JavaScript Date Methods
Date methods let you get and set date values (years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds, milliseconds)
Date Get Methods
Get methods are used for getting a part of a date. Here are the most common (alphabetically):
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| getDate() | Get the day as a number (1-31) |
| getDay() | Get the weekday as a number (0-6) |
| getFullYear() | Get the four digit year (yyyy) |
| getHours() | Get the hour (0-23) |
| getMilliseconds() | Get the milliseconds (0-999) |
| getMinutes() | Get the minutes (0-59) |
| getMonth() | Get the month (0-11) |
| getSeconds() | Get the seconds (0-59) |
| getTime() | Get the time (milliseconds since January 1, 1970) |
The getTime() Method
getTime() returns the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970:
Example
<script>
var d = new Date();
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML =
d.getTime();
</script>
Try it Yourself »
The getFullYear() Method
getFullYear() returns the year of a date as a four digit number:
Example
<script>
var d = new Date();
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML =
d.getFullYear();
</script>
Try it Yourself »
The getDay() Method
getDay() returns the weekday as a number (0-6):
Example
<script>
var d = new Date();
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML =
d.getDay();
</script>
Try it Yourself »
 |
In JavaScript, the first of the week (0) means "Sunday", even if some countries in the world consider the first day of the week to be "Monday". |
|---|
You can use an array of names, and getDay() to return the weekday as a name:
Example
<script>
var d = new Date();
var days = ["Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday"];
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = days[d.getDay()];
</script>
Try it Yourself »
Date Set Methods
Set methods are used for setting a part of a date. Here are the most common (alphabetically):
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| setDate() | Set the day as a number (1-31) |
| setFullYear() | Set the year (optionally month and day) |
| setHours() | Set the hour (0-23) |
| setMilliseconds() | Set the milliseconds (0-999) |
| setMinutes() | Set the minutes (0-59) |
| setMonth() | Set the month (0-11) |
| setSeconds() | Set the seconds (0-59) |
| setTime() | Set the time (milliseconds since January 1, 1970) |
The setFullYear() Method
setFullYear() sets a date object to a specific date. In this example, to January 14, 2020:
Example
<script>
var d = new Date();
d.setFullYear(2020, 0, 14);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML =
d;
</script>
Try it Yourself »
The setDate() Method
setDate() sets the day of the month (1-31):
Example
<script>
var d = new Date();
d.setDate(20);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML =
d;
</script>
Try it Yourself »
The setDate() method can also be used to add days to a date:
Example
<script>
var d = new Date();
d.setDate(d.getDate() + 50);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML =
d;
</script>
Try it Yourself »
|
If adding days, shifts the month or year, the changes are handled automatically by the Date object. |
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Date Input - Parsing Dates
If you have a valid date string, you can use the Date.parse() method to convert it to milliseconds.
Date.parse() returns the number of milliseconds between the date and January 1, 1970:
Example
<script>
var msec = Date.parse("March 21, 2012");
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML =
msec;
</script>
Try it Yourself »
You can then use the number of milliseconds to convert it to a date object:
Example
<script>
var msec = Date.parse("March 21, 2012");
var d = new Date(msec);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML =
d;
</script>
Try it Yourself »
Compare Dates
Dates can easily be compared.
The following example compares today's date with January 14, 2100:
Example
var today, someday, text;
today = new Date();
someday = new Date();
someday.setFullYear(2100, 0, 14);
if (someday > today) {
text
= "Today is before January 14, 2100.";
} else {
text = "Today is
after January 14, 2100.";
}
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML
= text;
Try it Yourself »
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JavaScript counts months from 0 to 11. January is 0. December is 11. |
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UTC Date Methods
UTC date methods are used for working UTC dates (Univeral Time Zone dates):
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| getUTCDate() | Same as getDate(), but returns the UTC date |
| getUTCDay() | Same as getDay(), but returns the UTC day |
| getUTCFullYear() | Same as getFullYear(), but returns the UTC year |
| getUTCHours() | Same as getHours(), but returns the UTC hour |
| getUTCMilliseconds() | Same as getMilliseconds(), but returns the UTC milliseconds |
| getUTCMinutes() | Same as getMinutes(), but returns the UTC minutes |
| getUTCMonth() | Same as getMonth(), but returns the UTC month |
| getUTCSeconds() | Same as getSeconds(), but returns the UTC seconds |
Complete JavaScript Date Reference
For a complete reference, go to our Complete JavaScript Date Reference.
The reference contains descriptions and examples of all Date properties and methods.