EggTimer

This page was last updated on July 20, 2009.

Method 1

This is a command line method for creating a timer using the sleep command. The system bell will sound once at the beginning and once at the end of the count.

• Open a terminal window and type this command, replacing NUMBER with the number of seconds you’d like the timer to run:

echo -e '\a' >&2; sleep NUMBER; echo -e '\a' >&2

• For example, you would use this command to set a timer for 30 seconds:

echo -e '\a' >&2; sleep 30; echo -e '\a' >&2

• To time minutes, hours, or days with this command, you need to add an m for minutes, an h for hours or a d for days after the NUMBER in the command.

• For example, you would use this command to set a timer for 30 minutes:

echo -e '\a' >&2; sleep 30m; echo -e '\a' >&2

Method 2

This is a script that asks how long you’d like the timer to run, notifies you of each minute that passes and rings the system bell when the time is up.

• The script:

#!/bin/bash
echo -n "How many minutes would you like the timer to run? "
read limit
echo
echo "Timing $limit minutes..."
echo
counter=0
while [ $counter != $limit ]; do
   echo "$counter minutes so far...";
   sleep 60
   let "counter = $counter + 1"
done
if [ $counter = $limit ]; then
   echo
   echo "Time's up - $counter minutes have elapsed!"
   echo -e '\a' >&2
   exit 0
fi

• Save the script:

  1. Copy the above script.
  2. Paste it into a text editor.
  3. Save the file as timer.sh.

• Run the script:

  1. Open a terminal window.
  2. Change to the directory the script is in.
  3. Type this command:

  bash timer.sh

  4. Press the Enter key.

• What it looks like when it runs:

  How many minutes would you like the timer to run? 3
  
  Timing 3 minutes...
  
  0 minutes so far...
  1 minutes so far...
  2 minutes so far...
  
  Time's up - 3 minutes have elapsed!
  

  
  

  Obligatory Happy Ending

  And they all lived happily ever after. The end.

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