Temporal API

ECMAScript Temporal API

Overview

Temporal is a global namespace (like Math) that provides a modern date/time API for ECMAScript, designed as a full replacement for the legacy Date object. It exposes over 200 utility methods across several classes, each handling a specific aspect of date and time management.

Temporal fixes the fundamental problems of Date:

• Separate types for date-only, time-only, zoned, and exact-time values — no ambiguous dual-role objects
• First-class timezone support with IANA identifiers, DST-safe arithmetic, and disambiguation controls
• Nanosecond precision via epochNanoseconds (bigint)
• Immutable instances — all operations return new objects, no mutating setters
• Multiple calendar systems beyond Gregorian (Hebrew, Chinese, Islamic, Japanese, etc.)
• Strict string parsing using RFC 9557 format based on ISO 8601 / RFC 3339

Temporal is not a constructor. All properties and methods are static. It is accessed as Temporal.Instant, Temporal.PlainDate, etc.

When to Use

• Replacing legacy Date in new JavaScript/TypeScript projects
• Performing date-time arithmetic that must be DST-safe
• Working with multiple time zones (conversions, offsets, transitions)
• Scheduling recurring events at specific wall-clock times
• Computing durations between dates/times with constrained units
• Working with non-Gregorian calendars
• Parsing or serializing date-time strings in RFC 9557 / ISO 8601 format
• Converting between legacy Date and modern Temporal types

Core Concepts

Class Hierarchy

Temporal classes fall into two categories: exact time (anchored to a real moment) and plain types (no timezone association).

Utility namespace: Temporal.Now provides methods for getting the current system time in various formats.

Shared Interface

All Temporal classes share common method patterns:

• Construction: new Type(...) or Type.from(input) — parse from string, object, or existing instance
• Immutability: with(fields) — return a new instance with specified fields changed
• Arithmetic: add(duration), subtract(duration), since(other), until(other)
• Comparison: equals(other), static Type.compare(a, b)
• Serialization: toString(), toLocaleString(), toJSON()

Conversion Rules

Converting between exact and plain types requires explicit timezone choices:

• Instant → ZonedDateTime: call toZonedDateTimeISO(timeZone)
• ZonedDateTime → PlainDateTime: call toPlainDateTime() (drops timezone)
• PlainDateTime → ZonedDateTime: call toZonedDateTime(timeZone, { disambiguation }) — must handle DST gaps/overlaps
• Instant has no date/time component properties; a timezone is required to access year, month, day, hour, etc.

Representable Range

All date-bearing Temporal objects support approximately ±10⁸ days from the Unix epoch: -271821-04-20 to +275760-09-13. Objects refusing construction outside this range throw.

Quick Start

Getting current time

// Current exact instant
const now = Temporal.Now.instant();
now.epochMilliseconds; // number, like Date.now()

// Current date in system timezone
const today = Temporal.Now.plainDateISO();
today.toString(); // '2024-01-15'

// Current zoned date-time (instant + timezone + calendar)
const nowZoned = Temporal.Now.zonedDateTimeISO();
nowZoned.toString(); // '2024-01-15T10:30:00-05:00[America/New_York]'

Constructing objects

// From components
const date = new Temporal.PlainDate(2024, 6, 15);
const time = new Temporal.PlainTime(14, 30, 0);

// From strings (RFC 9557 format)
const instant = Temporal.Instant.from('2024-06-15T14:30:00Z');
const zoned = Temporal.ZonedDateTime.from('2024-06-15T14:30:00-04:00[America/New_York]');

// From object literals
const dt = Temporal.PlainDateTime.from({ year: 2024, month: 6, day: 15, hour: 14 });

Basic arithmetic

const date = Temporal.PlainDate.from('2024-06-15');
const later = date.add({ days: 7, months: 1 });
later.toString(); // '2024-07-22'

// Duration between two dates
const duration = date.until(later, { largestUnit: 'month' });
duration.months; // 1
duration.days; // 7

Immutability and updating

const date = Temporal.PlainDate.from('2024-06-15');
const modified = date.with({ day: 1 }); // original unchanged
modified.toString(); // '2024-06-01'
date.toString(); // '2024-06-15'

Converting from legacy Date

const legacy = new Date('2024-06-15T14:30:00Z');
const instant = legacy.toTemporalInstant();
const zoned = instant.toZonedDateTimeISO('America/New_York');

Advanced Topics

Temporal.Now and Instant: Getting current time, epoch nanoseconds, exact-time arithmetic → Temporal.Now and Instant

ZonedDateTime: Timezone-aware operations, DST handling, offset transitions, calendar properties → ZonedDateTime

Plain Types: PlainDate, PlainTime, PlainDateTime, PlainYearMonth, PlainMonthDay with shared patterns → Plain Types

Duration and Balancing: Duration construction, arithmetic, balancing modes, total(), rounding → Duration and Balancing

Time Zones and Calendars: IANA timezone identifiers, calendar systems, era/eraYear, monthCode, week properties → Time Zones and Calendars

String Formatting: RFC 9557 serialization, parsing patterns, toString/toLocaleString, format FAQ → String Formatting

Cookbook Patterns: Date interoperability, sorting, timezone conversion, business hours, recurring events, flight times → Cookbook Patterns