Get Current Date

What it does: Gets the current date and time for timestamping, scheduling, and time-based workflow logic.

Perfect for: Timestamping • Audit trails • Scheduling logic • Time-based conditions

What It Does

• Get current time - Retrieve the exact current date and time
• Timezone handling - Get time in your local timezone or any specified timezone
• Multiple formats - Output as ISO string, timestamp, or structured object
• High precision - Get time down to milliseconds when needed

How It Works

graph LR
    A[Workflow Trigger] --> B[Get Current Date]
    B --> C[Current Timestamp]

    style A fill:#e1f5fe
    style B fill:#e8f5e8
    style C fill:#f3e5f5

Simple process: Workflow runs → Get Current Date → Current timestamp available

Output Format Options

• ISO String (Best for Data): 2024-01-15T14:30:45.123Z
• Human Readable Object:

  { "year": 2024, "month": 1, "day": 15, "hour": 14, "minute": 30 }

• Unix Timestamp: 1705329045123 (Number of milliseconds since 1970)
• Formatted Text: “January 15, 2024 at 2:30 PM”

Real Examples

Add timestamp to user actions:

{
  "user_id": "user123",
  "action": "login",
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T14:30:45Z"
}

Schedule future events:

{
  "meeting_scheduled": "2024-01-15T14:30:45Z",
  "meeting_time": "2024-01-16T10:00:00Z"
}

Audit trail logging:

{
  "record_id": "rec456",
  "modified_by": "user123",
  "modified_at": "2024-01-15T14:30:45Z"
}

Timezone Examples

Auto-detect browser timezone:

{
  "timezone": "auto"
}

Specific timezone:

{
  "timezone": "America/New_York"
}

Multiple timezone outputs:

{
  "utc_time": "2024-01-15T14:30:45Z",
  "local_time": "2024-01-15T09:30:45-05:00",
  "timezone": "America/New_York"
}

Common Use Cases

Audit logging - Add timestamps to track when actions occurred Data validation - Check if data is current or expired Scheduling - Calculate future dates based on current time Performance tracking - Measure how long processes take

Configuration Options

Basic setup (no configuration needed):

{}

With timezone:

{
  "timezone": "Europe/London",
  "format": "ISO"
}

High precision:

{
  "precision": "millisecond",
  "format": "object"
}

Quick Troubleshooting

Wrong timezone: Check that timezone string is valid (like “America/New_York”) Time seems off: Browser time might be incorrect - this node uses browser’s system time Format issues: Verify the format parameter matches your needs (ISO, timestamp, object)

What’s Next?

Related nodes: Add To A Date • Format Date • Extract Part Of A Date

Common workflows: Audit Trails • Scheduling Systems • Time-Based Logic

Learn more: Date Handling Guide • Workflow Timing