current_time() – Function | Developer.WordPress.org

Retrieves the current time based on specified type.

Description

The ‘mysql’ type will return the time in the format for MySQL DATETIME field.
- The ‘timestamp’ or ‘U’ types will return the current timestamp or a sum of timestamp and timezone offset, depending on $gmt.
- Other strings will be interpreted as PHP date formats (e.g. ‘Y-m-d’).

If $gmt is a truthy value then both types will use GMT time, otherwise the output is adjusted with the GMT offset for the site.

Parameters

$typestringrequired: Type of time to retrieve. Accepts 'mysql', 'timestamp', 'U', or PHP date format string (e.g. 'Y-m-d').
$gmtint|booloptional: Whether to use GMT timezone. Default false.

Return

int|string Integer if $type is 'timestamp' or 'U', string otherwise.

Source

 * @param string   $type Type of time to retrieve. Accepts 'mysql', 'timestamp', 'U',
 *                       or PHP date format string (e.g. 'Y-m-d').
 * @param int|bool $gmt  Optional. Whether to use GMT timezone. Default false.
 * @return int|string Integer if `$type` is 'timestamp' or 'U', string otherwise.
 */
function current_time( $type, $gmt = 0 ) {
	// Don't use non-GMT timestamp, unless you know the difference and really need to.
	if ( 'timestamp' === $type || 'U' === $type ) {
		return $gmt ? time() : time() + (int) ( (float) get_option( 'gmt_offset' ) * HOUR_IN_SECONDS );
	}

	if ( 'mysql' === $type ) {
		$type = 'Y-m-d H:i:s';
	}

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Changelog

Version	Description
5.3.0	Now returns an integer if `$type` is `'U'`. Previously a string was returned.
1.0.0	Introduced.

User Contributed Notes

Skip to note 8 content

Denis Žoljom 6 years ago

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The Date/Time component will be updated in WordPress 5.3, and there are some things that people should be aware of:

https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/09/23/date-time-improvements-wp-5-3/

From the post:

Not recommended

Don’t retrieve time as WP timestamp:
```
current_time( 'timestamp' )
```
```
get_post_time( 'U' )
```
Don’t localize time based on WP timestamp:
```
date_i18n( DATE_RFC3339, $timestamp + $offset )
```
Don’t store WP timestamps persistently;
Don’t compare WP timestamps.

——————-

Recommended

Retrieve time as Unix timestamp or DateTimeImmutable object:
```
time()
```
```
current_datetime()
```
```
get_post_datetime()
```
```
get_post_timestamp()
```
Localize time based on Unix timestamp:
```
wp_date( DATE_RFC3339, $timestamp )
```
Store Unix timestamps or formats that are precise moment in time, such as DATE_RFC3339;
Compare Unix timestamps, DateTimeInterface objects, or string–comparable dates in same time zone.
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Codex 10 years ago

Examine the results

<?php

echo "current_time( 'mysql' ) returns local site time: " . current_time( 'mysql' ) . '<br />';
echo "current_time( 'mysql', 1 ) returns GMT: " . current_time( 'mysql', 1 ) . '<br />';
echo "current_time( 'timestamp' ) returns local site time: " . date( 'Y-m-d H:i:s', current_time( 'timestamp', 0 ) );
echo "current_time( 'timestamp', 1 ) returns GMT: " . date( 'Y-m-d H:i:s', current_time( 'timestamp', 1 ) );

?>

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kapils003 9 years ago

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The code snippet gives an Warning with “split” function because
the function was DEPRECATED in PHP 5.3.0, and REMOVED in PHP 7.0.0.

Alternatives to this function include:

preg_split()

On using preg_split(), we get the required output. Code snippet below:

$blogtime = current_time( 'mysql' ); list( $today_year, $today_month, $today_day, $hour, $minute, $second ) = preg_split( "([^0-9])", $blogtime ); echo $hour;

For reference:
http://php.net/manual/en/function.split.php

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carlosonweb 4 years ago

You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this noteVote results for this note: 1You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note
Since version 5.3, the code below is discouraged as it will not return a Unix (UTC) timestamp.
```
current_time( 'timestamp' );
```
Here’s the alternative solution:
```
$local_time  = current_datetime();
$current_time = $local_time->getTimestamp() + $local_time->getOffset();
```
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jon 9 years ago

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PHP date formats accepted for $type are defined at http://php.net/manual/en/function.date.php#refsect1-function.date-parameters

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Andrei Surdu 8 years ago

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When working with time functions, you must use current_time('timestamp') NOT time().

current_time('timestamp') return blog specific timestamp that is set under Settings->General.
time() return the time based on date.timezone setting from php.ini.

Conclusion:
time() !== current_time('timestamp') // There is a big chance that they are not equal

Always use: current_time(‘timestamp’)
- Since version 5.3, this is not correct anymore.
  
  Gabriel Reguly 3 years ago
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Codex 10 years ago

You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this noteVote results for this note: -2You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note
This example gets the current time and assigns the parameters to variables.
```
<?php 
$blogtime = current_time( 'mysql' ); 
list( $today_year, $today_month, $today_day, $hour, $minute, $second ) = split( '([^0-9])', $blogtime );
?>
```
Example of format of current_time( 'mysql' ):

2005-08-05 10:41:13
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current_time( string $type, int|bool $gmt ): int|string

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