Syntax
date.setFullYear(year)
date.toISOString()
date.toLocaleDateString()Examples
Setter Methods
Modifying parts of an existing Date object.
const date = new Date(2024, 0, 1); // January 1, 2024
date.setFullYear(2025);
date.setMonth(5); // June (0-indexed)
date.setDate(15);
console.log(date); // June 15, 2025ISO String - For APIs and Storage
The standardized format, ideal for sending dates to a server.
const date = new Date(2024, 5, 15, 14, 30);
console.log(date.toISOString());
// "2024-06-15T13:30:00.000Z" (converted to UTC)Locale-Formatted Display Strings
Formatting dates for human-readable display.
const date = new Date(2024, 5, 15);
console.log(date.toDateString()); // "Sat Jun 15 2024"
console.log(date.toLocaleDateString()); // "6/15/2024" (locale-dependent)
console.log(date.toLocaleDateString("en-GB")); // "15/06/2024"
console.log(date.toLocaleDateString("en-US", {
weekday: "long", year: "numeric", month: "long", day: "numeric"
})); // "Saturday, June 15, 2024"Best practices
- Use toISOString() when sending dates to a server or storing them - it is unambiguous and timezone-standardized (UTC)
- Use toLocaleDateString() with explicit locale and options for user-facing display, rather than the raw toDateString() output
- Remember setter methods mutate the Date object in place - copy it first with new Date(originalDate) if you need to preserve the original
- Be mindful of time zone differences - toISOString() converts to UTC, which can shift the displayed date/time relative to the user's local time
At a glance
- Purpose
- Application logic and interaction
- File extension
- .js · .mjs
- Runs in
- Browsers and JavaScript runtimes
- Usually used with
- HTML, CSS and Web APIs
Specifications & further reading
Related JavaScript documentation
Date: Creating and Getting Values
The Date object represents a single moment in time. new Date() with no arguments creates the current date/time; it also accepts a specific date, individual components (year, month, day...), or a timestamp. Getter methods like getFullYear(), getMonth(), and getDate() extract individual components - note that getMonth() is zero-indexed (0 = January).Temporal API
Temporal is the modern, immutable replacement for the long-criticized Date object, reaching TC39 Stage 4 and becoming part of the ECMAScript 2026 specification. It fixes Date's biggest pain points: no built-in time zone support, confusing zero-indexed months, and mutable objects that are easy to accidentally modify. Temporal provides distinct types for different use cases - PlainDate, PlainTime, ZonedDateTime, Duration, and more.Arrow Functions
Arrow functions provide a more concise syntax for writing function expressions in JavaScript. Introduced in ES6, they use the => syntax and have some important differences from regular functions, particularly in how they handle the "this" keyword. Arrow functions are especially useful for callbacks, array methods, and short inline functions.Async/Await
Async/await is modern JavaScript syntax for handling asynchronous operations, making asynchronous code look and behave like synchronous code. The async keyword marks a function as asynchronous, and await pauses execution until a Promise resolves. This approach makes asynchronous code more readable and easier to understand than traditional Promise chains or callbacks.
The Date object represents a single moment in time. new Date() with no arguments creates the current date/time; it also accepts a specific date, individual components (year, month, day...), or a timestamp. Getter methods like getFullYear(), getMonth(), and getDate() extract individual components - note that getMonth() is zero-indexed (0 = January).Temporal API
Temporal is the modern, immutable replacement for the long-criticized Date object, reaching TC39 Stage 4 and becoming part of the ECMAScript 2026 specification. It fixes Date's biggest pain points: no built-in time zone support, confusing zero-indexed months, and mutable objects that are easy to accidentally modify. Temporal provides distinct types for different use cases - PlainDate, PlainTime, ZonedDateTime, Duration, and more.Arrow Functions
Arrow functions provide a more concise syntax for writing function expressions in JavaScript. Introduced in ES6, they use the => syntax and have some important differences from regular functions, particularly in how they handle the "this" keyword. Arrow functions are especially useful for callbacks, array methods, and short inline functions.Async/Await
Async/await is modern JavaScript syntax for handling asynchronous operations, making asynchronous code look and behave like synchronous code. The async keyword marks a function as asynchronous, and await pauses execution until a Promise resolves. This approach makes asynchronous code more readable and easier to understand than traditional Promise chains or callbacks.