Use case

“Days since” counter

Not every timer counts down. Membership anniversaries, streaks, uptime and “days since launch” all count up from a moment in the past. A count-up timer shows how long it has been, live, every time the email is opened or the page is loaded.

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The timer to use

Count-up

Counts up from a start moment — shared, or per recipient from a date in your ESP.

Set it up through the API

Count-up timers are configured through the tikio REST API rather than the Get code wizard. Create a link with a count-up timer and a fixed start for a shared counter — “days since launch” — or with the start taken from the recipient for a personal one. Then use the link’s code like any other.

API request

POST /v1/links
{ "template_id": "<template-id>", "name": "Days since launch",
  "timer": { "type": "countup", "source": "fixed", "start": "2026-01-15T09:00:00Z" } }

Personal: “12 days since you joined”

With the start from the recipient, pass each person’s date as target in the image URL from a merge tag — with a time zone, or as unix seconds.

URL

https://t.tikio.io/e/a1b2.gif?target={{ person.created }}

Where it fits

Anniversary and loyalty emails, community streaks, public status pages and “we have been shipping for N days” banners. Count-up timers never reach zero, so there is no at-zero setting to worry about.

Last updated: 2026-09-30.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Can I set up a count-up in the dashboard?

The dashboard wizard offers the three most common types. Count-up is available through the REST API and the MCP server; the link then shows as “configured via the API”.

Does the date need a time zone?

Yes — ISO with an offset or unix seconds. A date without a zone is ambiguous, and tikio shows a placeholder rather than guessing.

Can a counter run on my website too?

Yes. Like every tikio link, it has an email image and a website embed that show the same count.

Set it up in your email platform

Using something else? See all email platform guides.

More use cases

Pick the timer, paste the code

Free during early access — no watermark, no credit card. Your first countdown is live in a couple of minutes.

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