Returns the current date and time — the moment the transaction started.
NOW()
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
NOW() gives the date, time and time zone, and CURRENT_TIMESTAMP is the same thing in standard SQL. The date alone, without the time, comes from CURRENT_DATE. You can add intervals to the result or subtract them: NOW() - INTERVAL '7 days' is a week ago. It's often used as a default value: created_at timestamptz DEFAULT NOW().
orders
| id | created_at | amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026-07-03 10:15:00 | 120.50 |
| 2 | 2026-07-28 18:40:00 | 80.25 |
| 3 | 2026-08-09 09:05:00 | 199.99 |
| 4 | 2026-08-21 14:30:00 | 45.00 |
| 5 | 2026-09-02 11:00:00 | 64.75 |
These tables already exist in the sandbox — the examples below use them. Want to try this in your own database? Copy the SQL.
| now | standard_name |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-14 12:42:53.677+02 | 2026-09-14 12:42:53.677+02 |
The result below was saved when this page was prepared. Press “Run” to see your current time.
| week_ago | in_an_hour |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-07 12:42:53.679+02 | 2026-09-14 13:42:53.679+02 |
| id | created_at | time_passed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026-07-03 10:15:00 | 73 days 02:27:53.681 |
| 2 | 2026-07-28 18:40:00 | 47 days 18:02:53.681 |
| 3 | 2026-08-09 09:05:00 | 36 days 03:37:53.681 |
| 4 | 2026-08-21 14:30:00 | 23 days 22:12:53.681 |
| 5 | 2026-09-02 11:00:00 | 12 days 01:42:53.681 |
NOW() doesn't change during a transaction: the value is the same in every row and every query between BEGIN and COMMIT. The true current moment, fresh every time, comes from clock_timestamp().
How the result looks depends on the session's time zone: the same moment is shown differently on different computers. To store moments, use the timestamptz type.