Dynamic Timer

Dynamic Timer is a third-party OBS Studio filter plugin that turns a text source into a configurable timer.

The timer is controlled through the filter enabled state, so the eye icon acts as start and pause. Multiple filter instances can be added to the same text source to create timer presets that can be toggled when needed.

Features

• Countdown timer.
• Countup timer.
• Countdown to a specific time of day.
• Countdown to a specific date and time.
• Streaming timer that follows the OBS streaming state.
• Recording timer that follows the OBS recording state.
• Multiple display presets, including MM:SS, HH:MM:SS, days plus hours, total hours, total minutes, and total seconds.
• Optional final text when a countdown reaches zero.
• Optional count-up after a countdown finishes.
• Optional scene switch when the timer finishes.
• Source-scoped hotkeys for start/stop and reset.
• Multi-instance workflow for timer presets on a single text source.

Requirements

• OBS Studio 30.x, 31.x, or 32.x
• Windows x64
• A Text (GDI+) or Text (FreeType 2) source

Installation

Recommended installer:

1. Download the *-setup.exe file from the latest GitHub release.
2. Close OBS Studio.
3. Run the installer and select your OBS Studio installation folder.
4. Start OBS Studio again.

Portable or manual installation:

1. Download the release ZIP instead of the setup EXE.
2. Extract the ZIP into your OBS Studio installation folder, or copy the included obs-plugins and data folders into it.
3. Start OBS Studio again.

Windows

Download the release archive and extract or copy its contents into your OBS Studio installation directory.

The final layout should include:

obs-plugins/64bit/dynamic-timer.dll
data/obs-plugins/dynamic-timer/locale/en-US.ini
data/obs-plugins/dynamic-timer/locale/de-DE.ini

The packaged release also includes INSTALL.bat, which can copy the plugin files into a selected OBS directory.

Restart OBS after installation.

Basic Usage

1. Create a Text (GDI+) or Text (FreeType 2) source.
2. Right-click the text source and open Filters.
3. Add Dynamic Timer as an effect filter.
4. Choose a mode and configure the mode-specific time settings.
5. Choose a display format.
6. Enable the filter with the eye icon to start the timer.
7. Disable the filter to pause the timer.

The filter writes the formatted timer text directly into the text source.

Timer Modes

• Countdown: Counts down from a configured duration.
• Countup: Counts up from an optional start offset.
• Specific time of day: Counts down to a time today.
• Specific date and time: Counts down to an exact date and time.
• Streaming timer: Displays the current stream duration.
• Recording timer: Displays the current recording duration.

Display Presets

• MM:SS, for example 05:30
• HH:MM:SS, for example 00:05:30
• H:MM:SS, for example 0:05:30
• MM:SS.HH, for example 05:30.42
• Days + Hours, for example 1 T 03:14
• Hours only, for example 2
• Minutes only, for example 40
• Seconds total, for example 330

Hotkeys

Each filter instance exposes hotkeys in OBS settings:

• Dynamic Timer: Start/Stop (toggle filter)
• Dynamic Timer: Reset

Because the hotkeys are tied to the filter instance, you can create multiple timer presets on the same text source and control them separately.

Multi-Instance Presets

Example setup on one text source:

• Filter A: 5 minute countdown with final text
• Filter B: countup timer
• Filter C: stream timer

Enable one filter at a time to choose which timer preset currently controls the text source.

Version History

1.2.0

• Added Hours only and Minutes only display formats.

1.1.0

• Reworked the property UI into clearer groups.
• Replaced a total-seconds input with separate hours, minutes, and seconds fields.
• Replaced the format string workflow with display presets.
• Added automatic migration for 1.0.0 settings.

1.0.0

• Initial native plugin release.
• Ported the core workflow from an advanced timer Lua script.
• Added six timer modes.
• Added filter-enabled start/pause behavior.
• Added source-scoped toggle and reset hotkeys.

License

Dynamic Timer is licensed under GPL-2.0-or-later.

Disclaimer

Dynamic Timer is an unofficial third-party plugin and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the OBS Project.

AI-assisted tools were used during development and release preparation. The maintainer is responsible for reviewing, testing, and publishing the released plugin.