How to Format a JavaScript Date

1. Format a JavaScript Data Using toTimeString() in JavaScript
2. Format a JavaScript Data Using toUTCString() in JavaScript
3. Format a JavaScript Data Using toDateString() in JavaScript
4. Format a JavaScript Data Using toLocaleString() in JavaScript
5. Format a JavaScript Data Using toLocaleTimeString() in JavaScript
6. Use the Custom Functions to Format the Date in JavaScript
7. Use Moment.js Package With Node.js to Format the Date in JavaScript
8. Use the dateformat Package With Node.js

This tutorial explains how to format a JavaScript date.

We can get the current date and time by using the JavaScript Date object. We can format the date by writing our own custom functions and using libraries like moment.js.

First, we create a variable named date using the Date object to get the current date and time.

var date = new Date();

We will show the result of all formatting functions applied to this variable.

Format a JavaScript Data Using toTimeString() in JavaScript

toTimeString() helps extract just the string containing information about time from the date variable.

var date = new Date();
result = date.toTimeString();
console.log(result);

Output:

"20:07:37 GMT+0100 (Central European Standard Time)"

Format a JavaScript Data Using toUTCString() in JavaScript

This method returns the Greenwich Mean Time or the Coordinated Universal Time from the current country’s time stored in the variable.

var date = new Date();
result = date.toUTCString();
console.log(result);

Output:

"Thu, 18 Mar 2021 19:09:40 GMT"

Format a JavaScript Data Using toDateString() in JavaScript

This method extracts the date and returns it in the form of a string.

var date = new Date();
result = date.toDateString();
console.log(result);

Output:

"Thu Mar 18 2021"

Format a JavaScript Data Using toISOString() in JavaScript

It returns a string containing the date/time in ISO 8601 format.

var date = new Date();
result = date.toISOString();
console.log(result);

Output:

"2021-03-18T19:11:35.957Z"

Format a JavaScript Data Using toLocaleString() in JavaScript

It converts the date object to a string using the locale settings.

var date = new Date();
result = date.toLocaleString();
console.log(result);

Output:

"3/18/2021, 8:13:03 PM"

Format a JavaScript Data Using toLocaleTimeString() in JavaScript

It converts the date object but extracts only the time to a string using the locale settings.

var date = new Date();
result = date.toLocaleTimeString();
console.log(result);

Output:

"8:14:22 PM"

Use the Custom Functions to Format the Date in JavaScript

Date Format dd-mm-yyyy or dd/mm/yyyy and Similar Patterns

We use the methods getDate(), getMonth(), and getFullYear() to get the parts of the date in pieces and concatenate them using the symbol we want and in the order we want.

For example we can get dd/mm/yyyy, dd-mm-yyyy, mm-dd-yyyy, mm/yyyy in whatever way we like by writing a custom function like we have written below.

var date = new Date();
const formatDate = (date) => {
  let formatted_date =
      date.getDate() + '-' + (date.getMonth() + 1) + '-' + date.getFullYear()
  return formatted_date;
} console.log(formatDate(date));

Output:

"18-3-2021"

We can also put the month’s name like January, February, March, inside the date string.

var date = new Date();
const months = [
  'JAN', 'FEB', 'MAR', 'APR', 'MAY', 'JUN', 'JUL', 'AUG', 'SEP', 'OCT', 'NOV',
  'DEC'
];

const formatDate = (date) => {
  let formatted_date =
      date.getDate() + '-' + months[date.getMonth()] + '-' + date.getFullYear()
  return formatted_date;
} console.log(formatDate(date));

Output:

"18-MAR-2021"

Date Format yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss and Similar Patterns

We use all the methods getDate(), getMonth() and getFullYear() , getHour(), getminutes(), getsecond() to get the parts of date and time individually and concatenate them using the symbol we want and in the order we want.

var date = new Date();

const formatDate =
    (current_datetime) => {
      let formatted_date = current_datetime.getFullYear() + '-' +
          (current_datetime.getMonth() + 1) + '-' + current_datetime.getDate() +
          ' ' + current_datetime.getHours() + ':' +
          current_datetime.getMinutes() + ':' + current_datetime.getSeconds();
      return formatted_date;
    }

                          console.log(formatDate(date));

Output:

"2021-3-18 20:21:2"

Use Moment.js Package With Node.js to Format the Date in JavaScript

It is considered the best date and time library in JavaScript. It is straightforward to use, and one does not need to memorize and build all these different functions. Users can easily write a string template according to their formatting needs.

const moment = require('moment');
let m = moment();
m.format('[Time: ] h:mm:ss a');  // output of the form `Time: 11:39:03 pm`

The above code demonstrates one of the ways moment.js allows us to format date and time using the Node REPL.

Use the dateformat Package With Node.js

Another package like Moment.js can help us to format Date. It works with both Node.js and Browser-side JavaScript. It extends the Date object by including a .format() method.

Browser Side

Day = new Date();
Day.format('dd-m-yy');  // Returns '16-3-21'

The above code displays the simplicity of using dateformat package with the Date object.

Node.js

const dateformat = require('dateformat');
let now = new Date();
dateformat(now, 'dddd, mmmm dS, yyyy, h:MM:ss TT');  // returns 'Tuesday, March
                                                     // 16th, 2021, 11:32:08 PM'

The above code demonstrates the use of dateformat package to format date with Node REPL.