Get-Date
Gets the current date and time.
Syntax
Get-Date
[[-Date] <DateTime>]
[-Year <Int32>]
[-Month <Int32>]
[-Day <Int32>]
[-Hour <Int32>]
[-Minute <Int32>]
[-Second <Int32>]
[-Millisecond <Int32>]
[-DisplayHint <DisplayHintType>]
[-Format <String>]
[<CommonParameters>]
Get-Date
[[-Date] <DateTime>]
[-Year <Int32>]
[-Month <Int32>]
[-Day <Int32>]
[-Hour <Int32>]
[-Minute <Int32>]
[-Second <Int32>]
[-Millisecond <Int32>]
[-DisplayHint <DisplayHintType>]
[-UFormat <String>]
[<CommonParameters>]
Description
The Get-Date
cmdlet gets a DateTime object that represents the current date or a date that you
specify. Get-Date
can format the date and time in several .NET and UNIX formats. You can use
Get-Date
to generate a date or time character string, and then send the string to other cmdlets or
programs.
Get-Date
uses the current culture settings of the operating system to determine how the output is
formatted. To view your computer's settings, use (Get-Culture).DateTimeFormat
.
Examples
Example 1: Get the current date and time
In this example, Get-Date
displays the current system date and time. The output is in the
long-date and long-time formats.
Get-Date
Tuesday, June 25, 2019 14:53:32
Example 2: Get elements of the current date and time
This example shows how to use Get-Date
to get either the date or time element. The parameter uses
the arguments Date, Time, or DateTime.
Get-Date -DisplayHint Date
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Get-Date
uses the DisplayHint parameter with the Date argument to get only the date.
Example 3: Get the date and time with a .NET format specifier
In this example, a .NET format specifier is used to customize the output's format. The output is a String object.
Get-Date -Format "dddd MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm K"
Tuesday 06/25/2019 16:17 -07:00
Get-Date
uses the Format parameter to specify several format specifiers.
The .NET format specifiers used in this example are defined as follows:
Specifier | Definition |
---|---|
dddd |
Day of the week - full name |
MM |
Month number |
dd |
Day of the month - 2 digits |
yyyy |
Year in 4-digit format |
HH:mm |
Time in 24-hour format - no seconds |
K |
Time zone offset from Universal Time Coordinate (UTC) |
For more information about .NET format specifiers, see Custom date and time format strings.
Example 4: Get the date and time with a UFormat specifier
In this example, several UFormat format specifiers are used to customize the output's format. The output is a String object.
Get-Date -UFormat "%A %m/%d/%Y %R %Z"
Tuesday 06/25/2019 16:19 -07
Get-Date
uses the UFormat parameter to specify several format specifiers.
The UFormat format specifiers used in this example are defined as follows:
Specifier | Definition |
---|---|
%A |
Day of the week - full name |
%m |
Month number |
%d |
Day of the month - 2 digits |
%Y |
Year in 4-digit format |
%R |
Time in 24-hour format - no seconds |
%Z |
Time zone offset from Universal Time Coordinate (UTC) |
For a list of valid UFormat format specifiers, see the Notes section.
Example 5: Get a date's day of the year
In this example, a property is used to get the numeric day of the year.
The Gregorian calendar has 365 days, except for leap years that have 366 days. For example, December 31, 2020 is day 366.
(Get-Date -Year 2020 -Month 12 -Day 31).DayOfYear
366
Get-Date
uses three parameters to specify the date: Year, Month, and Day. The command
is wrapped with parentheses so that the result is evaluated by the DayofYear property.
Example 6: Check if a date is adjusted for daylight saving time
This example uses a boolean method to verify if a date is adjusted by daylight saving time.
$DST = Get-Date
$DST.IsDaylightSavingTime()
True
A variable, $DST
stores the result of Get-Date
. $DST
uses the IsDaylightSavingTime method
to test if the date is adjusted for daylight saving time.
Example 7: Convert the current time to UTC time
In this example, the current time is converted to UTC time. The UTC offset for the system's locale is used to convert the time. A table in the Notes section lists the valid UFormat format specifiers.
Get-Date -UFormat "%A %B/%d/%Y %T %Z"
$Time = Get-Date
$Time.ToUniversalTime()
Wednesday June/26/2019 10:45:26 -07
Wednesday, June 26, 2019 17:45:26
Get-Date
uses the UFormat parameter with format specifiers to display the current system date
and time. The format specifier %Z represents the UTC offset of -07.
The $Time
variable stores the current system date and time. $Time
uses the ToUniversalTime()
method to convert the time based on the computer's UTC offset.
Example 8: Create a timestamp
In this example, a format specifier creates a timestamp String object for a directory name. The timestamp includes the date, time, and UTC offset.
$timestamp = Get-Date -Format o | ForEach-Object { $_ -replace ":", "." }
New-Item -Path C:\Test\$timestamp -Type Directory
Directory: C:\Test
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
d----- 6/27/2019 07:59 2019-06-27T07.59.24.4603750-07.00
The $timestamp
variable stores the results of a Get-Date
command. Get-Date
uses the Format
parameter with the format specifier of lowercase o
to create a timestamp String object. The
object is sent down the pipeline to ForEach-Object
. A ScriptBlock contains the $_
variable
that represents the current pipeline object. The timestamp string is delimited by colons that are
replaced by periods.
New-Item
uses the Path parameter to specify the location for a new directory. The path
includes the $timestamp
variable as the directory name. The Type parameter specifies that a
directory is created.
Example 9: Show invariant culture
The ToString()
converts a DateTime object a String using the current culture setting.
However, PowerShell expression interpretation always uses the invariant culture setting.
For example, on a system with the en-US
culture in effect, the ToString()
method formats the
date using the en-US
culture settings.
# Get date using current culture en-US
(Get-Date 2024-03-19).ToString()
3/19/2024 12:00:00 AM
# Get date using invariant culture
"$(Get-Date 2024-03-19)"
03/19/2024 00:00:00
Parameters
-Date
Specifies a date and time. Time is optional and if not specified, returns 00:00:00. Enter the date
and time in a format that is standard for the currently selected locale. You can change the
current locale using the Set-Culture
cmdlet.
For example, in US English:
Get-Date -Date "6/25/2019 12:30:22"
returns Tuesday, June 25, 2019 12:30:22
Type: | DateTime |
Aliases: | LastWriteTime |
Position: | 0 |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | True |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-Day
Specifies the day of the month that is displayed. Enter a value from 1 to 31.
If the specified value is greater than the number of days in a month, PowerShell adds the number of
days to the month. For example, Get-Date -Month 4 -Day 31
displays May 1, not April 31.
Type: | Int32 |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-DisplayHint
Determines which elements of the date and time are displayed.
The accepted values are as follows:
- Date: displays only the date
- Time: displays only the time
- DateTime: displays the date and time
Type: | DisplayHintType |
Accepted values: | Date, Time, DateTime |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-Format
Displays the date and time in the Microsoft .NET Framework format indicated by the format specifier. The Format parameter outputs a String object.
For a list of available .NET format specifiers, see Custom date and time format strings.
When the Format parameter is used, Get-Date
only gets the DateTime object's properties
necessary to display the date. As a result, some of the properties and methods of DateTime
objects might not be available.
Starting in PowerShell 5.0, you can use the following additional formats as values for the Format parameter.
FileDate. A file or path-friendly representation of the current date in local time. The format is
yyyyMMdd
(case-sensitive, using a 4-digit year, 2-digit month, and 2-digit day). For example: 20190627.FileDateUniversal. A file or path-friendly representation of the current date in universal time (UTC). The format is
yyyyMMddZ
(case-sensitive, using a 4-digit year, 2-digit month, 2-digit day, and the letterZ
as the UTC indicator). For example: 20190627Z.FileDateTime. A file or path-friendly representation of the current date and time in local time, in 24-hour format. The format is
yyyyMMddTHHmmssffff
(case-sensitive, using a 4-digit year, 2-digit month, 2-digit day, the letterT
as a time separator, 2-digit hour, 2-digit minute, 2-digit second, and 4-digit millisecond). For example: 20190627T0840107271.FileDateTimeUniversal. A file or path-friendly representation of the current date and time in universal time (UTC), in 24-hour format. The format is
yyyyMMddTHHmmssffffZ
(case-sensitive, using a 4-digit year, 2-digit month, 2-digit day, the letterT
as a time separator, 2-digit hour, 2-digit minute, 2-digit second, 4-digit millisecond, and the letterZ
as the UTC indicator). For example: 20190627T1540500718Z.
Type: | String |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-Hour
Specifies the hour that is displayed. Enter a value from 0 to 23.
Type: | Int32 |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-Millisecond
Specifies the milliseconds in the date. Enter a value from 0 to 999.
This parameter was introduced in PowerShell 3.0.
Type: | Int32 |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-Minute
Specifies the minute that is displayed. Enter a value from 0 to 59.
Type: | Int32 |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-Month
Specifies the month that is displayed. Enter a value from 1 to 12.
Type: | Int32 |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-Second
Specifies the second that is displayed. Enter a value from 0 to 59.
Type: | Int32 |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-UFormat
Displays the date and time in UNIX format. The UFormat parameter outputs a string object.
UFormat specifiers are preceded by a percent sign (%
), for example, %m
, %d
, and %Y
. The
Notes section contains a table of valid UFormat specifiers.
Type: | String |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-Year
Specifies the year that is displayed. Enter a value from 1 to 9999.
Type: | Int32 |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
Inputs
You can pipe a DateTime object to this cmdlet.
Outputs
By default, this cmdlet returns a DateTime object.
When a DateTime object is sent down the pipeline to a cmdlet such as Add-Content
that expects
string input, PowerShell converts the object to a String object.
The ToString()
converts a DateTime object to a String using the current culture setting.
However, PowerShell expression interpretation always uses the invariant culture setting. To see how
invariant culture is different, see Example 9.
To display an object's properties and methods, send the object down the pipeline to Get-Member
.
For example, Get-Date | Get-Member
.
When you use the Format or UFormat parameters, this cmdlet returns String objects.
Notes
The default formats for the output of DateTime objects are long-date and long-time formats for the currently selected locale.
The valid UFormat specifiers are displayed in the following table:
Important
UFormat specifiers are changed or added in newer versions of PowerShell. For example, %F
was
added in PowerShell 6.2, so it isn't available in Windows PowerShell 5.1 or older. Keep this in
mind when using UFormat specifiers in scripts designed to be run on multiple versions of
PowerShell.
Format specifier | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
%A |
Day of the week - full name | Monday |
%a |
Day of the week - abbreviated name | Mon |
%B |
Month name - full | January |
%b |
Month name - abbreviated | Jan |
%C |
Century | 20 for 2019 |
%c |
Date and time - abbreviated | Thu Jun 27 08:44:18 2019 |
%D |
Date in mm/dd/yy format | 06/27/19 |
%d |
Day of the month - 2 digits | 05 |
%e |
Day of the month - preceded by a space if only a single digit | <space>5 |
%G |
Same as 'Y' | |
%g |
Same as 'y' | |
%H |
Hour in 24-hour format | 17 |
%h |
Same as 'b' | |
%I |
Hour in 12-hour format | 05 |
%j |
Day of the year (does not include leading 0 - Fixed in PowerShell 6+) |
1-366 |
%k |
Same as 'H' | |
%l |
Same as 'I' (Upper-case I) | 05 |
%M |
Minutes | 35 |
%m |
Month number | 06 |
%n |
newline character | |
%p |
AM or PM | |
%R |
Time in 24-hour format -no seconds | 17:45 |
%r |
Time in 12-hour format | 09:15:36 AM |
%S |
Seconds | 05 |
%s |
Seconds elapsed since January 1, 1970 00:00:00 (converted to local time) | 1150451174.95705 |
%t |
Horizontal tab character | |
%T |
Time in 24-hour format | 17:45:52 |
%U |
Same as 'W' | |
%u |
Day of the week - number | Sunday = 0 |
%V |
Week of the year | 01-53 |
%w |
Same as 'u' | |
%W |
Week of the year | 00-52 |
%X |
Same as 'T' | |
%x |
Date in standard format for locale | 06/27/19 for English-US |
%Y |
Year in 4-digit format | 2019 |
%y |
Year in 2-digit format | 19 |
%Z |
Time zone offset from Universal Time Coordinate (UTC) | -07 |
Note
Windows PowerShell's behavior with Get-Date -UFormat %s
is incorrect in two respects:
- The return value is based on local time instead of UTC time.
- The string representation of the seconds value has a fractional part. The output is culture-sensitive with respect to the decimal mark.
These behaviors have been fixed in PowerShell 6 and higher.
Related Links
PowerShell