Timer-CLI (Rust)

A Rust rewrite of the original Python countdown timer. The CLI renders large ASCII art digits in the center of the terminal, supports optional messages, and now lets you switch between a "classic" font and a blockier, high-contrast style for easier reading on translucent terminals.

The legacy Python sources are still available in python base/ for reference, but the Rust implementation in timer-rs/ is now the primary entry point.

Inspiration

This rewrite builds on the original timer-cli by 1Blademaster, shared under the Apache-2.0 license. Huge thanks to them for the initial concept and Python implementation.

Installation

cargo install timerr-cli
# or from the cloned repo
cargo install --path timer-rs
# run directly during development
cargo run --bin timerr -- <duration> [flags]

Cargo installs binaries into ~/.cargo/bin. If your shell can't find timerr, add export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH" to your shell rc (e.g. ~/.zshrc) or start a new shell session after installing.

Usage

timerr <duration> [OPTIONS]

• Duration syntax matches the Python tool: __h__m__s, e.g. 25m, 1h30m, 5m30s.
• -m, --message <TEXT> – show a note centered under the timer.
• --no-bell – suppress the repeating terminal bell after the timer ends.
• -f, --font <classic|hashy|solid> – solid (the default) renders chunky block characters, classic uses those lovely standard characters on your keyboard, and hashy uses #-based glyphs. You can also set TIMER_FONT to switch fonts globally.
• --color <colour> – choose the initial countdown colour. Accepted names: pink, purple, green, blue, yellow, white, black, or any #RRGGBB hex value (default #785c9c).
• --auto-end - automatically kill the timer when it ends. Useful for chaining commands or as a visible "sleep" timer.

The timer changes colours as it counts down (green → yellow → red), uses the terminal’s alternate screen buffer for clean rendering, and beeps every 10 seconds after completion until interrupted (Ctrl+C).

Examples

# 25 minutes with a label and the blocky font
timerr 25m -m "Review pull requests" --font hashy

# 1 hour, silence the bell
timerr 1h --no-bell