Date.prototype.getTime()
The getTime() method of Date instances returns the number of milliseconds for this date since the epoch, which is defined as the midnight at the beginning of January 1, 1970, UTC.
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Syntax
Return value
A number representing the timestamp, in milliseconds, of this date. Returns NaN if the date is invalid.
Description
Date objects are fundamentally represented by a timestamp, and this method allows you to retrieve the timestamp. You can use this method to help assign a date and time to another Date object. This method is functionally equivalent to the valueOf() method.
Reduced time precision
To offer protection against timing attacks and fingerprinting, the precision of new Date().getTime() might get rounded depending on browser settings. In Firefox, the privacy.reduceTimerPrecision preference is enabled by default and defaults to 2ms. You can also enable privacy.resistFingerprinting , in which case the precision will be 100ms or the value of privacy.resistFingerprinting.reduceTimerPrecision.microseconds , whichever is larger.
// reduced time precision (2ms) in Firefox 60 new Date().getTime(); // 1519211809934 // 1519211810362 // 1519211811670 // … // reduced time precision with `privacy.resistFingerprinting` enabled new Date().getTime(); // 1519129853500 // 1519129858900 // 1519129864400 // …
Examples
Using getTime() for copying dates
Constructing a date object with the identical time value.
// Since month is zero based, birthday will be January 10, 1995 const birthday = new Date(1994, 12, 10); const copy = new Date(); copy.setTime(birthday.getTime());
Measuring execution time
Subtracting two subsequent getTime() calls on newly generated Date objects, give the time span between these two calls. This can be used to calculate the executing time of some operations. See also Date.now() to prevent instantiating unnecessary Date objects.
let end, start; start = new Date(); for (let i = 0; i 1000; i++) Math.sqrt(i); > end = new Date(); console.log(`Operation took $end.getTime() - start.getTime()> msec`);
Note: In browsers that support the Web Performance API’s high-resolution time feature, Performance.now() can provide more reliable and precise measurements of elapsed time than Date.now() .
Specifications
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser
See also
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This page was last modified on Jun 1, 2023 by MDN contributors.
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