now()

Current date and time (start of current transaction); see Section 9.9.5

Signature

now ( ) → timestamp with time zone

In other engines

PostgreSQL	now
MySQL	NOW()
SQL Server	SYSDATETIME(), or GETDATE() for the older lower-precision type
Oracle	SYSTIMESTAMP, or SYSDATE without a timezone
SQLite	datetime('now'), which is UTC

PostgreSQL's now() is the transaction start time, not the clock — call it twice in one transaction and you get one answer. clock_timestamp() is the one that moves. SQLite's returns UTC regardless of the session.

Want to run this against your own PostgreSQL server from an iPhone, iPad or Mac? These are ours — every connection goes straight from the device to your database, with no account and no server of ours in between.

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Signature and description adapted from the PostgreSQL manual, used under the PostgreSQL License. PostgreSQL is a registered trademark of the PostgreSQL Community Association of Canada. This page is not affiliated with the PostgreSQL Global Development Group.