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Guide · Events and stages

How to add a countdown timer to Google Slides without a YouTube video

By Blink Brief · Updated  · How pages are made

Google Slides has no countdown timer of its own, so there are three ways to show one: insert a countdown video from Google Drive with Insert › Video, add the free Slides Timer extension and type a code such as <<5:00->> on the slide, or run a browser timer in its own window beside the slides. The video and the extension sit on the slide; the browser timer runs next to it.

Short answer

  • No YouTube: a countdown video file from Google Drive, set to Play (automatically).
  • On the slide: the Slides Timer extension for Chrome, with <<5:00->> in a text box. Refresh the Slides tab after you install it.
  • No YouTube and no extensions: a timer in a second window or on a second screen, such as the one on this page.

Does Google Slides have a timer?

Not one you can put on a slide. Google's help page "Present slides" covers Presenter view, speaker notes and auto-advance, and mentions no timer, countdown or clock. Auto-advance moves to the next slide after a set time; it doesn't show the time left.

To open Presenter view, click the Down arrow next to Slideshow in the top right corner, then Presenter view. Auto-advance is under Options at the bottom of the slideshow, then Auto advance options. Google's tip: set it again each time you present.

A countdown video: Insert › Video, and Play (automatically)

A countdown video is a clip of numbers running down, 5 minutes long for a 5-minute timer. It doesn't have to come from YouTube: Slides also inserts a video file from your Google Drive.

  1. Upload the countdown video file to Google Drive.
  2. In Slides, click the slide where the timer goes.
  3. Click Insert › Video. The window has 3 tabs: Search YouTube, By URL and Google Drive. Choose Google Drive, pick the file and click Select.
  4. Select the video, then click Format options in the toolbar (or right-click the video).
  5. In the sidebar, under Video playback, choose Play (automatically).

The 3 playback choices, as Google's help describes them:

  • Play (on click): plays when you advance the slide. The default.
  • Play (automatically): plays without any clicks, as soon as the slide shows.
  • Play (manual): plays only when you click the video itself.

A video can't be paused for a question and resumed from the keyboard the way a timer can, and you need one file per length: 5, 10 and 15 minutes are three videos.

The Slides Timer extension: the <<5:00->> code, and the refresh it needs

Slides Timer is a Chrome extension by ClayCodes. On 4 November 2026 its Chrome Web Store listing showed 100,000 users, 3.5 stars from 111 ratings, and version 2.13, updated October 18, 2026. It replaces a time written between double angle brackets with a running timer.

  1. In Chrome, open Slides Timer in the Chrome Web Store and add it.
  2. Refresh your Google Slides tab. The listing says: "Be sure to refresh your Google Slides tab after installation for the timer to activate!"
  3. Add a text box to the slide and type the time with a minus sign at the end: <<5:00->> counts down from 5 minutes, <<0:00+>> counts up.

ClayCodes' own page lists more codes: <<time>> shows the current time, and a code such as <<00:30-+>> moves to the next slide when the countdown ends. The extension also sells Pro features (Pomodoro, progress bars, scoreboards) as in-app purchases; the listing shows no price.

The Marketplace add-on is a different product

The Google Workspace Marketplace has a "Slides Timer Add-on" by AliceKeeler LLC, "Free of charge with paid features". It adds a timer text box to a slide, but its listing says you "MUST install Slides Timer Chrome™ Extension by ClayCodes". Without the extension, the add-on's text box is only text.

An extension runs in the Chrome profile where it is installed. Install it on the computer that presents, and try the slide there in full screen before class: neither listing says how the timer shows on a projector.

No YouTube, no extensions: a timer in a second window or on a second screen

When a school blocks YouTube and won't let you add extensions, put the timer outside Slides. Two set-ups work with any presentation app:

  • One screen, switch to the timer: when the activity starts, switch the projector from the Slides tab to the timer's window and press Full screen. When time is up, switch back.
  • Two screens: Slides on the projector, the timer on a second screen the class can see, such as a TV, a laptop turned to face the room, or a tablet on the desk.

The timer below runs on this page with nothing to install and no sign-up, and sends nothing anywhere. Open this page in its own window so the timer keeps running while you present from the other.

A countdown timer to run beside your slides

This timer needs JavaScript. Without it:

  1. Insert a countdown video from Google Drive: Insert › Video › Google Drive, then Format options › Video playback › Play (automatically).
  2. Or use the timer in the Clock app of a phone or tablet, and stand it beside the screen.

The same timer is at blink-brief.com/stage-timer, on a page of its own. It counts a number of minutes on one screen. It can't be started from another device, and it doesn't go inside your slides.

5, 10, 15 and 20 minute timers: which route for which

Route Set a length Pause and resume Needs
Countdown video One video file per length Only by clicking the video The video file in Google Drive
Slides Timer extension Type it: <<10:00->>, <<15:00->> The listing doesn't say Chrome, and the extension on the presenting computer
Browser timer beside the slides Buttons for 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45 min, or any minutes and seconds Yes: the Pause button, or Space A second window or a second screen

From Google's help, the Chrome Web Store listing and ClayCodes' page, read on 4 November 2026.

For a 20-second timer before a quiz answer, the extension's <<0:20->> keeps it on the slide. For a 15-minute group task, a timer on its own screen leaves the slides free for instructions.

When the timer doesn't start: the refresh, blocked extensions, autoplay

  • The code shows as text: refresh the Slides tab after installing the extension, and check the code ends in a minus sign inside the brackets: <<5:00->>.
  • The add-on does nothing: it needs the ClayCodes extension too.
  • The Web Store won't let you add it: on a school-managed Chromebook or Chrome profile, ask your school's IT whether extensions are allowed, or use a video or a timer outside Slides.
  • The video waits for a click: its Video playback is still Play (on click), the default. Change it to Play (automatically) in Format options.

Presenting from PowerPoint or Canva instead? Countdown timers in PowerPoint and the timer in a Canva presentation cover those. For a timer run from a sound booth, see stage timer apps compared.

Questions

Does Google Slides have a built-in timer?

Not one you can put on a slide. Google's help for presenting, Presenter view included, mentions no timer or countdown. A countdown on screen takes a video, an extension, or a timer outside Slides.

How do I add a 5 minute timer to Google Slides?

Three ways: insert a 5-minute countdown video with Insert › Video and set it to Play (automatically); with the Slides Timer extension installed, type <<5:00->> in a text box on the slide; or run a 5-minute browser timer in its own window beside the slides.

Can I add a timer to Google Slides without an extension?

Yes. Insert a countdown video from Google Drive (Insert › Video › Google Drive) and set Video playback to Play (automatically), or keep a timer in a separate browser window or on a second screen. Neither needs anything installed.

Why is my Google Slides timer not working?

With the Slides Timer extension, the store listing says to refresh your Google Slides tab after installation, and the code must end in a minus sign to count down: <<5:00->>. The Marketplace add-on only works with that extension installed. A countdown video plays on its own only when Video playback is Play (automatically).

Sources

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