JavaScript Temporal Now
The Temporal.Now Object
The Temporal.Now object provides 5 methods to get the current date and time.
One method for each date object:
- Temporal.Now.instant()
- Temporal.Now.plainDateISO()
- Temporal.Now.plainTimeISO()
- Temporal.Now.plainDateTimeISO()
- Temporal.Now.zonedDateTimeISO()
What is Temporal.Now?
Temporal.now is a Namespace object. Like the Math object, Temporal.Now is a container for methods.
These methods provide the current time in various formats (Instant, ZonedDateTime, PlainDateTime, etc) in nanoseconds precision .
Temporal.Now is static. It cannot be instantiated. You cannot use the new keyword to create a Temporal-Now. new Temporal.Now() will throw an error.
Instead, you call the methods directly on the namespace, such as Temporal.Now.instant().
Note
Temporal.Now is serving as a replacement for the older Date.now() method.
Create a Temporal.Instant Object
The Temporal.Now.instant() method returns a
Temporal.Instant object
representing the current date and time.
An Instant represents an exact moment in time (UTC). It is similar to a timestamp.
Create a Temporal.PlainDate Object
Use the Temporal.Now.plainDateISO() method for calender date only:
It returns a Temporal.PlainDate object with the current date in the ISO calendar.
Create a Temporal.PlainTime Object
Use the Temporal.Now.plainTimeISO() method for time only:
It returns a Temporal.PlainTime object with the current time in the ISO calendar.
Create a Temporal.PlainDateTime Object
Use the plainDateTimeISO() method to get the current date and time without a time zone.
It returns a Temporal.plainDateTime object with the
current date and time without a time zone.
This is useful when you only need local date and time.
Example
Get the current system time:
let dateTime = Temporal.Now.plainDateTimeISO();
Try it Yourself »
Note
The JavaScript Date object has 1 method for getting the current time.
Temporal.Now has 5 methods for 5 different date objects.
Create a Temporal.ZonedDateTime Object
Use the zonedDateTimeISO() method when you need date and time zone information.
It returns a Temporal.ZonedDateTime object that includes your system's time zone.
Temporal.Now Methods
Revised March 2026
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| instant() | Returns current time as a Temporal.Instant object |
| plainDateISO() | Returns current date as a Temporal.PlainDate object |
| plainDateTimeISO() | Returns current date and time as a Temporal.PlainDateTime object |
| plainTimeISO() | Returns current time as a Temporal.PlainTime object |
| timeZoneId | Returns system's time zone as a time zone id |
| zonedDateTimeISO() | Returns current date and time as a Temporal.ZonedDateTime object |
