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--- |
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title: Date and time with Luxon |
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description: Use Luxon to work with date and time in n8n. |
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contentType: howto |
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--- |
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# Date and time with Luxon |
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[Luxon](https://github.com/moment/luxon/){:target=_blank .external-link} is a JavaScript library that makes it easier to work with date and time. For full details of how to use Luxon, refer to [Luxon's documentation](https://moment.github.io/luxon/#/?id=luxon){:target=_blank .external-link}. |
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n8n passes dates between nodes as strings, so you need to parse them. Luxon makes this easier. |
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/// note | Python support |
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Luxon is a JavaScript library. The two convenience [variables](#variables) created by n8n are available when using Python in the Code node, but their functionality is limited: |
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* You can't perform Luxon operations on these variables. For example, there is no Python equivalent for `$today.minus(...)`. |
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* The generic Luxon functionality, such as [Convert date string to Luxon](#convert-date-string-to-luxon), isn't available for Python users. |
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/// |
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## Variables |
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n8n uses Luxon to provide two custom variables: |
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- `now`: a Luxon object containing the current timestamp. Equivalent to `DateTime.now()`. |
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- `today`: a Luxon object containing the current timestamp, rounded down to the day. Equivalent to `DateTime.now().set({ hour: 0, minute: 0, second: 0, millisecond: 0 })`. |
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Note that these variables can return different time formats when cast as a string. This is the same behavior as Luxon's `DateTime.now()`. |
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=== "Expressions (JavaScript)" |
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``` js |
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{{$now}} |
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// n8n displays the ISO formatted timestamp |
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// For example 2022-03-09T14:02:37.065+00:00 |
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{{"Today's date is " + $now}} |
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// n8n displays "Today's date is <unix timestamp>" |
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// For example "Today's date is 1646834498755" |
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``` |
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=== "Code node (JavaScript)" |
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``` js |
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$now |
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// n8n displays <ISO formatted timestamp> |
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// For example 2022-03-09T14:00:25.058+00:00 |
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let rightNow = "Today's date is " + $now |
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// n8n displays "Today's date is <unix timestamp>" |
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// For example "Today's date is 1646834498755" |
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``` |
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=== "Code node (Python)" |
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``` python |
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_now |
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# n8n displays <ISO formatted timestamp> |
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# For example 2022-03-09T14:00:25.058+00:00 |
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rightNow = "Today's date is " + str(_now) |
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# n8n displays "Today's date is <unix timestamp>" |
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# For example "Today's date is 1646834498755" |
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``` |
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n8n provides built-in convenience functions to support data transformation in expressions for dates. Refer to [Data transformation functions | Dates](/code/builtin/data-transformation-functions/dates.md) for more information. |
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## Date and time behavior in n8n |
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Be aware of the following: |
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* In a workflow, n8n converts dates and times to strings between nodes. Keep this in mind when doing arithmetic on dates and times from other nodes. |
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* With vanilla JavaScript, you can convert a string to a date with `new Date('2019-06-23')`. In Luxon, you must use a function explicitly stating the format, such as `DateTime.fromISO('2019-06-23')` or `DateTime.fromFormat("23-06-2019", "dd-MM-yyyy")`. |
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## Setting the timezone in n8n |
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Luxon uses the n8n timezone. This value is either: |
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* Default: `America/New York` |
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* A custom timezone for your n8n instance, set using the `GENERIC_TIMEZONE` environment variable. |
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* A custom timezone for an individual workflow, configured in workflow settings. |
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## Common tasks |
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This section provides examples for some common operations. More examples, and detailed guidance, are available in [Luxon's own documentation](https://moment.github.io/luxon/#/?id=luxon){:target="_blank" .external-link}. |
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### Convert date string to Luxon |
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You can convert date strings and other date formats to a Luxon DateTime object. You can convert from standard formats and from arbitrary strings. |
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/// note | A difference between Luxon DateTime and JavaScript Date |
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With vanilla JavaScript, you can convert a string to a date with `new Date('2019-06-23')`. In Luxon, you must use a function explicitly stating the format, such as `DateTime.fromISO('2019-06-23')` or `DateTime.fromFormat("23-06-2019", "dd-MM-yyyy")`. |
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/// |
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#### If you have a date in a supported standard technical format: |
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Most dates use `fromISO()`. This creates a Luxon DateTime from an ISO 8601 string. For example: |
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=== "Expressions (JavaScript)" |
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```js |
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{{DateTime.fromISO('2019-06-23T00:00:00.00')}} |
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``` |
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=== "Code node (JavaScript)" |
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```js |
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let luxonDateTime = DateTime.fromISO('2019-06-23T00:00:00.00') |
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``` |
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Luxon's API documentation has more information on [fromISO](https://moment.github.io/luxon/api-docs/index.html#datetimefromiso){:target="_blank" .external-link}. |
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Luxon provides functions to handle conversions for a range of formats. Refer to Luxon's guide to [Parsing technical formats](https://moment.github.io/luxon/#/parsing?id=parsing-technical-formats) for details. |
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#### If you have a date as a string that doesn't use a standard format: |
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Use Luxon's [Ad-hoc parsing](https://moment.github.io/luxon/#/parsing?id=ad-hoc-parsing){:target="_blank" .external-link}. To do this, use the `fromFormat()` function, providing the string and a set of [tokens](https://moment.github.io/luxon/#/parsing?id=table-of-tokens){:target="_blank" .external-link} that describe the format. |
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For example, you have n8n's founding date, 23rd June 2019, formatted as `23-06-2019`. You want to turn this into a Luxon object: |
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=== "Expressions (JavaScript)" |
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```js |
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{{DateTime.fromFormat("23-06-2019", "dd-MM-yyyy")}} |
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``` |
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=== "Code node (JavaScript)" |
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```js |
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let newFormat = DateTime.fromFormat("23-06-2019", "dd-MM-yyyy") |
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``` |
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When using ad-hoc parsing, note Luxon's warning about [Limitations](https://moment.github.io/luxon/#/parsing?id=limitations){:target="_blank" .external-link}. If you see unexpected results, try their [Debugging](https://moment.github.io/luxon/#/parsing?id=debugging){:target="_blank" .external-link} guide. |
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### Get n days from today |
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Get a number of days before or after today. |
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=== "Expressions (JavaScript)" |
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For example, you want to set a field to always show the date seven days before the current date. |
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In the expressions editor, enter: |
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``` js |
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{{$today.minus({days: 7})}} |
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``` |
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On the 23rd June 2019, this returns `[Object: "2019-06-16T00:00:00.000+00:00"]`. |
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This example uses n8n's custom variable `$today` for convenience. It's the equivalent of `DateTime.now().set({ hour: 0, minute: 0, second: 0, millisecond: 0 }).minus({days: 7})`. |
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=== "Code node (JavaScript)" |
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For example, you want a variable containing the date seven days before the current date. |
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In the code editor, enter: |
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``` js |
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let sevenDaysAgo = $today.minus({days: 7}) |
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``` |
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On the 23rd June 2019, this returns `[Object: "2019-06-16T00:00:00.000+00:00"]`. |
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This example uses n8n's custom variable `$today` for convenience. It's the equivalent of `DateTime.now().set({ hour: 0, minute: 0, second: 0, millisecond: 0 }).minus({days: 7})`. |
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For more detailed information and examples, refer to: |
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* Luxon's [guide to math](https://moment.github.io/luxon/#/math) |
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* Their API documentation on [DateTime plus](https://moment.github.io/luxon/api-docs/index.html#datetimeplus) and [DateTime minus](https://moment.github.io/luxon/api-docs/index.html#datetimeminus) |
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### Create human-readable dates |
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In [Get n days from today](#get-n-days-from-today), the example gets the date seven days before the current date, and returns it as `[Object: "yyyy-mm-dd-T00:00:00.000+00:00"]` (for expressions) or `yyyy-mm-dd-T00:00:00.000+00:00` (in the Code node). To make this more readable, you can use Luxon's formatting functions. |
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For example, you want the field containing the date to be formatted as DD/MM/YYYY, so that on the 23rd June 2019, it returns `23/06/2019`. |
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This expression gets the date seven days before today, and converts it to the DD/MM/YYYY format. |
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=== "Expressions (JavaScript)" |
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```js |
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{{$today.minus({days: 7}).toLocaleString()}} |
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``` |
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=== "Code node (JavaScript)" |
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```js |
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let readableSevenDaysAgo = $today.minus({days: 7}).toLocaleString() |
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``` |
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You can alter the format. For example: |
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=== "Expressions (JavaScript)" |
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```js |
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{{$today.minus({days: 7}).toLocaleString({month: 'long', day: 'numeric', year: 'numeric'})}} |
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``` |
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On 23rd June 2019, this returns "16 June 2019". |
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=== "Code node (JavaScript)" |
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```js |
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let readableSevenDaysAgo = $today.minus({days: 7}).toLocaleString({month: 'long', day: 'numeric', year: 'numeric'}) |
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``` |
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On 23rd June 2019, this returns "16 June 2019". |
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Refer to Luxon's guide on [toLocaleString (strings for humans)](https://moment.github.io/luxon/#/formatting?id=tolocalestring-strings-for-humans){:target="_blank" .external-link} for more information. |
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### Get the time between two dates |
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To get the time between two dates, use Luxon's diffs feature. This subtracts one date from another and returns a duration. |
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For example, get the number of months between two dates: |
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=== "Expressions (JavaScript)" |
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```js |
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{{DateTime.fromISO('2019-06-23').diff(DateTime.fromISO('2019-05-23'), 'months').toObject()}} |
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``` |
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This returns `[Object: {"months":1}]`. |
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=== "Code node (JavaScript)" |
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```js |
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let monthsBetweenDates = DateTime.fromISO('2019-06-23').diff(DateTime.fromISO('2019-05-23'), 'months').toObject() |
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``` |
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This returns `{"months":1}`. |
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Refer to Luxon's [Diffs](https://moment.github.io/luxon/#/math?id=diffs){:target=_blank .external-link} for more information. |
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### A longer example: How many days to Christmas? |
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This example brings together several Luxon features, uses JMESPath, and does some basic string manipulation. |
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The scenario: you want a countdown to 25th December. Every day, it should tell you the number of days remaining to Christmas. You don't want to update it for next year - it needs to seamlessly work for every year. |
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=== "Expressions (JavaScript)" |
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```js |
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{{"There are " + $today.diff(DateTime.fromISO($today.year + '-12-25'), 'days').toObject().days.toString().substring(1) + " days to Christmas!"}} |
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``` |
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This outputs `"There are <number of days> days to Christmas!"`. For example, on 9th March, it outputs "There are 291 days to Christmas!". |
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A detailed explanation of what the expression does: |
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* `{{`: indicates the start of the expression. |
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* `"There are "`: a string. |
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* `+`: used to join two strings. |
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* `$today.diff()`: This is similar to the example in [Get the time between two dates](#get-the-time-between-two-dates), but it uses n8n's custom `$today` variable. |
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* `DateTime.fromISO($today.year + '-12-25'), 'days'`: this part gets the current year using `$today.year`, turns it into an ISO string along with the month and date, and then takes the whole ISO string and converts it to a Luxon DateTime data structure. It also tells Luxon that you want the duration in days. |
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* `toObject()` turns the result of diff() into a more usable object. At this point, the expression returns `[Object: {"days":-<number-of-days>}]`. For example, on 9th March, `[Object: {"days":-291}]`. |
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* `.days` uses JMESPath syntax to retrieve just the number of days from the object. For more information on using JMESPath with n8n, refer to our [JMESpath](/code/cookbook/jmespath.md) documentation. This gives you the number of days to Christmas, as a negative number. |
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* `.toString().substring(1)` turns the number into a string and removes the `-`. |
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* `+ " days to Christmas!"`: another string, with a `+` to join it to the previous string. |
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* `}}`: indicates the end of the expression. |
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=== "Code node (JavaScript)" |
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```js |
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let daysToChristmas = "There are " + $today.diff(DateTime.fromISO($today.year + '-12-25'), 'days').toObject().days.toString().substring(1) + " days to Christmas!"; |
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``` |
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This outputs `"There are <number of days> days to Christmas!"`. For example, on 9th March, it outputs "There are 291 days to Christmas!". |
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A detailed explanation of what the code does: |
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* `"There are "`: a string. |
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* `+`: used to join two strings. |
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* `$today.diff()`: This is similar to the example in [Get the time between two dates](#get-the-time-between-two-dates), but it uses n8n's custom `$today` variable. |
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* `DateTime.fromISO($today.year + '-12-25'), 'days'`: this part gets the current year using `$today.year`, turns it into an ISO string along with the month and date, and then takes the whole ISO string and converts it to a Luxon DateTime data structure. It also tells Luxon that you want the duration in days. |
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* `toObject()` turns the result of diff() into a more usable object. At this point, the expression returns `[Object: {"days":-<number-of-days>}]`. For example, on 9th March, `[Object: {"days":-291}]`. |
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* `.days` uses JMESPath syntax to retrieve just the number of days from the object. For more information on using JMESPath with n8n, refer to our [JMESpath](/code/cookbook/jmespath.md) documentation. This gives you the number of days to Christmas, as a negative number. |
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* `.toString().substring(1)` turns the number into a string and removes the `-`. |
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* `+ " days to Christmas!"`: another string, with a `+` to join it to the previous string. |
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