files/en-us/web/javascript/reference/global_objects/date/todatestring/index.md

metadata

title: Date.prototype.toDateString()
short-title: toDateString()
slug: Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Date/toDateString
page-type: javascript-instance-method
browser-compat: javascript.builtins.Date.toDateString
sidebar: jsref

The toDateString() method of {{jsxref("Date")}} instances returns a string representing the date portion of this date interpreted in the local timezone.

{{InteractiveExample("JavaScript Demo: Date.prototype.toDateString()")}}

const event = new Date(1993, 6, 28, 14, 39, 7);

console.log(event.toString());
// Expected output: "Wed Jul 28 1993 14:39:07 GMT+0200 (CEST)"
// Note: your timezone may vary

console.log(event.toDateString());
// Expected output: "Wed Jul 28 1993"

Syntax

toDateString()

Parameters

None.

Return value

A string representing the date portion of the given date (see description for the format). Returns "Invalid Date" if the date is invalid.

Description

{{jsxref("Date")}} instances refer to a specific point in time. toDateString() interprets the date in the local timezone and formats the date part in English. It always uses the following format, separated by spaces:

1. First three letters of the week day name
2. First three letters of the month name
3. Two-digit day of the month, padded on the left a zero if necessary
4. Four-digit year (at least), padded on the left with zeros if necessary. May have a negative sign

For example: "Thu Jan 01 1970".

• If you only want to get the time part, use {{jsxref("Date/toTimeString", "toTimeString()")}}.
• If you want to get both the date and time, use {{jsxref("Date/toString", "toString()")}}.
• If you want to make the date interpreted as UTC instead of local timezone, use {{jsxref("Date/toUTCString", "toUTCString()")}}.
• If you want to format the date in a more user-friendly format (e.g., localization), use {{jsxref("Date/toLocaleDateString", "toLocaleDateString()")}}.

Examples

Using toDateString()

const d = new Date(0);

console.log(d.toString()); // "Thu Jan 01 1970 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)"
console.log(d.toDateString()); // "Thu Jan 01 1970"

Specifications

{{Specifications}}

Browser compatibility

{{Compat}}

See also

• {{jsxref("Date.prototype.toLocaleDateString()")}}
• {{jsxref("Date.prototype.toTimeString()")}}
• {{jsxref("Date.prototype.toString()")}}