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SQL Date Format Generator - Online for MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.

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SQL Date Format Generator

Generate perfect date format strings for MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle & SQLite. Real-time preview & instant SQL snippets.

2024-12-25 
SELECT DATE_FORMAT(NOW(), '%Y-%m-%d') AS formatted_date;
Format Specifiers Reference MySQL
Specifier Description Example
Frequently Asked Questions About SQL Date Formatting

MySQL uses DATE_FORMAT(date, format) with percent-prefixed specifiers like %Y, %m, %d. PostgreSQL uses TO_CHAR(date, format) with all-uppercase specifiers like YYYY, MM, DD. The two systems have completely different format string syntaxes, which is why this generator exists — to help you quickly switch between them without memorizing both.

Yes! SQL Server 2012 and later support FORMAT(date, format) which uses .NET-style format strings (e.g., yyyy-MM-dd, MMMM dd, yyyy). For older SQL Server versions, you must use CONVERT() with predefined style codes or manually concatenate date parts using DATEPART(). The FORMAT function is more flexible but can be slower on large datasets since it relies on CLR.

SQLite uses the strftime(format, date_string) function with format specifiers similar to MySQL (percent-prefixed like %Y, %m, %d). Important: In SQLite, %M means minutes (unlike MySQL where %i is minutes and %M is the full month name). Also, SQLite stores dates as TEXT strings, so you need to ensure your date column is in a recognized format like ISO 8601.

ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD) is universally recognized and works across all major databases. For timestamps, YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS (or equivalent) is the most portable. When building applications that may switch databases, always store dates in ISO 8601 format and format them at the application layer when possible. This generator helps you create the correct format string for each database's specific syntax.

Oracle's TO_CHAR with MONTH or DAY pads the result with trailing spaces to a fixed width (9 characters for MONTH, 9 for DAY). To remove these extra spaces, wrap the result with TRIM(): SELECT TRIM(TO_CHAR(SYSDATE, 'MONTH')) FROM dual;. Alternatively, use MON (abbreviated) or fmMONTH (fill-mode prefix) to suppress padding.

Each database has dedicated functions: MySQL uses YEAR(), MONTH(), DAY(); PostgreSQL uses EXTRACT(YEAR FROM date); SQL Server uses DATEPART(year, date); Oracle uses EXTRACT(YEAR FROM date); SQLite uses strftime('%Y', date). For simple extraction, these functions are often cleaner than full format strings.

Yes, but you need to convert the timestamp first. In MySQL: DATE_FORMAT(FROM_UNIXTIME(epoch), '%Y-%m-%d'). In PostgreSQL: TO_CHAR(TO_TIMESTAMP(epoch), 'YYYY-MM-DD'). In SQL Server: FORMAT(DATEADD(second, epoch, '1970-01-01'), 'yyyy-MM-dd'). In Oracle: TO_CHAR(TIMESTAMP '1970-01-01 00:00:00' + NUMTODSINTERVAL(epoch, 'SECOND'), 'YYYY-MM-DD'). In SQLite: strftime('%Y-%m-%d', epoch, 'unixepoch').

Generally, formatting dates in application code (Python, JavaScript, Java, etc.) is more efficient and scalable than doing it in SQL. SQL date formatting consumes database CPU resources and can slow down queries on large result sets. However, for quick ad-hoc queries, reports, or when you need formatted dates in views, SQL formatting is convenient. Use this generator to get the right syntax when you do need SQL-side formatting.
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