How do I get current datetime on the Windows comma

Question

Update: Now that it's 2016 I'd use PowerShell for this unless there's a really compelling backwards-compatible reason for it, particularly because of the regional settings issue with using date. See @npocmaka's https://stackoverflow.com/a/19799236/8479

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What's a Windows command line statement(s) I can use to get the current datetime in a format that I can put into a filename?

I want to have a .bat file that zips up a directory into an archive with the current date and time as part of the name, for example, Code_2008-10-14_2257.zip. Is there any easy way I can do this, independent of the regional settings of the machine?

I don't really mind about the date format, ideally it'd be yyyy-mm-dd, but anything simple is fine.

So far I've got this, which on my machine gives me Tue_10_14_2008_230050_91:

rem Get the datetime in a format that can go in a filename.
set _my_datetime=%date%_%time%
set _my_datetime=%_my_datetime: =_%
set _my_datetime=%_my_datetime::=%
set _my_datetime=%_my_datetime:/=_%
set _my_datetime=%_my_datetime:.=_%

rem Now use the timestamp by in a new ZIP file name.
"d:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" a -r Code_%_my_datetime%.zip Code

I can live with this, but it seems a bit clunky. Ideally it'd be briefer and have the format mentioned earlier.

I'm using Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional. I don't want to install additional utilities to achieve this (although I realise there are some that will do nice date formatting).

Answer 1

With Windows 7, this code works for me:

SET DATE=%date%
SET YEAR=%DATE:~0,4%
SET MONTH=%DATE:~5,2%
SET DAY=%DATE:~8,2%
ECHO %YEAR%
ECHO %MONTH%
ECHO %DAY%

SET DATE_FRM=%YEAR%-%MONTH%-%DAY% 
ECHO %DATE_FRM%

Answer 2

Unfortunately this is not immune to regional settings, but it does what you want.

set hour=%time:~0,2%
if "%time:~0,1%"==" " set hour=0%time:~1,1%
set _my_datetime=%date:~10,4%-%date:~4,2%-%date:~7,2%_%hour%%time:~3,2%

Amazing the stuff you can find on Wikipedia.

Answer 3

Two more ways that do not depend on the time settings (both taken from :How get data/time independent from localization:). And both also get the day of the week and none of them requires admin permissions!:

1. MAKECAB - will work on EVERY Windows system (fast, but creates a small temp file) (the foxidrive script):

   @echo off
   pushd "%temp%"
   makecab /D RptFileName=~.rpt /D InfFileName=~.inf /f nul >nul
   for /f "tokens=3-7" %%a in ('find /i "makecab"^<~.rpt') do (
      set "current-date=%%e-%%b-%%c"
      set "current-time=%%d"
      set "weekday=%%a"
   )
   del ~.*
   popd
   echo %weekday% %current-date% %current-time%
   pause
   

   More information about get-date function.

2. ROBOCOPY - it's not native command for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, but it can be downloaded from microsoft site. But is built-in in everything from Windows Vista and above:

   @echo off
   setlocal
   for /f "skip=8 tokens=2,3,4,5,6,7,8 delims=: " %%D in ('robocopy /l * \ \ /ns /nc /ndl /nfl /np /njh /XF * /XD *') do (
    set "dow=%%D"
    set "month=%%E"
    set "day=%%F"
    set "HH=%%G"
    set "MM=%%H"
    set "SS=%%I"
    set "year=%%J"
   )
   
   echo Day of the week: %dow%
   echo Day of the month : %day%
   echo Month : %month%
   echo hour : %HH%
   echo minutes : %MM%
   echo seconds : %SS%
   echo year : %year%
   endlocal
   

   And three more ways that uses other Windows script languages. They will give you more flexibility e.g. you can get week of the year, time in milliseconds and so on.

3. JScript/batch hybrid (need to be saved as .bat). JScript is available on every system form NT and above, as a part of Windows Script Host (though can be disabled through the registry it's a rare case):

   @if (@X)==(@Y) @end /* ---Harmless hybrid line that begins a JScript comment
   
   @echo off
   cscript //E:JScript //nologo "%~f0"
   exit /b 0
   *------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
   
   function GetCurrentDate() {
           // Today date time which will used to set as default date.
           var todayDate = new Date();
           todayDate = todayDate.getFullYear() + "-" +
                          ("0" + (todayDate.getMonth() + 1)).slice(-2) + "-" +
                          ("0" + todayDate.getDate()).slice(-2) + " " + ("0" + todayDate.getHours()).slice(-2) + ":" +
                          ("0" + todayDate.getMinutes()).slice(-2);
   
           return todayDate;
       }
   
   WScript.Echo(GetCurrentDate());
   

4. VSCRIPT/BATCH hybrid (Is it possible to embed and execute VBScript within a batch file without using a temporary file?) same case as JScript, but hybridization is not so perfect:

   :sub echo(str) :end sub
   echo off
   '>nul 2>&1|| copy /Y %windir%\System32\doskey.exe %windir%\System32\'.exe >nul
   '& echo current date:
   '& cscript /nologo /E:vbscript "%~f0"
   '& exit /b
   
   '0 = vbGeneralDate - Default. Returns date: mm/dd/yy and time if specified: hh:mm:ss PM/AM.
   '1 = vbLongDate - Returns date: weekday, monthname, year
   '2 = vbShortDate - Returns date: mm/dd/yy
   '3 = vbLongTime - Returns time: hh:mm:ss PM/AM
   '4 = vbShortTime - Return time: hh:mm
   
   WScript.echo  Replace(FormatDateTime(Date,1),", ","-")
   

5. PowerShell - can be installed on every machine that has .NET - download from Microsoft (v1, v2, v3 (only for Windows 7 and above)). It is installed by default on everything from Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 and above:

   C:\> powershell get-date -format "{dd-MMM-yyyy HH:mm}"
   

   To use it from a batch file:

   for /f "delims=" %%# in ('powershell get-date -format "{dd-MMM-yyyy HH:mm}"') do @set _date=%%#
   

6. Self-compiled jscript.net/batch (never seen a Windows machine without .NET, so I think this is a pretty portable):

   @if (@X)==(@Y) @end /****** silent line that start JScript comment ******
   
   @echo off
   ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
   :::       Compile the script    ::::
   ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
   setlocal
   if exist "%~n0.exe" goto :skip_compilation
   
   set "frm=%SystemRoot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\"
   
   :: Searching the latest installed .NET framework
   for /f "tokens=* delims=" %%v in ('dir /b /s /a:d /o:-n "%SystemRoot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v*"') do (
       if exist "%%v\jsc.exe" (
           rem :: the javascript.net compiler
           set "jsc=%%~dpsnfxv\jsc.exe"
           goto :break_loop
       )
   )
   echo jsc.exe not found && exit /b 0
   :break_loop
   
   
   call %jsc% /nologo /out:"%~n0.exe" "%~dpsfnx0"
   ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
   :::       End of compilation    ::::
   ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
   :skip_compilation
   
   "%~n0.exe"
   
   exit /b 0
   
   
   ****** End of JScript comment ******/
   import System;
   import System.IO;
   
   var dt=DateTime.Now;
   Console.WriteLine(dt.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss"));
   

7. Logman This cannot get the year and day of the week. It's comparatively slow and also creates a temporary file and is based on the time stamps that logman puts on its log files. It will work on everything from Windows XP and above. It probably will be never used by anybody - including me - but is one more way...

   @echo off
   setlocal
   del /q /f %temp%\timestampfile_*
   
   Logman.exe stop ts-CPU 1>nul 2>&1
   Logman.exe delete ts-CPU 1>nul 2>&1
   
   Logman.exe create counter ts-CPU  -sc 2 -v mmddhhmm -max 250 -c "\Processor(_Total)\%% Processor Time" -o %temp%\timestampfile_ >nul
   Logman.exe start ts-CPU 1>nul 2>&1
   
   Logman.exe stop ts-CPU >nul 2>&1
   Logman.exe delete ts-CPU >nul 2>&1
   for /f "tokens=2 delims=_." %%t in  ('dir /b %temp%\timestampfile_*^&del /q/f %temp%\timestampfile_*') do set timestamp=%%t
   
   echo %timestamp%
   echo MM: %timestamp:~0,2%
   echo dd: %timestamp:~2,2%
   echo hh: %timestamp:~4,2%
   echo mm: %timestamp:~6,2%
   
   endlocal
   exit /b 0
   

8. One more way with WMIC which also gives week of the year and the day of the week, but not the milliseconds (for milliseconds check foxidrive's answer):

   for /f %%# in ('wMIC Path Win32_LocalTime Get /Format:value') do @for /f %%@ in ("%%#") do @set %%@
   echo %day%
   echo %DayOfWeek%
   echo %hour%
   echo %minute%
   echo %month%
   echo %quarter%
   echo %second%
   echo %weekinmonth%
   echo %year%
   

9. Using TYPEPERF with some efforts to be fast and compatible with different language settings and as fast as possible:

   @echo off
   setlocal
   
   :: Check if Windows is Windows XP and use Windows XP valid counter for UDP performance
   ::if defined USERDOMAIN_roamingprofile (set "v=v4") else (set "v=")
   
   for /f "tokens=4 delims=. " %%# in ('ver') do if %%# GTR 5 (set "v=v4") else ("v=")
   set "mon="
   for /f "skip=2 delims=," %%# in ('typeperf "\UDP%v%\*" -si 0 -sc 1') do (
      if not defined mon (
         for /f "tokens=1-7 delims=.:/ " %%a in (%%#) do (
           set mon=%%a
           set date=%%b
           set year=%%c
           set hour=%%d
           set minute=%%e
           set sec=%%f
           set ms=%%g
         )
      )
   )
   echo %year%.%mon%.%date%
   echo %hour%:%minute%:%sec%.%ms%
   endlocal
   

10. MSHTA allows calling JavaScript methods similar to the JScript method demonstrated in #3 above. Bear in mind that JavaScript's Date object properties involving month values are numbered from 0 to 11, not 1 to 12. So a value of 9 means October.

    <!-- : Batch portion
    
    @echo off
    setlocal
    
    for /f "delims=" %%I in ('mshta "%~f0"') do set "now.%%~I"
    
    rem Display all variables beginning with "now."
    set now.
    
    goto :EOF
    
    end batch / begin HTA -->
    
    <script>
        resizeTo(0,0)
        var fso = new ActiveXObject('Scripting.FileSystemObject').GetStandardStream(1),
            now = new Date(),
            props=['getDate','getDay','getFullYear','getHours','getMilliseconds','getMinutes',
                'getMonth','getSeconds','getTime','getTimezoneOffset','getUTCDate','getUTCDay',
                'getUTCFullYear','getUTCHours','getUTCMilliseconds','getUTCMinutes','getUTCMonth',
                'getUTCSeconds','getYear','toDateString','toGMTString','toLocaleDateString',
                'toLocaleTimeString','toString','toTimeString','toUTCString','valueOf'],
            output = [];
    
        for (var i in props) {output.push(props[i] + '()=' + now[props[i]]())}
        close(fso.Write(output.join('\n')));
    </script>
    

Answer 4

The first four lines of this code will give you reliable YY DD MM YYYY HH Min Sec variables in Windows XP Professional and higher.

@echo off
for /f "tokens=2 delims==" %%a in ('wmic OS Get localdatetime /value') do set "dt=%%a"
set "YY=%dt:~2,2%" & set "YYYY=%dt:~0,4%" & set "MM=%dt:~4,2%" & set "DD=%dt:~6,2%"
set "HH=%dt:~8,2%" & set "Min=%dt:~10,2%" & set "Sec=%dt:~12,2%"

set "datestamp=%YYYY%%MM%%DD%" & set "timestamp=%HH%%Min%%Sec%" & set "fullstamp=%YYYY%-%MM%-%DD%_%HH%%Min%-%Sec%"
echo datestamp: "%datestamp%"
echo timestamp: "%timestamp%"
echo fullstamp: "%fullstamp%"
pause

Answer 5

:: GetDate.cmd -> Uses WMIC.exe to get current date and time in ISO 8601 format
:: - Sets environment variables %_isotime% and %_now% to current time
:: - On failure, clears these environment variables
:: Inspired on -> https://ss64.com/nt/syntax-getdate.html
:: - (cX) 2017 [e-mail]
:: - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/203090
@echo off

set _isotime=
set _now=

:: Check that WMIC.exe is available
WMIC.exe Alias /? >NUL 2>&1 || goto _WMIC_MISSING_

if not (%1)==() goto _help
SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion

:: Use WMIC.exe to retrieve date and time
FOR /F "skip=1 tokens=1-6" %%G IN ('WMIC.exe Path Win32_LocalTime Get Day^,Hour^,Minute^,Month^,Second^,Year /Format:table') DO (
    IF "%%~L"=="" goto  _WMIC_done_
        set _yyyy=%%L
        set _mm=00%%J
        set _dd=00%%G
        set _hour=00%%H
        set _minute=00%%I
        set _second=00%%K
)
:_WMIC_done_

::   1    2     3       4      5      6
:: %%G  %%H    %%I     %%J    %%K    %%L
:: Day  Hour  Minute  Month  Second  Year
:: 27   9     35      4      38      2017

:: Remove excess leading zeroes
        set _mm=%_mm:~-2%
        set _dd=%_dd:~-2%
        set _hour=%_hour:~-2%
        set _minute=%_minute:~-2%
        set _second=%_second:~-2%
:: Syntax -> %variable:~num_chars_to_skip,num_chars_to_keep%

:: Set date/time in ISO 8601 format:
        Set _isotime=%_yyyy%-%_mm%-%_dd%T%_hour%:%_minute%:%_second%
:: -> http://google.com/search?num=100&q=ISO+8601+format

if 1%_hour% LSS 112 set _now=%_isotime:~0,10% %_hour%:%_minute%:%_second%am
if 1%_hour% LSS 112 goto _skip_12_
    set /a _hour=1%_hour%-12
    set _hour=%_hour:~-2%
    set _now=%_isotime:~0,10% %_hour%:%_minute%:%_second%pm
    :: -> https://ss64.com/nt/if.html
    :: -> http://google.com/search?num=100&q=SetLocal+EndLocal+Windows
    :: 'if () else ()' will NOT set %_now% correctly !?
:_skip_12_

EndLocal & set _isotime=%_isotime% & set _now=%_now%
goto _out

:_WMIC_MISSING_
echo.
echo WMIC.exe command not available
echo - WMIC.exe needs Administrator privileges to run in Windows
echo - Usually the path to WMIC.exe is "%windir%\System32\wbem\WMIC.exe"

:_help
echo.
echo GetDate.cmd: Uses WMIC.exe to get current date and time in ISO 8601 format
echo.
echo    %%_now%%     environment variable set to current date and time
echo    %%_isotime%% environment variable to current time in ISO format
echo    set _today=%%_isotime:~0,10%%
echo.

:_out
:: EOF: GetDate.cmd

Answer 6

Regional independent solution generating the ISO date format:

rem save the existing format definition
for /f "skip=2 tokens=3" %%a in ('reg query "HKCU\Control Panel\International" /v sShortDate') do set FORMAT=%%a
rem set ISO specific format definition
reg add "HKCU\Control Panel\International" /v sShortDate /t REG_SZ /f /d yyyy-MM-dd 1>nul:
rem query the date in the ISO specific format 
set ISODATE=%DATE%
rem restore previous format definition
reg add "HKCU\Control Panel\International" /v sShortDate /t REG_SZ /f /d %FORMAT% 1>nul:

What could still be optimized: Other processes might get confused if using the date format in the short period while it is modified. So parsing the output according to the existing format string could be 'safer' - but will be more complicated