Date and Time Conversions

Dates and times can show up in a variety of formats and configurations, often requiring translations or conversions for data storage systems, reports, web pages, and more. The APOC date functions allow users to take these Long or String values and manipulate them for different types of format requirements.

If you need to manipulate Date object types into other formats, see Temporal Functions.

Notes on formats for dates and times:

the default format is yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss
if the format pattern doesn’t specify timezone, formatter considers dates to belong to the UTC timezone
if the timezone pattern is specified, the timezone is extracted from the date string, otherwise an error will be reported
the to/fromSeconds timestamp values are in POSIX (Unix time) system, i.e. timestamps represent the number of seconds elapsed since 00:00:00 UTC, Thursday, 1 January 1970
the full list of supported formats is described in SimpleDateFormat JavaDoc

Procedure Overview

The table below describes the available procedures:

Qualified Name Type Release

Qualified Name	Type	Release
apoc.date.add - given a timestamp in one time unit, adds a value of the specified time unit	`Function`	`APOC Core`
apoc.date.convert - convert a timestamp in one time unit into one of a different time unit	`Function`	`APOC Core`
apoc.date.convertFormat - convert a String of one date format into a String of another date format.	`Function`	`APOC Core`
apoc.date.currentTimestamp - returns System.currentTimeMillis() at the time it was called. The value is current throughout transaction execution, and is different from Cypher’s timestamp() function, which does not update within a transaction.	`Function`	`APOC Core`
apoc.date.field	`Function`	`APOC Core`
apoc.date.fields - return columns and a map representation of date parsed with the given format with entries for years,months,weekdays,days,hours,minutes,seconds,zoneid	`Function`	`APOC Core`
apoc.date.format - get string representation of time value optionally using the specified unit (default ms) using specified format (default ISO) and specified time zone (default current TZ)	`Function`	`APOC Core`
apoc.date.fromISO8601 - return number representation of time in EPOCH format	`Function`	`APOC Core`
apoc.date.parse - parse date string using the specified format into the specified time unit	`Function`	`APOC Core`
apoc.date.parseAsZonedDateTime - parse date string using the specified format to specified timezone	`Function`	`APOC Core`
apoc.date.systemTimezone - returns the system timezone display name	`Function`	`APOC Core`
apoc.date.toISO8601 - return string representation of time in ISO8601 format	`Function`	`APOC Core`
apoc.date.toYears - converts timestamp into floating point years	`Function`	`APOC Core`

apoc.date.add

- given a timestamp in one time unit, adds a value of the specified time unit

Function

APOC Core

apoc.date.convert

- convert a timestamp in one time unit into one of a different time unit

Function

APOC Core

apoc.date.convertFormat

- convert a String of one date format into a String of another date format.

Function

APOC Core

apoc.date.currentTimestamp

- returns System.currentTimeMillis() at the time it was called. The value is current throughout transaction execution, and is different from Cypher’s timestamp() function, which does not update within a transaction.

Function

APOC Core

apoc.date.field

Function

APOC Core

apoc.date.fields

- return columns and a map representation of date parsed with the given format with entries for years,months,weekdays,days,hours,minutes,seconds,zoneid

Function

APOC Core

apoc.date.format

- get string representation of time value optionally using the specified unit (default ms) using specified format (default ISO) and specified time zone (default current TZ)

Function

APOC Core

apoc.date.fromISO8601

- return number representation of time in EPOCH format

Function

APOC Core

apoc.date.parse

- parse date string using the specified format into the specified time unit

Function

APOC Core

apoc.date.parseAsZonedDateTime

- parse date string using the specified format to specified timezone

Function

APOC Core

apoc.date.systemTimezone

- returns the system timezone display name

Function

APOC Core

apoc.date.toISO8601

- return string representation of time in ISO8601 format

Function

APOC Core

apoc.date.toYears

- converts timestamp into floating point years

Function

APOC Core

`apoc.date.add`

This function can add or subtract time unit values to or from dates in the epoch format.

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`apoc.date.add(time :: INTEGER?, unit :: STRING?, addValue :: INTEGER?, addUnit :: STRING?) :: (INTEGER?)`

apoc.date.add(time :: INTEGER?, unit :: STRING?, addValue :: INTEGER?, addUnit :: STRING?) :: (INTEGER?)

It accepts the following parameters:

Table 1. Config
name	type	description	potential values
time	Integer	the date value (in epoch integer format) to operate upon
unit	String	the specificity of the input value	`ms,s,m,h,d` or long forms (`millis,seconds,minutes,hours,days`)
addValue	Integer	the number to add or subtract from the time
addUnit	String	the unit type to add or subtract	`ms,s,m,h,d` or long forms

View usage examples

`apoc.date.convert`

This function converts date values of one time unit to date values of a different time unit.

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`apoc.date.convert(time :: INTEGER?, unit :: STRING?, toUnit :: STRING?) :: (INTEGER?)`

apoc.date.convert(time :: INTEGER?, unit :: STRING?, toUnit :: STRING?) :: (INTEGER?)

It accepts the following parameters:

Table 2. Config
name	type	description	potential values
time	Integer	the date value (in epoch integer format) to operate upon
unit	String	the specificity of the input value	`ms,s,m,h,d` or long forms (`millis,seconds,minutes,hours,days`)
toUnit	String	the unit type for the output value	`ms,s,m,h,d` or long forms

View usage examples

`apoc.date.convertFormat`

This function converts date strings of one format to date strings of a different format.

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`apoc.date.convertFormat(temporal :: STRING?, currentFormat :: STRING?, convertTo = yyyy-MM-dd :: STRING?) :: (STRING?)`

apoc.date.convertFormat(temporal :: STRING?, currentFormat :: STRING?, convertTo = yyyy-MM-dd :: STRING?) :: (STRING?)

It accepts the following parameters:

Table 3. Config
name	type	description	potential values
temporal	String	the date string that needs converted
currentFormat	String	the format of the input date string	see the Java documentation for full list (under Patterns for Formatting and Parsing)
convertTo	String	the format for the output temporal type	can be specified manually with Java formats or as built-in formats

View usage examples

`apoc.date.currentTimestamp`

This function returns the current timestamp from the system at the time it is called. It provides the System.currentTimeMillis(), which is current throughout transaction execution, and is different from Cypher’s timestamp() function, which does not update within a transaction.

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`apoc.date.currentTimestamp() :: (INTEGER?)`

apoc.date.currentTimestamp() :: (INTEGER?)

It accepts no parameters.

View usage examples

`apoc.date.field`

This function extracts the value of one field from a date in epoch format.

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`apoc.date.field(time :: INTEGER?, unit = d :: STRING?, timezone = UTC :: STRING?) :: (INTEGER?)`

apoc.date.field(time :: INTEGER?, unit = d :: STRING?, timezone = UTC :: STRING?) :: (INTEGER?)

In version 3.4 Neo4j introduced temporal data types, which are the recommended way of representing dates in Neo4j. Fields of a temporal type can be retrieved using Cypher’s instance.field function. (e.g. datetime({epochMillis: dateInteger}).year) See the Cypher documentation for more details on the syntax.

If, however, you still need to convert timestamp formats, this procedure provides that functionality.

It accepts the following parameters:

Table 4. Config
name	type	description	potential values
time	Integer	the date value (in epoch integer format) to operate upon
unit	String	the specificity of the input value	`ms,s,m,h,d` or long forms (`millis,seconds,minutes,hours,days`)
timezone	String	the timezone of the resulting date string	can be specified with GMT or database (text) name, as listed for timezones

View usage examples

`apoc.date.fields`

This function extracts values of all fields from a date in epoch format and returns the columns and a map representation.

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`apoc.date.fields(date :: STRING?, pattern = yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss :: STRING?) :: (MAP?)`

apoc.date.fields(date :: STRING?, pattern = yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss :: STRING?) :: (MAP?)

If, however, you still need to convert timestamp formats, this procedure provides that functionality.

It accepts the following parameters:

Table 5. Config
name	type	description	potential values
date	String	the date string that needs formatted	date string in an ISO8601 standard format
pattern	String	the format of the input date string	see the Java documentation for full list (under Patterns for Formatting and Parsing)

View usage examples

`apoc.date.format`

This function converts dates in epoch format to date strings with a specified format.

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`apoc.date.format(time :: INTEGER?, unit = ms :: STRING?, format = yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss :: STRING?, timezone = :: STRING?) :: (STRING?)`

apoc.date.format(time :: INTEGER?, unit = ms :: STRING?, format = yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss :: STRING?, timezone = :: STRING?) :: (STRING?)

It accepts the following parameters:

Table 6. Config
name	type	description	potential values
time	Integer	the date value (in epoch integer format) to operate upon
unit	String	the specificity of the input value	`ms,s,m,h,d` or long forms (`millis,seconds,minutes,hours,days`)
format	String	the format for the output date string	can be specified manually with Java formats or as built-in formats
timezone	String	the timezone of the resulting date string	can be specified with GMT or database (text) name, as listed for timezones

View usage examples

`apoc.date.fromISO8601`

This function converts date strings in an ISO8601 standard format to dates in epoch format.

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`apoc.date.format(time :: INTEGER?, unit = ms :: STRING?, format = yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss :: STRING?, timezone = :: STRING?) :: (STRING?)`

apoc.date.format(time :: INTEGER?, unit = ms :: STRING?, format = yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss :: STRING?, timezone = :: STRING?) :: (STRING?)

It accepts the following parameters:

Table 7. Config
name	type	description	potential values
time	String	the date string that needs formatted	date string in an ISO8601 standard format

The date string timezone expects only a GMT+00:00 format of Z as the timezone specifier. Other timezone specifications are not supported by this procedure.

View usage examples

`apoc.date.parse`

This function parses a date string in one format and converts it to a date of the specified time unit in Epoch format.

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`apoc.date.parse(time :: STRING?, unit = ms :: STRING?, format = yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss :: STRING?, timezone = :: STRING?) :: (INTEGER?)`

apoc.date.parse(time :: STRING?, unit = ms :: STRING?, format = yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss :: STRING?, timezone = :: STRING?) :: (INTEGER?)

It accepts the following parameters:

Table 8. Config
name	type	description	potential values
time	String	the date string that needs formatted	date string in an ISO8601 standard format
unit	String	the specificity desired for the output date value	`ms,s,m,h,d` or long forms (`millis,seconds,minutes,hours,days`)
format	String	the format of the date string to convert	see the Java documentation for full list (under Patterns for Formatting and Parsing)
timezone	String	the timezone of the resulting date string	can be specified with GMT or database (text) name, as listed for timezones

View usage examples

`apoc.date.parseAsZonedDateTime`

This function parses a date string in a specified format and converts it to a Neo4j-supported temporal type with date, time, and timezone.

This function has been deprecated by apoc.temporal.toZonedTemporal, therefore it’s recommended to use that one instead. See Temporal Functions.

`apoc.date.systemTimezone`

This function returns the timezone display name of the system.

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`apoc.date.systemTimezone() :: (STRING?)`

apoc.date.systemTimezone() :: (STRING?)

It accepts no parameters.

View usage examples

`apoc.date.toISO8601`

This function converts dates in epoch format to date strings in ISO8601 standard format.

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`apoc.date.toISO8601(time :: INTEGER?, unit = ms :: STRING?) :: (STRING?)`

apoc.date.toISO8601(time :: INTEGER?, unit = ms :: STRING?) :: (STRING?)

It accepts the following parameters:

Table 9. Config
name	type	description	potential values
time	Integer	the date value (in epoch integer format) to operate upon
unit	String	the specificity of the input value	`ms,s,m,h,d` or long forms (`millis,seconds,minutes,hours,days`)

View usage examples

`apoc.date.toYears`

This function can make a couple of different conversions.

Convert dates in epoch millisecond format to the number of years that have passed since the Unix epoch time of January 1, 1970.
Convert date strings in specified formats to the number of years that have passed since the year 0.

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`apoc.date.toISO8601(time :: INTEGER?, unit = ms :: STRING?) :: (STRING?)`

apoc.date.toISO8601(time :: INTEGER?, unit = ms :: STRING?) :: (STRING?)

It accepts the following parameters for each conversion:

Table 10. Config - epoch to years
name	type	description	potential values
value	Integer	the date value (in epoch millisecond integer format) to operate upon	NOTE: the timestamp must be in `ms` format!

Table 11. Config - string date to years
name	type	description	potential values
value	String	the date string that needs formatted	date string in an ISO8601 standard format
format	String	the format of the date string to convert	see the Java documentation for full list (under Patterns for Formatting and Parsing)

View usage examples