Current time

Returns the current time from the server's clock when the request is processed (millisecond resolution) as UTC, Unix seconds and milliseconds, and, for each requested zone, the local ISO 8601 time with offset, weekday, ISO week, day of year, zone abbreviation, UTC offset and whether DST is in effect. Use it instead of guessing today's date.

Browser version (runs locally): Time & Time Zones.

Parameters

Also accepted on every endpoint: format (json | text). Parameters may come from the query string, a JSON object body, an urlencoded or multipart form, or (for input) a text/plain body.

Response 200 application/json

Text output (format=text, text/plain): The ISO 8601 time in each requested zone, one per line.

Errors

Errors are JSON: {"error": "<message>", "code": "<code>", "param": "<name>"?}.

Behaviour

• Not idempotent: the result can differ between calls (time, randomness, or a live network check).
• Requires a client ID and secret (authentication). Each call is recorded as one metadata row against your client ID; inputs and outputs are never stored or logged. Responses carry cache-control: no-store.
• CORS: any origin may call this endpoint from a browser, using your credentials.

Examples

Responses below were produced by running each request through this code at build time. Long strings are shortened.

curl 'https://util.caruana.me/api/time/now?'

{
  "instant": {
    "utc": "2026-10-15T00:27:37.280Z",
    "unix_seconds": 1792024057,
    "unix_milliseconds": 1792024057280
  },
  "zones": [
    {
      "zone": "UTC",
      "iso": "2026-10-15T00:27:37.280Z",
      "local": "2026-10-15T00:27:37.280",
      "date": "2026-10-15",
      "time": "00:27:37.280",
      "offset": "+00:00",
      "offset_minutes": 0,
      "abbreviation": "UTC",
      "offset_name": "UTC",
      "dst": false,
      "weekday": "Thursday",
      "weekday_number": 4,
      "iso_week": "2026-W42",
      "iso_week_year": 2026,
      "iso_week_number": 42,
      "day_of_year": 288,
      "formatted": {}
    }
  ],
  "warnings": []
}

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "time_now",
    "arguments": {}
  }
}

curl 'https://util.caruana.me/api/time/now?zones=UTC%2CAmerica%2FNew_York%2CAsia%2FKolkata&formats=rfc2822'

{
  "instant": {
    "utc": "2026-10-15T00:27:37.283Z",
    "unix_seconds": 1792024057,
    "unix_milliseconds": 1792024057283
  },
  "zones": [
    {
      "zone": "UTC",
      "iso": "2026-10-15T00:27:37.283Z",
      "local": "2026-10-15T00:27:37.283",
      "date": "2026-10-15",
      "time": "00:27:37.283",
      "offset": "+00:00",
      "offset_minutes": 0,
      "abbreviation": "UTC",
      "offset_name": "UTC",
      "dst": false,
      "weekday": "Thursday",
      "weekday_number": 4,
      "iso_week": "2026-W42",
      "iso_week_year": 2026,
      "iso_week_number": 42,
      "day_of_year": 288,
      "formatted": {
        "rfc2822": "Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:27:37 +0000"
      }
    },
    {
      "zone": "America/New_York",
      "iso": "2026-10-14T20:27:37.283-04:00",
      "local": "2026-10-14T20:27:37.283",
      "date": "2026-10-14",
      "time": "20:27:37.283",
      "offset": "-04:00",
      "offset_minutes": -240,
      "abbreviation": "EDT",
      "offset_name": "Eastern Daylight Time",
      "dst": true,
      "weekday": "Wednesday",
      "weekday_number": 3,
      "iso_week": "2026-W42",
      "iso_week_year": 2026,
      "iso_week_number": 42,
      "day_of_year": 287,
      "formatted": {
        "rfc2822": "Wed, 14 Oct 2026 20:27:37 -0400"
      }
    },
    {
      "zone": "Asia/Kolkata",
      "iso": "2026-10-15T05:57:37.283+05:30",
      "local": "2026-10-15T05:57:37.283",
      "date": "2026-10-15",
      "time": "05:57:37.283",
      "offset": "+05:30",
      "offset_minutes": 330,
      "abbreviation": "GMT+5:30",
      "offset_name": "India Standard Time",
      "dst": false,
      "weekday": "Thursday",
      "weekday_number": 4,
      "iso_week": "2026-W42",
      "iso_week_year": 2026,
      "iso_week_number": 42,
      "day_of_year": 288,
      "formatted": {
        "rfc2822": "Thu, 15 Oct 2026 05:57:37 +0530"
      }
    }
  ],
  "warnings": []
}

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "time_now",
    "arguments": {
      "zones": [
        "UTC",
        "America/New_York",
        "Asia/Kolkata"
      ],
      "formats": [
        "rfc2822"
      ]
    }
  }
}