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Timestamp Types

Timestamps represent points in absolute time, usually called instants. DuckDB represents instants as the number of microseconds (µs) (or nanoseconds, for `TIMESTAMP_NS`) since `1970-01-01 00:00:00+00`.

## Timestamp Types

Name | Aliases | Description
--- | --- | ---
`TIMESTAMP_NS` |  | timestamp with nanosecond precision (ignores time zone)
`TIMESTAMP` | `DATETIME` | timestamp with microsecond precision (ignores time zone)
`TIMESTAMP_MS` |  | timestamp with millisecond precision (ignores time zone)
`TIMESTAMP_S` |  | timestamp with second precision (ignores time zone)
`TIMESTAMPTZ` | `TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE` | timestamp with microsecond precision (uses time zone)

A timestamp specifies a combination of `DATE` (year, month, day) and a `TIME` (hour, minute, second, microsecond or nanosecond). Timestamps can be created using the `TIMESTAMP` keyword, where the data must be formatted according to the ISO 8601 format (`YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss[.zzzzzz][+-TT[:tt]]` (three extra decimal places supported by `TIMESTAMP_NS`). Decimal places beyond the targeted sub-second precision are ignored.

> Since there is not currently a `TIMESTAMP_NS WITH TIME ZONE` data type, external columns with nano-second precision and "instant semantics", e.g., parquet timestamp columns with `isAdjustedToUTC=true`, lose precision when read using DuckDB.

    SELECT TIMESTAMP_NS '1992-09-20 11:30:00.123456789';

    1992-09-20 11:30:00.123456789

    SELECT TIMESTAMP '1992-09-20 11:30:00.123456789';

    1992-09-20 11:30:00.123456

    SELECT DATETIME '1992-09-20 11:30:00.123456789';

    1992-09-20 11:30:00.123456

    SELECT TIMESTAMP_MS '1992-09-20 11:30:00.123456789';

    1992-09-20 11:30:00.123

    SELECT TIMESTAMP_S '1992-09-20 11:30:00.123456789';

    1992-09-20 11:30:00

    SELECT TIMESTAMPTZ '1992-09-20 11:30:00.123456789';

    1992-09-20 11:30:00.123456+00

    SELECT TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE '1992-09-20 11:30:00.123456789';

    1992-09-20 11:30:00.123456+00

## Special Values

There are also three special date values that can be used on input:

Input string | Valid types | Description
--- | --- | ---
`epoch` | `TIMESTAMP`, `TIMESTAMPTZ` | 1970-01-01 00:00:00+00 (Unix system time zero)
`infinity` | `TIMESTAMP`, `TIMESTAMPTZ` | later than all other time stamps
`-infinity` | `TIMESTAMP`, `TIMESTAMPTZ` | earlier than all other time stamps

The values `infinity` and `-infinity` are specially represented inside the system and will be displayed unchanged; but `epoch` is simply a notational shorthand that will be converted to the time stamp value when read.

    SELECT '-infinity'::TIMESTAMP, 'epoch'::TIMESTAMP, 'infinity'::TIMESTAMP;

Negative | Epoch | Positive
--- | --- | ---
-infinity | 1970-01-01 00:00:00 | infinity

## Functions

See Timestamp Functions.

## Time Zones

The `TIMESTAMPTZ` type can be binned into calendar and clock bins using a suitable extension. The built-in ICU extension implements all the binning and arithmetic functions using the International Components for Unicode time zone and calendar functions.

To set the time zone to use, first load the ICU extension. The ICU extension comes pre-bundled with several DuckDB clients (including Python, R, JDBC, and ODBC), so this step can be skipped in those cases. In other cases you might first need to install and load the ICU extension.

    INSTALL icu;
    LOAD icu;

Next, use the `SET TimeZone` command:

    SET TimeZone = 'America/Los_Angeles';

Time binning operations for `TIMESTAMPTZ` will then be implemented using the given time zone.

A list of available time zones can be pulled from the `pg_timezone_names()` table function:

    SELECT
        name,
        abbrev,
        utc_offset
    FROM pg_timezone_names()
    ORDER BY
        name;

You can also find a reference table of available time zones.

## Calendars

The ICU extension also supports non-Gregorian calendars using the `SET Calendar` command. Note that the `INSTALL` and `LOAD` steps are only required if the DuckDB client does not bundle the ICU extension.

    INSTALL icu;
    LOAD icu;
    SET Calendar = 'japanese';

Time binning operations for `TIMESTAMPTZ` will then be implemented using the given calendar. In this example, the `era` part will now report the Japanese imperial era number.

A list of available calendars can be pulled from the `icu_calendar_names()` table function:

    SELECT name
    FROM icu_calendar_names()
    ORDER BY 1;

## Settings

The current value of the `TimeZone` and `Calendar` settings are determined by ICU when it starts up. They can be queried from in the `duckdb_settings()` table function:

    SELECT *
    FROM duckdb_settings()
    WHERE name = 'TimeZone';

name | value | description | input_type
--- | --- | --- | ---
TimeZone | Europe/Amsterdam | The current time zone | VARCHAR

    SELECT *
    FROM duckdb_settings()
    WHERE name = 'Calendar';

name | value | description | input_type
--- | --- | --- | ---
Calendar | gregorian | The current calendar | VARCHAR

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