JavaScript Date getTime()
Syntax & Examples

Date.getTime() method

The getTime() method of the Date object in JavaScript returns the numeric value of the specified date as the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. Negative values are returned for prior times.

Syntax of Date.getTime()

The syntax of Date.getTime() method is:

getTime()

This getTime() method of Date returns the numeric value of the specified date as the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. (Negative values are returned for prior times.)

Return Type

Date.getTime() returns value of type Number.


✐ Examples

1 Using getTime() to get the milliseconds of a specific date

In JavaScript, we can use the getTime() method to get the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC from a Date object.

For example,

  1. We create a new Date object date representing January 15, 2021, at 15:30:00.
  2. We use the getTime() method to get the milliseconds from date.
  3. The milliseconds are stored in the variable milliseconds.
  4. We log milliseconds to the console using console.log() method.

JavaScript Program

const date = new Date('2021-01-15T15:30:00');
const milliseconds = date.getTime();
console.log(milliseconds);

Output

1610721000000

2 Using getTime() with the current date

In JavaScript, we can use the getTime() method to get the current number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC from the current date.

For example,

  1. We create a new Date object now representing the current date and time.
  2. We use the getTime() method to get the current milliseconds from now.
  3. The current milliseconds are stored in the variable currentMilliseconds.
  4. We log currentMilliseconds to the console using console.log() method.

JavaScript Program

const now = new Date();
const currentMilliseconds = now.getTime();
console.log(currentMilliseconds);

Output

1622461330000

3 Using getTime() with a specific date in the past

In JavaScript, we can use the getTime() method to get the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC from a specific date in the past.

For example,

  1. We create a new Date object pastDate representing July 4, 1776, at 12:00:00.
  2. We use the getTime() method to get the milliseconds from pastDate.
  3. The milliseconds are stored in the variable pastMilliseconds.
  4. We log pastMilliseconds to the console using console.log() method.

JavaScript Program

const pastDate = new Date('1776-07-04T12:00:00');
const pastMilliseconds = pastDate.getTime();
console.log(pastMilliseconds);

Output

-6106060800000

Summary

In this JavaScript tutorial, we learned about getTime() method of Date: the syntax and few working examples with output and detailed explanation for each example.