Timestamp with Time Zone Functions

Search Shortcut cmd + k | ctrl + k

Documentation / SQL / Functions

This section describes functions and operators for examining and manipulating TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE (or TIMESTAMPTZ) values.

See also the related TIMESTAMP functions.

Despite the name, these values do not store a time zone – just an instant like TIMESTAMP. Instead, they request that the instant be binned and formatted using the current time zone, see the blog post on DuckDB's timezone support for more information.

Time zone support is provided by the built-in ICU extension.

In the examples below, the current time zone is presumed to be America/Los_Angeles using the Gregorian calendar.

Built-In Timestamp with Time Zone Functions

The table below shows the available scalar functions for TIMESTAMPTZ values. Since these functions do not involve binning or display, they are always available.

Name	Description
`current_timestamp`	Current date and time (start of current transaction).
`get_current_timestamp()`	Current date and time (start of current transaction).
`greatest(timestamptz, timestamptz)`	The later of two timestamps.
`isfinite(timestamptz)`	Returns true if the timestamp with time zone is finite, false otherwise.
`isinf(timestamptz)`	Returns true if the timestamp with time zone is infinite, false otherwise.
`least(timestamptz, timestamptz)`	The earlier of two timestamps.
`now()`	Current date and time (start of current transaction).
`to_timestamp(double)`	Converts seconds since the epoch to a timestamp with time zone.
`transaction_timestamp()`	Current date and time (start of current transaction).

`current_timestamp`

Description	Current date and time (start of current transaction).
Example	`current_timestamp`
Result	`2022-10-08 12:44:46.122-07`

`get_current_timestamp()`

Description	Current date and time (start of current transaction).
Example	`get_current_timestamp()`
Result	`2022-10-08 12:44:46.122-07`

`greatest(timestamptz, timestamptz)`

Description	The later of two timestamps.
Example	`greatest(TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-20 20:38:48', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-03-22 01:02:03.1234')`
Result	`1992-09-20 20:38:48-07`

`isfinite(timestamptz)`

Description	Returns true if the timestamp with time zone is finite, false otherwise.
Example	`isfinite(TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-03-07')`
Result	`true`

`isinf(timestamptz)`

Description	Returns true if the timestamp with time zone is infinite, false otherwise.
Example	`isinf(TIMESTAMPTZ '-infinity')`
Result	`true`

`least(timestamptz, timestamptz)`

Description	The earlier of two timestamps.
Example	`least(TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-20 20:38:48', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-03-22 01:02:03.1234')`
Result	`1992-03-22 01:02:03.1234-08`

`now()`

Description	Current date and time (start of current transaction).
Example	`now()`
Result	`2022-10-08 12:44:46.122-07`

`to_timestamp(double)`

Description	Converts seconds since the epoch to a timestamp with time zone.
Example	`to_timestamp(1284352323.5)`
Result	`2010-09-13 04:32:03.5+00`

`transaction_timestamp()`

Description	Current date and time (start of current transaction).
Example	`transaction_timestamp()`
Result	`2022-10-08 12:44:46.122-07`

Timestamp with Time Zone Strings

With no time zone extension loaded, TIMESTAMPTZ values will be cast to and from strings using offset notation. This will let you specify an instant correctly without access to time zone information. For portability, TIMESTAMPTZ values will always be displayed using GMT offsets:

SELECT '2022-10-08 13:13:34-07'::TIMESTAMPTZ;

2022-10-08 20:13:34+00

If a time zone extension such as ICU is loaded, then a time zone can be parsed from a string and cast to a representation in the local time zone:

SELECT '2022-10-08 13:13:34 Europe/Amsterdam'::TIMESTAMPTZ::VARCHAR;

2022-10-08 04:13:34-07 -- the offset will differ based on your local time zone

ICU Timestamp with Time Zone Operators

The table below shows the available mathematical operators for TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE values provided by the ICU extension.

Operator	Description	Example	Result
`+`	addition of an `INTERVAL`	`TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-03-22 01:02:03' + INTERVAL 5 DAY`	`1992-03-27 01:02:03`
`-`	subtraction of `TIMESTAMPTZ`s	`TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-03-27' - TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-03-22'`	`5 days`
`-`	subtraction of an `INTERVAL`	`TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-03-27 01:02:03' - INTERVAL 5 DAY`	`1992-03-22 01:02:03`

Adding to or subtracting from infinite values produces the same infinite value.

ICU Timestamp with Time Zone Functions

The table below shows the ICU provided scalar functions for TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE values.

Name	Description
`age(timestamptz, timestamptz)`	Subtract arguments, resulting in the time difference between the two timestamps.
`age(timestamptz)`	Subtract from current_date.
`date_diff(part, startdate, enddate)`	The number of partition boundaries between the timestamps.
`date_part([part, ...], timestamptz)`	Get the listed subfields as a `struct`. The list must be constant.
`date_part(part, timestamptz)`	Get subfield (equivalent to extract).
`date_sub(part, startdate, enddate)`	The number of complete partitions between the timestamps.
`date_trunc(part, timestamptz)`	Truncate to specified precision.
`datediff(part, startdate, enddate)`	Alias of date_diff. The number of partition boundaries between the timestamps.
`datepart([part, ...], timestamptz)`	Alias of date_part. Get the listed subfields as a `struct`. The list must be constant.
`datepart(part, timestamptz)`	Alias of date_part. Get subfield (equivalent to extract).
`datesub(part, startdate, enddate)`	Alias of date_sub. The number of complete partitions between the timestamps.
`datetrunc(part, timestamptz)`	Alias of date_trunc. Truncate to specified precision.
`epoch_ms(timestamptz)`	Converts a timestamptz to milliseconds since the epoch.
`epoch_ns(timestamptz)`	Converts a timestamptz to nanoseconds since the epoch.
`epoch_us(timestamptz)`	Converts a timestamptz to microseconds since the epoch.
`extract(field FROM timestamptz)`	Get subfield from a `TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE`.
`last_day(timestamptz)`	The last day of the month.
`make_timestamptz(bigint, bigint, bigint, bigint, bigint, double, string)`	The `TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE` for the given parts and time zone.
`make_timestamptz(bigint, bigint, bigint, bigint, bigint, double)`	The `TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE` for the given parts in the current time zone.
`make_timestamptz(microseconds)`	The `TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE` for the given µs since the epoch.
`strftime(timestamptz, format)`	Converts a `TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE` value to string according to the format string.
`strptime(text, format)`	Converts string to `TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE` according to the format string if `%Z` is specified.
`time_bucket(bucket_width, timestamptz[, offset])`	Truncate `timestamptz` by the specified interval `bucket_width`. Buckets are offset by `offset` interval.
`time_bucket(bucket_width, timestamptz[, origin])`	Truncate `timestamptz` by the specified interval `bucket_width`. Buckets are aligned relative to `origin` timestamptz. `origin` defaults to 2000-01-03 00:00:00+00 for buckets that don't include a month or year interval, and to 2000-01-01 00:00:00+00 for month and year buckets.
`time_bucket(bucket_width, timestamptz[, timezone])`	Truncate `timestamptz` by the specified interval `bucket_width`. Bucket starts and ends are calculated using `timezone`. `timezone` is a varchar and defaults to UTC.

`age(timestamptz, timestamptz)`

Description	Subtract arguments, resulting in the time difference between the two timestamps.
Example	`age(TIMESTAMPTZ '2001-04-10', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-20')`
Result	`8 years 6 months 20 days`

`age(timestamptz)`

Description	Subtract from current_date.
Example	`age(TIMESTAMP '1992-09-20')`
Result	`29 years 1 month 27 days 12:39:00.844`

`date_diff(part, startdate, enddate)`

Description	The number of partition boundaries between the timestamps.
Example	`date_diff('hour', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-30 23:59:59', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-10-01 01:58:00')`
Result	`2`

`date_part([part, ...], timestamptz)`

Description	Get the listed subfields as a `struct`. The list must be constant.
Example	`date_part(['year', 'month', 'day'], TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-20 20:38:40-07')`
Result	`{year: 1992, month: 9, day: 20}`

`date_part(part, timestamptz)`

Description	Get subfield (equivalent to extract).
Example	`date_part('minute', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-20 20:38:40')`
Result	`38`

`date_sub(part, startdate, enddate)`

Description	The number of complete partitions between the timestamps.
Example	`date_sub('hour', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-30 23:59:59', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-10-01 01:58:00')`
Result	`1`

`date_trunc(part, timestamptz)`

Description	Truncate to specified precision.
Example	`date_trunc('hour', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-20 20:38:40')`
Result	`1992-09-20 20:00:00`

`datediff(part, startdate, enddate)`

Description	Alias of date_diff. The number of partition boundaries between the timestamps.
Example	`datediff('hour', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-30 23:59:59', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-10-01 01:58:00')`
Result	`2`

`datepart([part, ...], timestamptz)`

Description	Alias of date_part. Get the listed subfields as a `struct`. The list must be constant.
Example	`datepart(['year', 'month', 'day'], TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-20 20:38:40-07')`
Result	`{year: 1992, month: 9, day: 20}`

`datepart(part, timestamptz)`

Description	Alias of date_part. Get subfield (equivalent to extract).
Example	`datepart('minute', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-20 20:38:40')`
Result	`38`

`datesub(part, startdate, enddate)`

Description	Alias of date_sub. The number of complete partitions between the timestamps.
Example	`datesub('hour', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-30 23:59:59', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-10-01 01:58:00')`
Result	`1`

`datetrunc(part, timestamptz)`

Description	Alias of date_trunc. Truncate to specified precision.
Example	`datetrunc('hour', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-20 20:38:40')`
Result	`1992-09-20 20:00:00`

`epoch_ms(timestamptz)`

Description	Converts a timestamptz to milliseconds since the epoch.
Example	`epoch_ms('2022-11-07 08:43:04.123456+00'::TIMESTAMPTZ);`
Result	`1667810584123`

`epoch_ns(timestamptz)`

Description	Converts a timestamptz to nanoseconds since the epoch.
Example	`epoch_ns('2022-11-07 08:43:04.123456+00'::TIMESTAMPTZ);`
Result	`1667810584123456000`

`epoch_us(timestamptz)`

Description	Converts a timestamptz to microseconds since the epoch.
Example	`epoch_us('2022-11-07 08:43:04.123456+00'::TIMESTAMPTZ);`
Result	`1667810584123456`

`extract(field FROM timestamptz)`

Description	Get subfield from a `TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE`.
Example	`extract('hour' FROM TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-20 20:38:48')`
Result	`20`

`last_day(timestamptz)`

Description	The last day of the month.
Example	`last_day(TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-03-22 01:02:03.1234')`
Result	`1992-03-31`

`make_timestamptz(bigint, bigint, bigint, bigint, bigint, double, string)`

Description	The `TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE` for the given parts and time zone.
Example	`make_timestamptz(1992, 9, 20, 15, 34, 27.123456, 'CET')`
Result	`1992-09-20 06:34:27.123456-07`

`make_timestamptz(bigint, bigint, bigint, bigint, bigint, double)`

Description	The `TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE` for the given parts in the current time zone.
Example	`make_timestamptz(1992, 9, 20, 13, 34, 27.123456)`
Result	`1992-09-20 13:34:27.123456-07`

`make_timestamptz(microseconds)`

Description	The `TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE` for the given µs since the epoch.
Example	`make_timestamptz(1667810584123456)`
Result	`2022-11-07 16:43:04.123456-08`

`strftime(timestamptz, format)`

Description	Converts a `TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE` value to string according to the format string.
Example	`strftime(timestamptz '1992-01-01 20:38:40', '%a, %-d %B %Y - %I:%M:%S %p')`
Result	`Wed, 1 January 1992 - 08:38:40 PM`

`strptime(text, format)`

Description	Converts string to `TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE` according to the format string if `%Z` is specified.
Example	`strptime('Wed, 1 January 1992 - 08:38:40 PST', '%a, %-d %B %Y - %H:%M:%S %Z')`
Result	`1992-01-01 08:38:40-08`

`time_bucket(bucket_width, timestamptz[, offset])`

Description	Truncate `timestamptz` by the specified interval `bucket_width`. Buckets are offset by `offset` interval.
Example	`time_bucket(INTERVAL '10 minutes', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-04-20 15:26:00-07', INTERVAL '5 minutes')`
Result	`1992-04-20 15:25:00-07`

`time_bucket(bucket_width, timestamptz[, origin])`

Description	Truncate `timestamptz` by the specified interval `bucket_width`. Buckets are aligned relative to `origin` timestamptz. `origin` defaults to 2000-01-03 00:00:00+00 for buckets that don't include a month or year interval, and to 2000-01-01 00:00:00+00 for month and year buckets.
Example	`time_bucket(INTERVAL '2 weeks', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-04-20 15:26:00-07', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-04-01 00:00:00-07')`
Result	`1992-04-15 00:00:00-07`

`time_bucket(bucket_width, timestamptz[, timezone])`

Description	Truncate `timestamptz` by the specified interval `bucket_width`. Bucket starts and ends are calculated using `timezone`. `timezone` is a varchar and defaults to UTC.
Example	`time_bucket(INTERVAL '2 days', TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-04-20 15:26:00-07', 'Europe/Berlin')`
Result	`1992-04-19 15:00:00-07`

There are also dedicated extraction functions to get the subfields.

ICU Timestamp Table Functions

The table below shows the available table functions for TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE types.

Name	Description
`generate_series(timestamptz, timestamptz, interval)`	Generate a table of timestamps in the closed range (including both the starting timestamp and the ending timestamp), stepping by the interval.
`range(timestamptz, timestamptz, interval)`	Generate a table of timestamps in the half open range (including the starting timestamp, but stopping before the ending timestamp), stepping by the interval.

Infinite values are not allowed as table function bounds.

`generate_series(timestamptz, timestamptz, interval)`

Description	Generate a table of timestamps in the closed range (including both the starting timestamp and the ending timestamp), stepping by the interval.
Example	`generate_series(TIMESTAMPTZ '2001-04-10', TIMESTAMPTZ '2001-04-11', INTERVAL 30 MINUTE)`

`range(timestamptz, timestamptz, interval)`

Description	Generate a table of timestamps in the half open range (including the starting timestamp, but stopping before the ending timestamp), stepping by the interval.
Example	`range(TIMESTAMPTZ '2001-04-10', TIMESTAMPTZ '2001-04-11', INTERVAL 30 MINUTE)`

ICU Timestamp Without Time Zone Functions

The table below shows the ICU provided scalar functions that operate on plain TIMESTAMP values. These functions assume that the TIMESTAMP is a “local timestamp”.

A local timestamp is effectively a way of encoding the part values from a time zone into a single value. They should be used with caution because the produced values can contain gaps and ambiguities thanks to daylight savings time. Often the same functionality can be implemented more reliably using the struct variant of the date_part function.

Name	Description
`current_localtime()`	Returns a `TIME` whose GMT bin values correspond to local time in the current time zone.
`current_localtimestamp()`	Returns a `TIMESTAMP` whose GMT bin values correspond to local date and time in the current time zone.
`localtime`	Synonym for the `current_localtime()` function call.
`localtimestamp`	Synonym for the `current_localtimestamp()` function call.
`timezone(text, timestamp)`	Use the date parts of the timestamp in GMT to construct a timestamp in the given time zone. Effectively, the argument is a “local” time.
`timezone(text, timestamptz)`	Use the date parts of the timestamp in the given time zone to construct a timestamp. Effectively, the result is a “local” time.

`current_localtime()`

Description	Returns a `TIME` whose GMT bin values correspond to local time in the current time zone.
Example	`current_localtime()`
Result	`08:47:56.497`

`current_localtimestamp()`

Description	Returns a `TIMESTAMP` whose GMT bin values correspond to local date and time in the current time zone.
Example	`current_localtimestamp()`
Result	`2022-12-17 08:47:56.497`

`localtime`

Description	Synonym for the `current_localtime()` function call.
Example	`localtime`
Result	`08:47:56.497`

`localtimestamp`

Description	Synonym for the `current_localtimestamp()` function call.
Example	`localtimestamp`
Result	`2022-12-17 08:47:56.497`

`timezone(text, timestamp)`

Description	Use the date parts of the timestamp in GMT to construct a timestamp in the given time zone. Effectively, the argument is a “local” time.
Example	`timezone('America/Denver', TIMESTAMP '2001-02-16 20:38:40')`
Result	`2001-02-16 19:38:40-08`

`timezone(text, timestamptz)`

Description	Use the date parts of the timestamp in the given time zone to construct a timestamp. Effectively, the result is a “local” time.
Example	`timezone('America/Denver', TIMESTAMPTZ '2001-02-16 20:38:40-05')`
Result	`2001-02-16 18:38:40`

At Time Zone

The AT TIME ZONE syntax is syntactic sugar for the (two argument) timezone function listed above:

SELECT TIMESTAMP '2001-02-16 20:38:40' AT TIME ZONE 'America/Denver' AS ts;

2001-02-16 19:38:40-08

SELECT TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE '2001-02-16 20:38:40-05' AT TIME ZONE 'America/Denver' AS ts;

2001-02-16 18:38:40

Note that numeric timezones are not allowed:

SELECT TIMESTAMP '2001-02-16 20:38:40-05' AT TIME ZONE '0200' AS ts;

Not implemented Error: Unknown TimeZone '0200'

Infinities

Functions applied to infinite dates will either return the same infinite dates (e.g, greatest) or NULL (e.g., date_part) depending on what “makes sense”. In general, if the function needs to examine the parts of the infinite temporal value, the result will be NULL.

Calendars

The ICU extension also supports non-Gregorian calendars. If such a calendar is current, then the display and binning operations will use that calendar.

About this page

In this article