JavaScript Date Methods
THE WORLD'S LARGEST WEB DEVELOPER SITE
×

JS Tutorial

JS HOME JS Introduction JS Where To JS Output JS Statements JS Syntax JS Comments JS Variables JS Operators JS Arithmetic JS Assignment JS Data Types JS Functions JS Objects JS Scope JS Events JS Strings JS String Methods JS Numbers JS Number Methods JS Arrays JS Array Methods JS Array Sort JS Dates JS Date Formats JS Date Get Methods JS Date Set Methods JS Math JS Random JS Booleans JS Comparisons JS Conditions JS Switch JS Loop For JS Loop While JS Break JS Type Conversion JS Bitwise JS RegExp JS Errors JS Debugging JS Hoisting JS Strict Mode JS Style Guide JS Best Practices JS Mistakes JS Performance JS Reserved Words JS Versions JS JSON

JS Forms

JS Forms Forms API

JS Objects

Object Definitions Object Properties Object Methods Object Constructors Object Prototypes

JS Functions

Function Definitions Function Parameters Function Invocation Function Call Function Apply Function Closures

JS HTML DOM

DOM Intro DOM Methods DOM Document DOM Elements DOM HTML DOM CSS DOM Animations DOM Events DOM Event Listener DOM Navigation DOM Nodes DOM Collections DOM Node Lists

JS Browser BOM

JS Window JS Screen JS Location JS History JS Navigator JS Popup Alert JS Timing JS Cookies

JS AJAX

AJAX Intro AJAX XMLHttp AJAX Request AJAX Response AJAX XML File AJAX PHP AJAX ASP AJAX Database AJAX Applications AJAX Examples

JS JSON

JSON Intro JSON Syntax JSON vs XML JSON Data Types JSON Objects JSON Arrays JSON Parse JSON Stringify JSON PHP JSON HTML JSON JSONP

JS Examples

JS Examples JS HTML DOM JS HTML Input JS HTML Objects JS HTML Events JS Browser JS Quiz JS Certificate

JS References

JavaScript Objects HTML DOM Objects


JavaScript Set Date Methods


Set Date methods let you set date values (years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds, milliseconds) for a Date Object.


Set Date Methods

Set Date methods are used for setting a part of a date:

Method Description
setDate() Set the day as a number (1-31)
setFullYear() Set the year (optionally month and day)
setHours() Set the hour (0-23)
setMilliseconds() Set the milliseconds (0-999)
setMinutes() Set the minutes (0-59)
setMonth() Set the month (0-11)
setSeconds() Set the seconds (0-59)
setTime() Set the time (milliseconds since January 1, 1970)

The setFullYear() Method

The setFullYear() method sets the year of a date object. In this example to 2020:

Example

<script>
var d = new Date();
d.setFullYear(2020);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = d;
</script>
Try it Yourself »

The setFullYear() method can optionally set month and day:

Example

<script>
var d = new Date();
d.setFullYear(2020, 11, 3);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = d;
</script>
Try it Yourself »


The setMonth() Method

The setMonth() method sets the month of a date object (0-11):

Example

<script>
var d = new Date();
d.setMonth(11);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = d;
</script>
Try it Yourself »

The setDate() Method

The setDate() method sets the day of a date object (1-31):

Example

<script>
var d = new Date();
d.setDate(20);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = d;
</script>
Try it Yourself »

The setDate() method can also be used to add days to a date:

Example

<script>
var d = new Date();
d.setDate(d.getDate() + 50);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = d;
</script>
Try it Yourself »

If adding days, shifts the month or year, the changes are handled automatically by the Date object.


The setHours() Method

The setHours() method sets the hours of a date object (0-23):

Example

<script>
var d = new Date();
d.setHours(22);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = d;
</script>
Try it Yourself »

The setMinutes() Method

The setMinutes() method sets the minutes of a date object (0-59):

Example

<script>
var d = new Date();
d.setMinutes(30);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = d;
</script>
Try it Yourself »

The setSeconds() Method

The setSeconds() method sets the seconds of a date object (0-59):

Example

<script>
var d = new Date();
d.setSeconds(30);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = d;
</script>
Try it Yourself »

Compare Dates

Dates can easily be compared.

The following example compares today's date with January 14, 2100:

Example

var today, someday, text;
today = new Date();
someday = new Date();
someday.setFullYear(2100, 0, 14);

if (someday > today) {
    text = "Today is before January 14, 2100.";
} else {
    text = "Today is after January 14, 2100.";
}
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = text;
Try it Yourself »

JavaScript counts months from 0 to 11. January is 0. December is 11.


Complete JavaScript Date Reference

For a complete reference, go to our Complete JavaScript Date Reference.

The reference contains descriptions and examples of all Date properties and methods.