Countdown timer in React

Question

I have seen lots of countdown timers in JavaScript and wanted to get one working in React.

I have borrowed this function I found online:

secondsToTime(secs){
    let hours = Math.floor(secs / (60 * 60));

    let divisor_for_minutes = secs % (60 * 60);
    let minutes = Math.floor(divisor_for_minutes / 60);

    let divisor_for_seconds = divisor_for_minutes % 60;
    let seconds = Math.ceil(divisor_for_seconds);

    let obj = {
        "h": hours,
        "m": minutes,
        "s": seconds
    };
    return obj;
  };

And then I have written this code myself

  initiateTimer = () => {
    let timeLeftVar = this.secondsToTime(60);
    this.setState({ timeLeft: timeLeftVar })
  };

  startTimer = () => {
    let interval = setInterval(this.timer, 1000);
    this.setState({ interval: interval });
  };

  timer = () => {
    if (this.state.timeLeft >0){
      this.setState({ timeLeft: this.state.timeLeft -1 });
    }
    else {
      clearInterval(this.state.interval);
      //this.postToSlack();
    }
  };

Currently onclick it will set the time on screen to: Time Remaining: 1 m : 0 s But it does not reduce it to Time Remaining: 0 m : 59 s and then Time Remaining: 0 m : 58 s etc etc

I think I need to call the function again with a different parameter. how can I go about doing this ?

Edit: I forgot to say, I would like the functionality so that I can use seconds to minutes & seconds

Answer 1

You have to setState every second with the seconds remaining (every time the interval is called). Here's an example:

class Example extends React.Component {
  constructor() {
    super();
    this.state = { time: {}, seconds: 5 };
    this.timer = 0;
    this.startTimer = this.startTimer.bind(this);
    this.countDown = this.countDown.bind(this);
  }

  secondsToTime(secs){
    let hours = Math.floor(secs / (60 * 60));

    let divisor_for_minutes = secs % (60 * 60);
    let minutes = Math.floor(divisor_for_minutes / 60);

    let divisor_for_seconds = divisor_for_minutes % 60;
    let seconds = Math.ceil(divisor_for_seconds);

    let obj = {
      "h": hours,
      "m": minutes,
      "s": seconds
    };
    return obj;
  }

  componentDidMount() {
    let timeLeftVar = this.secondsToTime(this.state.seconds);
    this.setState({ time: timeLeftVar });
  }

  startTimer() {
    if (this.timer == 0 && this.state.seconds > 0) {
      this.timer = setInterval(this.countDown, 1000);
    }
  }

  countDown() {
    // Remove one second, set state so a re-render happens.
    let seconds = this.state.seconds - 1;
    this.setState({
      time: this.secondsToTime(seconds),
      seconds: seconds,
    });
    
    // Check if we're at zero.
    if (seconds == 0) { 
      clearInterval(this.timer);
    }
  }

  render() {
    return(
      <div>
        <button onClick={this.startTimer}>Start</button>
        m: {this.state.time.m} s: {this.state.time.s}
      </div>
    );
  }
}

ReactDOM.render(<Example/>, document.getElementById('View'));

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/15.1.0/react.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/15.1.0/react-dom.min.js"></script>
<div id="View"></div>

Answer 2

Here is a solution using hooks, Timer component, I'm replicating same logic above with hooks

import React from 'react'
import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

const Timer = (props:any) => {
    const {initialMinute = 0,initialSeconds = 0} = props;
    const [ minutes, setMinutes ] = useState(initialMinute);
    const [seconds, setSeconds ] =  useState(initialSeconds);
    useEffect(()=>{
    let myInterval = setInterval(() => {
            if (seconds > 0) {
                setSeconds(seconds - 1);
            }
            if (seconds === 0) {
                if (minutes === 0) {
                    clearInterval(myInterval)
                } else {
                    setMinutes(minutes - 1);
                    setSeconds(59);
                }
            } 
        }, 1000)
        return ()=> {
            clearInterval(myInterval);
          };
    });

    return (
        <div>
        { minutes === 0 && seconds === 0
            ? null
            : <h1> {minutes}:{seconds < 10 ?  `0${seconds}` : seconds}</h1> 
        }
        </div>
    )
}

export default Timer;

Answer 3

class Example extends React.Component {
  constructor() {
    super();
    this.state = { time: {}, seconds: 5 };
    this.timer = 0;
    this.startTimer = this.startTimer.bind(this);
    this.countDown = this.countDown.bind(this);
  }

  secondsToTime(secs){
    let hours = Math.floor(secs / (60 * 60));

    let divisor_for_minutes = secs % (60 * 60);
    let minutes = Math.floor(divisor_for_minutes / 60);

    let divisor_for_seconds = divisor_for_minutes % 60;
    let seconds = Math.ceil(divisor_for_seconds);

    let obj = {
      "h": hours,
      "m": minutes,
      "s": seconds
    };
    return obj;
  }

  componentDidMount() {
    let timeLeftVar = this.secondsToTime(this.state.seconds);
    this.setState({ time: timeLeftVar });
  }

  startTimer() {
    if (this.timer == 0 && this.state.seconds > 0) {
      this.timer = setInterval(this.countDown, 1000);
    }
  }

  countDown() {
    // Remove one second, set state so a re-render happens.
    let seconds = this.state.seconds - 1;
    this.setState({
      time: this.secondsToTime(seconds),
      seconds: seconds,
    });
    
    // Check if we're at zero.
    if (seconds == 0) { 
      clearInterval(this.timer);
    }
  }

  render() {
    return(
      <div>
        <button onClick={this.startTimer}>Start</button>
        m: {this.state.time.m} s: {this.state.time.s}
      </div>
    );
  }
}

ReactDOM.render(<Example/>, document.getElementById('View'));

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/15.1.0/react.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/15.1.0/react-dom.min.js"></script>
<div id="View"></div>

Answer 4

Basic idea showing counting down using Date.now() instead of subtracting one which will drift over time.

class Example extends React.Component {
  constructor() {
    super();
    this.state = {
      time: {
        hours: 0,
        minutes: 0,
        seconds: 0,
        milliseconds: 0,
      },
      duration: 2 * 60 * 1000,
      timer: null
    };
    this.startTimer = this.start.bind(this);
  }

  msToTime(duration) {
    let milliseconds = parseInt((duration % 1000));
    let seconds = Math.floor((duration / 1000) % 60);
    let minutes = Math.floor((duration / (1000 * 60)) % 60);
    let hours = Math.floor((duration / (1000 * 60 * 60)) % 24);

    hours = hours.toString().padStart(2, '0');
    minutes = minutes.toString().padStart(2, '0');
    seconds = seconds.toString().padStart(2, '0');
    milliseconds = milliseconds.toString().padStart(3, '0');

    return {
      hours,
      minutes,
      seconds,
      milliseconds
    };
  }

  componentDidMount() {}

  start() {
    if (!this.state.timer) {
      this.state.startTime = Date.now();
      this.timer = window.setInterval(() => this.run(), 10);
    }
  }

  run() {
    const diff = Date.now() - this.state.startTime;
    
    // If you want to count up
    // this.setState(() => ({
    //  time: this.msToTime(diff)
    // }));
    
    // count down
    let remaining = this.state.duration - diff;
    if (remaining < 0) {
      remaining = 0;
    }
    this.setState(() => ({
      time: this.msToTime(remaining)
    }));
    if (remaining === 0) {
      window.clearTimeout(this.timer);
      this.timer = null;
    }
  }

  render() {
    return ( <
      div >
      <
      button onClick = {
        this.startTimer
      } > Start < /button> {
        this.state.time.hours
      }: {
        this.state.time.minutes
      }: {
        this.state.time.seconds
      }. {
        this.state.time.milliseconds
      }:
      <
      /div>
    );
  }
}

ReactDOM.render( < Example / > , document.getElementById('View'));

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/15.1.0/react.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/15.1.0/react-dom.min.js"></script>
<div id="View"></div>

Answer 5

The problem is in your "this" value. Timer function cannot access the "state" prop because run in a different context. I suggest you to do something like this:

...
startTimer = () => {
  let interval = setInterval(this.timer.bind(this), 1000);
  this.setState({ interval });
};

As you can see I've added a "bind" method to your timer function. This allows the timer, when called, to access the same "this" of your react component (This is the primary problem/improvement when working with javascript in general).

Another option is to use another arrow function:

startTimer = () => {
  let interval = setInterval(() => this.timer(), 1000);
  this.setState({ interval });
};

Answer 6

Countdown of user input

Interface Screenshot

import React, { Component } from 'react';
import './App.css';

class App extends Component {
  constructor() {
    super();
    this.state = {
      hours: 0,
      minutes: 0,
      seconds:0
    }
    this.hoursInput = React.createRef();
    this.minutesInput= React.createRef();
    this.secondsInput = React.createRef();
  }

  inputHandler = (e) => {
    this.setState({[e.target.name]: e.target.value});
  }

  convertToSeconds = ( hours, minutes,seconds) => {
    return seconds + minutes * 60 + hours * 60 * 60;
  }

  startTimer = () => {
    this.timer = setInterval(this.countDown, 1000);
  }

  countDown = () => {
    const  { hours, minutes, seconds } = this.state;
    let c_seconds = this.convertToSeconds(hours, minutes, seconds);

    if(c_seconds) {

      // seconds change
      seconds ? this.setState({seconds: seconds-1}) : this.setState({seconds: 59});

      // minutes change
      if(c_seconds % 60 === 0 && minutes) {
        this.setState({minutes: minutes -1});
      }

      // when only hours entered
      if(!minutes && hours) {
        this.setState({minutes: 59});
      }

      // hours change
      if(c_seconds % 3600 === 0 && hours) {
        this.setState({hours: hours-1});
      }

    } else {
      clearInterval(this.timer);
    }
  }


  stopTimer = () => {
    clearInterval(this.timer);
  }

  resetTimer = () => {
    this.setState({
      hours: 0,
      minutes: 0,
      seconds: 0
    });
    this.hoursInput.current.value = 0;
    this.minutesInput.current.value = 0;
    this.secondsInput.current.value = 0;
  }


  render() {
    const { hours, minutes, seconds } = this.state;

    return (
      <div className="App">
         <h1 className="title"> (( React Countdown )) </h1>
         <div className="inputGroup">
            <h3>Hrs</h3>
            <input ref={this.hoursInput} type="number" placeholder={0}  name="hours"  onChange={this.inputHandler} />
            <h3>Min</h3>
            <input  ref={this.minutesInput} type="number"  placeholder={0}   name="minutes"  onChange={this.inputHandler} />
            <h3>Sec</h3>
            <input   ref={this.secondsInput} type="number"  placeholder={0}  name="seconds"  onChange={this.inputHandler} />
         </div>
         <div>
            <button onClick={this.startTimer} className="start">start</button>
            <button onClick={this.stopTimer}  className="stop">stop</button>
            <button onClick={this.resetTimer}  className="reset">reset</button>
         </div>
         <h1> Timer {hours}: {minutes} : {seconds} </h1>
      </div>

    );
  }
}

export default App;

Answer 7

Here is a simple implementation using hooks and useInterval implementation of @dan-abramov

import React, {useState, useEffect, useRef} from 'react'
import './styles.css'

const STATUS = {
  STARTED: 'Started',
  STOPPED: 'Stopped',
}

const INITIAL_COUNT = 120

export default function CountdownApp() {
  const [secondsRemaining, setSecondsRemaining] = useState(INITIAL_COUNT)
  const [status, setStatus] = useState(STATUS.STOPPED)

  const secondsToDisplay = secondsRemaining % 60
  const minutesRemaining = (secondsRemaining - secondsToDisplay) / 60
  const minutesToDisplay = minutesRemaining % 60
  const hoursToDisplay = (minutesRemaining - minutesToDisplay) / 60

  const handleStart = () => {
    setStatus(STATUS.STARTED)
  }
  const handleStop = () => {
    setStatus(STATUS.STOPPED)
  }
  const handleReset = () => {
    setStatus(STATUS.STOPPED)
    setSecondsRemaining(INITIAL_COUNT)
  }
  useInterval(
    () => {
      if (secondsRemaining > 0) {
        setSecondsRemaining(secondsRemaining - 1)
      } else {
        setStatus(STATUS.STOPPED)
      }
    },
    status === STATUS.STARTED ? 1000 : null,
    // passing null stops the interval
  )
  return (
    <div className="App">
      <h1>React Countdown Demo</h1>
      <button onClick={handleStart} type="button">
        Start
      </button>
      <button onClick={handleStop} type="button">
        Stop
      </button>
      <button onClick={handleReset} type="button">
        Reset
      </button>
      <div style={{padding: 20}}>
        {twoDigits(hoursToDisplay)}:{twoDigits(minutesToDisplay)}:
        {twoDigits(secondsToDisplay)}
      </div>
      <div>Status: {status}</div>
    </div>
  )
}

// source: https://overreacted.io/making-setinterval-declarative-with-react-hooks/
function useInterval(callback, delay) {
  const savedCallback = useRef()

  // Remember the latest callback.
  useEffect(() => {
    savedCallback.current = callback
  }, [callback])

  // Set up the interval.
  useEffect(() => {
    function tick() {
      savedCallback.current()
    }
    if (delay !== null) {
      let id = setInterval(tick, delay)
      return () => clearInterval(id)
    }
  }, [delay])
}

// https://stackoverflow.com/a/2998874/1673761
const twoDigits = (num) => String(num).padStart(2, '0')

Here is the codesandbox implementation: https://codesandbox.io/s/react-countdown-demo-gtr4u?file=/src/App.js

Answer 8

The one downside with setInterval is that it can slow down the main thread. You can do a countdown timer using requestAnimationFrame instead to prevent this. For example, this is my generic countdown timer component:

class Timer extends Component {
  constructor(props) {
    super(props)
    // here, getTimeRemaining is a helper function that returns an 
    // object with { total, seconds, minutes, hours, days }
    this.state = { timeLeft: getTimeRemaining(props.expiresAt) }
  }

  // Wait until the component has mounted to start the animation frame
  componentDidMount() {
    this.start()
  }

  // Clean up by cancelling any animation frame previously scheduled
  componentWillUnmount() {
    this.stop()
  }

  start = () => {
    this.frameId = requestAnimationFrame(this.tick)
  }

  tick = () => {
    const timeLeft = getTimeRemaining(this.props.expiresAt)
    if (timeLeft.total <= 0) {
      this.stop()
      // ...any other actions to do on expiration
    } else {
      this.setState(
        { timeLeft },
        () => this.frameId = requestAnimationFrame(this.tick)
      )
    }
  }

  stop = () => {
    cancelAnimationFrame(this.frameId)
  }

  render() {...}
}