DATE(1)

📦 version 1.053, in alpine 3.24

💅 DATE(1) — like, the whole manual page, bestie ✨

okay so real talk: this is DATE(1), which lives in the User Contributed Perl Documentation corner of the world (yes, the manual name is literally User Contributed Perl Documentation, and the page is numbered 1, section one, your classic user-commands zone 🫶). It's the date page. It displays the date. And the time. Iconic behaviour, honestly.

🌸 NAME 🌸

date — display date and time

that's it. that's the whole name section. short, sweet, ate 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

here's the whole vibe menu, exactly as written, no cap:

        # show the local date in the default format
        % date

        # show the UTC date in the default format
        % date -u

        # display version, help
        % date -v
        % date -h

        # show the local date in the specified format
        % date +FORMAT

        # show the GMT date in the specified format
        % date -u +FORMAT

        # show local date in ISO 8601 format
        % date -I

        # show local date in RFC 2822 format
        % date -R

🎀 breaking that down, one slay at a time

% date — shows the local date in the default format. your everyday main character command 💖
% date -u — shows the UTC date in the default format. UTC girlies rise 🌍
% date -v — displays the version. perfect for when you need receipts 🧾
% date -h — displays help. your emotional support flag 🫶
% date +FORMAT — shows the local date in the specified format (FORMAT is the placeholder, so swap in whatever format you're feeling) ⭐
% date -u +FORMAT — shows the GMT date in the specified format. yes, -u in the synopsis, described as GMT here — that's literally what the page says, so I'm repeating it fr fr 🌈
% date -I — shows the local date in ISO 8601 format. organised queen behaviour 👑
% date -R — shows the local date in RFC 2822 format. fancy standards energy 🦋

lowkey reminder: those lines above are the synopsis, so it's showing you the shapes the command can take — FORMAT is a stand-in, not a string you type literally. ikyk 😌

no sign-off yet bestie, there's more of this page coming 💜

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

okay bestie so this is the whole entire personality of date — every switch you can flip and every single little code you can drop after a % to make it spill absolutely everything about time. two subsections, both iconic, let's go 💅

🎀 Options

+FORMAT — bestie this is how you specify the date format, like you're telling it exactly how to read your energy back to you ✨
-h — show the help message and then exit, the classic "wait what does this do again" move 🫶
-I — use the ISO 8601 date format: "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%:z" — the standard-est standard that ever standarded 👑
-R — use RFC 2822 format: "%a, %d %b %Y %T %z" — for when you need it to look like an email header, periodt 🦋
-u — use UTC time instead of local time, the no-drama choice 🌍
-v — show the version and exit, quick lil vibe check 💀

🌈 Formats

okay this is the part everyone screenshots and sends in the group chat. every % code, all of them, no gatekeeping:

%% — literally just the character %. that's it. that's the whole thing 🌸
%a — three-letter weekday name
%A — the full weekday name, no abbreviations, main character energy
%b — three-letter month name
%B — the full month name, spelled all the way out 💖
%c — the locale version of the date-time string
%C — century, 00-99
%d — day of month, padded w/ zero
%D — date in MM/DD/YY format
%e — day of month, but padded w/ space instead (fancy 💅)
%F — %Y-%m-%d
%g — ISO 8601 year
%G — ISO 8601 year — yes it's listed right next to %g with the exact same description, that's what the page says, don't come for me 😭
%h — three-letter month name
%H — hour HH
%I — hour HH, but 12 hour style
%j — three-digit Julian day
%k — hour, space padded
%l — hour, space padded, 12 hour
%m — month number 01-12
%M — minute MM
%n — newline, the humble king 🫶
%p — AM or PM
%P — like %p, but lowercase
%q — quarter of the year (1-4)
%r — time in HH(12 hour):MM:SS (AM|PM) format
%R — time in HH:MM format
%s — absolute seconds (since epoch), the raw number, unhinged behaviour honestly 🔥
%S — seconds SS
%t — tab
%T — time in HH:MM:SS format.
%u — day of week, 1=Monday, 7=Sunday.
%U — two digit week number, starting on Sunday.
%V — ISO week number, with Monday as the first day of week
%w — day of week, 0=Sunday, 6=Saturday.
%W — two digit week number, start Monday.
%x — locale's date representation
%X — locale's time representation
%y — two-digit year.
%Y — four-digit year.
%z — time zone offset in [+-]HHMM.
%:z — time zone offset in [+-]HH:MM.
%Z — time zone abbreviation, such as UTC or EST.

note bestie, this one's important 🪟: Windows does not use the POSIX time stuff, so we try to fake it. If you don't get what you expect for the time zone abbreviation please open an issue: https://github.com/briandfoy/PerlPowerTools/issues. If you look in the "date" file, you'll see a simple text list at the end that we use for Windows.

and that list? that's this list. here it is in full, unedited, every single line, because we don't summarise in this house 💜

__DATA__ Afghanistan Standard Time,Asia/Kabul,+0430 Alaskan Daylight
Time,America/Anchorage,-0900,AKDT Alaskan Standard
Time,America/Anchorage,-0800,AKST Aleutian Daylight
Time,America/Adak,-0900,HDT Aleutian Standard
Time,America/Adak,-1000,HST Altai Standard Time,Asia/Barnaul,+0700 Arab
Standard Time,Asia/Riyadh,+0300 Arabian Standard Time,Asia/Riyadh,+0300
Arabic Standard Time,Asia/Baghdad,+0300 Argentina Standard
Time,America/Argentina/Cordoba,-0300 Astrakhan Standard
Time,Europe/Astrakhan,+0400 Atlantic Daylight Time,America/Halifax,ADT
Atlantic Standard Time,America/Halifax,AST AUS Central Standard
Time,Australia/Adelaide,ACST Aus Central W. Standard
Time,Australia/Eucla,+0845 AUS Eastern Standard
Time,Australia/Sydney,AEST Azerbaijan Standard Time,Asia/Baku,+0400
Azores Daylight Time,Atlantic/Azores,+0000 Azores Standard
Time,Atlantic/Azores,-0100 Bahia Standard Time,America/Bahia,-0300
Bangladesh Standard Time,Asia/Dhaka,+0600 Belarus Standard
Time,Europe/Minsk,+0300 Bougainville Standard
Time,Pacific/Bougainville,+1100 Cabo Verde Standard
Time,Atlantic/Cape_Verde,-0100 Canada Central Standard
Time,America/Regina,CST Cape Verde Standard
Time,Atlantic/Cape_Verde,-0100 Caucasus Standard Time,Asia/Tbilisi,+0400
Cen. Australia Standard Time,Australia/Adelaide,ACST Central America
Standard Time,America/Belize,CST Central Asia Standard
Time,Asia/Almaty,+0600 Central Brazilian Standard
Time,America/Cuiaba,-0400 Central Daylight Time
(Mexico),America/Mexico_City,CDT Central Daylight
Time,America/Chicago,CDT Central Europe Daylight Time,Europe/Paris,CEST
Central Europe Standard Time,Europe/Paris,CET Central European Daylight
Time,Europe/Paris,CEST Central European Standard Time,Europe/Paris,CET
Central Pacific Standard Time,Pacific/Guadalcanal,+1100 Central Standard
Time (Mexico),America/Mexico_City,CST Central Standard
Time,America/Chicago,CST Chatham Islands Standard
Time,Pacific/Chatham,+1245 China Standard Time,Asia/Shanghai,CST Cuba
Daylight Time,America/Havana,CDT Cuba Standard Time,America/Havana,CST
Dateline Standard Time,, E. Africa Standard Time,Africa/Nairobi,EAT E.
Australia Standard Time,Australia/Sydney,AEST E. Europe Daylight
Time,Europe/Bucharest,EEST E. Europe Standard Time,Europe/Bucharest,EET
E. South America Standard Time,America/Argentina/Cordoba,-0300 Easter
Island Standard Time,Pacific/Easter,-0600 Eastern Daylight
Time,America/New_York,EDT Eastern Standard Time,America/New_York,EST
Egypt Standard Time,Africa/Cairo,EET Ekaterinburg Standard
Time,Asia/Yekaterinburg,+0500 Fiji Standard Time,Pacific/Fiji,+1200 FLE
Daylight Time,Europe/Helsinki,EEST FLE Standard Time,Europe/Helsinki,EET
Further-Eastern European Time,Europe/Minsk,+0300 Georgian Standard
Time,Asia/Tbilisi,+0400 !!! Olsen: no dst!  GMT Daylight
Time,Greenwich,UTC GMT Standard Time,Greenwich,UTC Greenland Daylight
Time,America/Nuuk,-0200 Greenland Standard Time,America/Nuuk,-0300
Greenwich Standard Time,Greenwich,UTC GTB Daylight
Time,Europe/Athens,EEST GTB Standard Time,Europe/Athens,EET Haiti
Daylight Time,America/Port-au-Prince,EDT Haiti Standard
Time,America/Port-au-Prince,EST Hawaiian Standard
Time,Pacific/Honolulu,HST India Standard Time,Asia/Kolkata,IST Iran
Daylight Time,Asia/Tehran,+0430 Iran Standard Time,Asia/Tehran,+0330
Israel Standard Time,Asia/Jerusalem,IST Jerusalem Daylight
Time,Asia/Jerusalem,IDT Jerusalem Standard Time,Asia/Jerusalem,IST
Jordan Daylight Time,Asia/Amman,EEST Jordan Standard Time,Asia/Amman,EET
Kaliningrad Standard Time,Europe/Kaliningrad,EET Korea Standard
Time,Asia/Seoul,KST Libya Standard Time,Africa/Tripoli,EET Line Islands
Standard Time,Pacific/Kiritimati,+1400 Lord Howe Standard
Time,Australia/Lord_Howe,+1030 Magadan Standard Time,Asia/Magadan,+1100
Magallanes Standard Time,America/Punta_Arenas,-0300 Malay Peninsula
Standard Time,Asia/Kuala_Lumpur,MYT Marquesas Standard
Time,Pacific/Marquesas,-0930 Mauritius Standard
Time,Indian/Mauritius,+0400 Mexico Standard Time 2,, Mexico Standard
Time,, Mid-Atlantic Standard Time,, Middle East Daylight
Time,Asia/Beirut,EEST Middle East Standard Time,Asia/Beirut,EET
Montevideo Standard Time,America/Montevideo,-0300 Morocco Daylight
Time,Africa/Casablanca,+0100 Morocco Standard
Time,Africa/Casablanca,+0100 Mountain Daylight Time
(Mexico),America/Chihuahua,MDT Mountain Daylight Time,America/Denver,MDT
Mountain Standard Time (Mexico),America/Chihuahua,MST Mountain Standard
Time,America/Denver,MST Myanmar Standard Time,Asia/Yangon,+0630 N.
Central Asia Standard Time,Asia/Novosibirsk,+0700 Namibia Standard
Time,Africa/Windhoek,CAT Nepal Standard Time,Asia/Kathmandu,+0545 New
Zealand Standard Time,Pacific/Auckland,NZST Newfoundland and Labrador
Standard Time,America/St_Johns,NST Newfoundland Daylight
Time,America/St_Johns,NDT Newfoundland Standard
Time,America/St_Johns,NST Norfolk Standard Time,Pacific/Norfolk,+1100
North Asia East Standard Time,Asia/Irkutsk,+0800 North Asia Standard
Time,Asia/Krasnoyarsk,+0700 North Korea Standard Time,Asia/Pyongyang,KST
Novosibirsk Standard Time,Asia/Novosibirsk,+0700 Omsk Standard
Time,Asia/Omsk,+0600 Pacific Daylight Time,America/Los_Angeles,PDT
Pacific SA Standard Time,America/Lima,-0500 Pacific Standard Time
(Mexico),America/Tijuana,PST Pacific Standard
Time,America/Los_Angeles,PST Pakistan Standard Time,Asia/Karachi,PKT
Paraguay Standard Time,America/Asuncion,-0400 Qyzylorda Standard
Time,Asia/Qyzylorda,+0500 Romance Daylight Time,Europe/Paris,CEST
Romance Standard Time,Europe/Paris,CET Russia TZ 1 Standard
Time,Europe/Kaliningrad,EET,USZ1 Russia TZ 2 Standard
Time,Europe/Moscow,MSK Russia TZ 3 Standard
Time,Europe/Samara,+0400,SAMT Russia TZ 4 Standard
Time,Asia/Yekaterinburg,+0500,YEKT Russia TZ 5 Standard
Time,Asia/Omsk,OMST Russia TZ 6 Standard
Time,Asia/Krasnoyarsk,+0700,KRAT Russia TZ 7 Standard
Time,Asia/Irkutsk,+0800,IRKT Russia TZ 8 Standard
Time,Asia/Yakutsk,+0900,YAKT Russia TZ 9 Standard
Time,Asia/Vladivostok,+1000,VLAT Russia TZ 10 Standard
Time,Asia/Srednekolymsk,+1100,MAGT Russia TZ 11 Standard
Time,Asia/Anadyr,+1200,PETT Russian Standard Time,Europe/Moscow,MSK SA
Eastern Standard Time,America/Cayenne,-0300 SA Pacific Standard
Time,America/Lima,-0500 SA Western Standard Time,America/La_Paz,-0400
Saint Pierre Daylight Time,America/Miquelon,-0200 Saint Pierre Standard
Time,America/Miquelon,-0300 Sakhalin Standard Time,Asia/Sakhalin,+1100
Samoa Standard Time,Pacific/Apia,+1300 Sao Tome Standard
Time,Africa/Sao_Tome,GMT Saratov Standard Time,Europe/Saratov,+0400 SE
Asia Standard Time,Asia/Jakarta,WIB Singapore Standard
Time,Asia/Singapore,+0800 South Africa Standard
Time,Africa/Johannesburg,SAST South Sudan Standard Time,Africa/Juba,EAT
Sri Lanka Standard Time,Asia/Colombo,+0530 Sudan Standard
Time,Africa/Khartoum,CAT Syria Daylight Time,Asia/Damascus,EEST Syria
Standard Time,Asia/Damascus,EET Taipei Standard Time,Asia/Taipei,CST
Tasmania Standard Time,Australia/Hobart,AEST Tocantins Standard
Time,America/Araguaina,-0300 Tokyo Standard Time,Asia/Tokyo,JST Tomsk
Standard Time,Asia/Tomsk,+0700 Tonga Standard
Time,Pacific/Tongatapu,+1300 Transbaikal Standard Time,Asia/Chita,+0900
Turkey Standard Time,Europe/Istanbul,+0300 Turks and Caicos Daylight
Time,America/Grand_Turk,EDT Turks And Caicos Standard
Time,America/Grand_Turk,EST U.S. Eastern Standard
Time,America/New_York,EST Ulaanbaatar Standard
Time,Asia/Ulaanbaatar,+0800 US Eastern Daylight
Time,America/New_York,EDT US Eastern Standard Time,America/New_York,EST
US Mountain Standard Time,America/Denver,MST Venezuela Standard
Time,America/Caracas,-0400 Vladivostok Standard
Time,Asia/Vladivostok,+1000 Volgograd Standard
Time,Europe/Volgograd,+0300 W. Australia Standard
Time,Australia/Perth,AWST W. Central Africa Standard Time,, W. Europe
Daylight Time,Europe/London,BST W. Europe Standard
Time,Europe/London,GMT W. Mongolia Standard Time,Asia/Ulaanbaatar,+0800
West Asia Standard Time,Asia/Tashkent,+0500 West Bank Standard
Time,Asia/Hebron,EET West Pacific Standard
Time,Pacific/Port_Moresby,+1000 Yakutsk Standard Time,Asia/Yakutsk,+0900
Yukon Standard Time,America/Whitehorse,MST

and that's the whole page bestie, you ate it up 💅 this lil masterpiece is from perl v5.42.2, dated 2026-02-15, and it lives its best life as DATE(1) 🎀✨🦋

📦 where this page comes from

alpine 3.24: perl-power-tools-doc 1.053-r1 · GPL-2.0-or-later AND Artistic-1.0-Perl AND Artistic-2.0 AND BSD-2-Clause
💖 girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 on 2026-11-04: a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms