date.format

Description

Formats a date/time value using a simple token-based pattern. Supports common date/time tokens and optional timezone offset adjustment.

Syntax 

flex.date.format(datetime, pattern, timezone)

Parameters

Parameter Type Required Description
datetime Date/number/string Yes The date/time value to format
pattern string No Format pattern using tokens (default: 'YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss[Z]')
timezone string No Timezone offset like "+02:00" or "-05:00"

Supported Pattern Tokens

Token Description Example
YYYY 4-digit year 2024
MM 2-digit month (01-12) 03
DD 2-digit day (01-31) 15
HH 2-digit hour (00-23) 14
mm 2-digit minute (00-59) 30
ss 2-digit second (00-59) 45
SSS 3-digit milliseconds 123
[Z] Literal Z character Z

Returns

Type: string

A formatted date/time string according to the pattern. Returns null if the input date is invalid.

Examples

Example 1: Basic Date Formatting 

WITH datetime('2024-03-15T14:30:00Z') AS dt
RETURN flex.date.format(dt, 'YYYY-MM-DD') AS date

Output:

date
----------
2024-03-15

Example 2: Full DateTime with Time 

WITH datetime('2024-03-15T14:30:45Z') AS dt
RETURN flex.date.format(dt, 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss') AS formatted

Output:

formatted
-------------------
2024-03-15 14:30:45

Example 3: Custom Format with Timezone 

WITH datetime('2024-03-15T14:30:00Z') AS dt
RETURN flex.date.format(dt, 'DD/MM/YYYY HH:mm', '+02:00') AS localTime

Output:

localTime
-----------------
15/03/2024 16:30

(Adjusted for +02:00 timezone)

Example 4: Formatting Node Timestamps 

MATCH (e:Event)
RETURN e.name, flex.date.format(e.timestamp, 'YYYY-MM-DD') AS eventDate
ORDER BY e.timestamp DESC

Notes

  • Returns null for invalid date inputs
  • Default pattern is ISO8601-like: 'YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss[Z]'
  • Timezone parameter adjusts the displayed time for the given offset
  • All calculations are UTC-based internally
  • Milliseconds are optional in the pattern

See Also