Slackbot DM.

Can other people see my Slack timer?

A /remind me reminder is private. A status, a paused-notifications Z and a channel countdown are visible to others.

How do I cancel a Slack timer?

Delete the reminder from Later, or type /remind list and delete it there. For a paused-notifications timer, type /dnd off.