# Render dates and times with offsets

The Go language uses a fixed reference time — **Mon Jan 2 15:04:05 MST 2006** — to define date/time layouts. Each element of that date maps to a component (e.g., `2006` = year, `01` = month, `02` = day, `15` = 24h hour, `03` = 12h hour, `04` = minutes, `05` = seconds, `MST` = time zone). This format, inherited from Plan 9, was chosen as a mnemonic since the digits **1–7** appear in order across the reference. <https://golang.org/pkg/time/#Parse>

NOTE! It is important to use the fixed referenced date and time when applying a format to a date. Do not use todays date or any other date.

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th></th><th width="285"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Description</td><td>Example</td><td>Result</td></tr><tr><td><p>The current date time with offset, in the given format.</p><p>For example:</p><ul><li>The current date time plus 1 day in unix timestamp</li><li>The current date time in ISO 8601 format</li><li>The current date time minus 1 day in custom format</li></ul></td><td><ul><li><code>{{ now '1d' 'unix' }}</code></li><li><code>{{ now '' '' }}</code></li><li><code>{{ now '-1d' '2006-Jan-02' }}</code></li></ul></td><td><ul><li>1136300645</li><li>2006-01-02T15:04:05Z</li><li>2006-Jan-01</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>

## Examples

<table><thead><tr><th width="135">Format</th><th width="321">Handlebars syntax</th><th>Result</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>ANSIC</td><td><code>{{now '' 'Mon Jan _2 15:04:05 2006'}}</code></td><td>Wed Sep 17 14:31:18 2025</td></tr><tr><td>UnixDate</td><td><code>{{now '' 'Mon Jan _2 15:04:05 MST 2006'}}</code></td><td>Wed Sep 17 14:31:18 UTC 2025</td></tr><tr><td>RubyDate</td><td><code>{{now '' 'Mon Jan 02 15:04:05 -0700 2006'}}</code></td><td>Wed Sep 17 14:31:18 +0000 2025</td></tr><tr><td>RFC822</td><td><code>{{now '' '02 Jan 06 15:04 MST'}}</code></td><td>17 Sep 25 14:31 UTC</td></tr><tr><td>RFC822Z</td><td><code>{{now '' '02 Jan 06 15:04 -0700'}}</code></td><td>17 Sep 25 14:31 +0000</td></tr><tr><td>RFC850</td><td><code>{{now '' 'Monday, 02-Jan-06 15:04:05 MST'}}</code></td><td>Wednesday, 17-Sep-25 14:31:18 UTC</td></tr><tr><td>RFC1123</td><td><code>{{now '' 'Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:04:05 MST'}}</code></td><td>Wed, 17 Sep 2025 14:31:18 UTC</td></tr><tr><td>RFC1123Z</td><td><code>{{now '' 'Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:04:05 -0700'}}</code></td><td>Wed, 17 Sep 2025 14:31:18 +0000</td></tr><tr><td>RFC3339</td><td><code>{{now '' '2006-01-02T15:04:05Z07:00'}}</code></td><td>2025-09-17T14:31:18Z</td></tr><tr><td>RFC3339Nano</td><td><code>{{now '' '2006-01-02T15:04:05.999999999Z07:00'}}</code></td><td>2025-09-17T14:31:18.260445005Z</td></tr><tr><td>Kitchen</td><td><code>{{now '' '3:04PM'}}</code></td><td>2:31PM</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Using offsets

When using template helper method `now`, time offset must be formatted using the following syntax.

| Shorthand | Type        |
| --------- | ----------- |
| ns        | Nanosecond  |
| us/µs     | Microsecond |
| ms        | Millisecond |
| s         | Second      |
| m         | Minute      |
| h         | Hour        |
| d         | Day         |
| y         | Year        |

Prefix an offset with `-` to subtract the duration from the current date time.

### Example time offset

| 5m    | 5 minutes        |
| ----- | ---------------- |
| 1h30m | 1 hour 5 minutes |
| 1y10d | 1 year 10 days   |

### Examples

RFC1123Z +1 day = {{now '1d' 'Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:04:05 -0700'}}\
RFC1123Z -1 day = {{now '-1d' 'Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:04:05 -0700'}}\
RFC1123Z +5mins = {{now '5m' 'Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:04:05 -0700'}}\
RFC1123Z -5mins = {{now '-5m' 'Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:04:05 -0700'}}\
RFC1123Z +1h30min = {{now '1h30m' 'Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:04:05 -0700'}}\
RFC1123Z -1h30min = {{now '-1h30m' 'Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:04:05 -0700'}}\
RFC1123Z +1y10d = {{now '1y10d' 'Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:04:05 -0700'}}\
RFC1123Z -1y10d = {{now '-1y10d' 'Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:04:05 -0700'}}


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