How to use the Date Format Code Generator
1. Click a preset (ISO, Ordinal, Indian, US) or build your own format using the selectors below.
2. Choose an operation — format the current date, add/subtract time, or get a Unix timestamp.
3. Select your preferred library for JavaScript and Java.
4. Click any language tab to view ready-to-use code, then copy it.
What is it?
Every language and database has its own date format token syntax. JavaScript's dayjs/moment use tokens like YYYY-MM-DD, Python uses strftime codes like %Y-%m-%d, Java's DateTimeFormatter uses yyyy-MM-dd, while Go uses its unique reference time 2006-01-02 15:04:05.
Ordinal dates like 25th May 2026 require special handling — only dayjs (with plugin), moment, PHP, and PostgreSQL support ordinal suffixes natively. For Python, Java, MySQL, SQL Server, C#, and Go, this tool generates the helper function automatically.
Example
Preset: Ordinal → "25th May 2026 12:43:39"
JavaScript: dayjs().format('Do MMMM YYYY HH:mm:ss') // needs advancedFormat plugin
PHP: date('jS F Y H:i:s') // native
PostgreSQL: TO_CHAR(NOW(), 'FMDDth FMMonth YYYY HH24:MI:SS') // native
Python: ordinal(now.day) + now.strftime(' %B %Y %H:%M:%S') // helper generatedBenefits
Debug scheduling and time zone bugs in seconds
Converting an epoch timestamp to local time immediately reveals whether a job fired at 9 AM or 9 PM — and in which timezone — without mental arithmetic.
Read log files and event streams 10× faster
Human-readable dates next to raw timestamp values let you correlate server events with incidents, deploys, and user reports at a glance.
Prevent off-by-one day and millisecond errors
Seconds vs. milliseconds confusion and DST boundary mistakes are the most common timestamp bugs — convert and cross-check before the calculation goes into production code.
Coordinate across time zones without guesswork
A single clearly-labelled converted timestamp shared in Slack or Jira eliminates the back-and-forth for globally distributed teams across different UTC offsets.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Go use '2006-01-02 15:04:05' as its format?
Go uses a reference time — the specific moment of Mon Jan 2 15:04:05 MST 2006. Each number is unique: 2006=year, 01=month, 02=day, 15=hour, 04=minute, 05=second. This avoids ambiguous format strings by using a concrete example.
What's the difference between dayjs and moment?
Both use the same format tokens. Moment.js is the legacy library (2+ MB, deprecated for new projects). dayjs is the modern replacement — only 2kB, same API, and actively maintained. For new projects, always choose dayjs.
How does ordinal formatting work in each language?
dayjs (with advancedFormat plugin) and moment support Do natively. PHP has jS. PostgreSQL has DDth. For Python, Java, MySQL, SQL Server, C#, and Go, this tool generates a small helper function that computes the correct suffix (st/nd/rd/th).
Is PostgreSQL's FMDDth reliable for all days?
Yes — PostgreSQL's to_char ordinal suffix (th) correctly produces 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, etc. The FM prefix removes leading zero padding from the day number.