Timestamp Filters in Xano - Complete Walkthrough

Working with timestamps can often be a challenge, but Xano makes it easy with its powerful set of filters. In this guide, we'll take you through the various timestamp filters available in Xano and show you how to use them effectively in both custom queries and the function stack.

Understanding Timestamps in Xano

In Xano, timestamps are stored in Unix Epoch format, which is a long string of numbers representing the number of seconds (or milliseconds) since January 1st, 1970. While this format is machine-readable, it's not very human-friendly. That's where Xano's timestamp filters come into play, allowing you to convert, manipulate, and work with timestamps in a more user-friendly way.

Timestamp Filters for Custom Queries

When working with custom queries on your database, you have access to a range of timestamp filters. Let's dive into each of them:

Subtracting Seconds

The `epoch_ms_subtract_seconds` filter allows you to subtract a specific number of seconds from a timestamp. For example, if you want to find all records created within the last 30 seconds, you can use the following query:

Adding Time

Xano provides filters to add days, hours, minutes, months, seconds, or years to a timestamp. These filters are particularly useful when you need to find records within a specific time range. For instance, to find records created within the last two days, you can use:

Day of Week, Month, and Year

Xano also offers filters to extract the day of the week, day of the month, or day of the year from a timestamp. These can be handy when you need to filter records based on specific days or periods. For example, to find records created on Sundays, you can use:

Epoch Day, Hour, Minute, and Second

These filters allow you to retrieve the number of days, hours, minutes, or seconds since the Unix Epoch for a given timestamp. This can be useful for performing calculations or comparisons based on the elapsed time.

Timestamp Calculations

Xano provides filters to subtract days, hours, minutes, months, or years from a timestamp. These can be useful when you need to find records within a specific time range relative to the current time. For example, to find records created more than seven days ago, you can use:

Week and Year Filters

The `timestamp_week` and `timestamp_year` filters allow you to extract the week number or year from a timestamp, respectively. These can be handy when you need to group or filter records based on specific weeks or years.

Timestamp Filters for the Function Stack

In addition to custom queries, Xano provides timestamp filters that can be used within the function stack. Here are some of the most useful ones:

Adding Milliseconds or Seconds

The `add_milliseconds_to_timestamp` and `add_seconds_to_timestamp` filters allow you to add or subtract milliseconds or seconds from a timestamp, respectively. This can be useful when you need to make small adjustments to a timestamp value.

Formatting Timestamps

The `format_timestamp` filter is one of the most powerful and commonly used filters in Xano. It allows you to convert a Unix Epoch timestamp into a human-readable format with customizable options. You can specify the desired format using the PHP DateTime format, as well as the time zone.

For example, to display a timestamp in the format "Day, Month Year," you can use the following format:

This will output a timestamp like "28, Apr 2023" based on the specified format and time zone.

Parsing Timestamps

The `parse_timestamp` filter performs the opposite operation of `format_timestamp`. It takes a human-readable timestamp and converts it back into a Unix Epoch format for storage or further processing.

Transforming Timestamps

The `transform_timestamp` filter allows you to apply various transformations to a timestamp. For example, you can subtract or add a specific number of days, hours, or other time units using this filter.

Converting Text to Timestamps

The `to_timestamp` filter is a handy utility that converts a text expression into a timestamp format. For example, you can use expressions like "yesterday" or "7 days ago" to generate the corresponding timestamp.

By leveraging these powerful timestamp filters, you can easily manipulate, format, and work with timestamps in Xano, making your applications more user-friendly and efficient.

Conclusion

Timestamps are an essential part of many applications, and Xano provides a comprehensive set of filters to help you work with them effectively. Whether you're querying your database, formatting timestamps for display, or performing calculations, Xano has you covered with its intuitive and flexible timestamp filters.

Remember, the key to mastering timestamps in Xano is understanding the specific use cases and applying the appropriate filters. Don't hesitate to experiment and explore the various options to find the ones that best suit your needs.

Happy coding!