now()

now(): number

Returns the number of milliseconds elapsed since January 1, 1970 00:00:00 UTC.

DEPRECATED

Use Date.now() directly instead.

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Returns: number

The current Unix timestamp in milliseconds.

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See Also

• Date.now() - MDN
• Browser support - Can I Use

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Since

2.0.0

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Also known as

now (Lodash) · timestamp (Antfu) · ❌ (es-toolkit, Remeda, Radashi, Ramda, Effect, Modern Dash)

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Example

// ❌ Deprecated approach
const timestamp = now();

// ✅ Recommended approach
const timestamp = Date.now();

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How it works?

Gets the timestamp of current time. Deprecated: Use Date.now() directly (ES5).

Native Equivalent

// ❌ now()
// ✅ Date.now()

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Use Cases

Get current timestamp 📌

Get the current Unix timestamp in milliseconds.

#now#timestamp#current#time

Date.now();
// => 1705708800000

Measure elapsed time

Calculate time between operations.

#measure#elapsed#performance#duration

const start = Date.now();
// ... operation ...
const elapsed = Date.now() - start;

Generate unique IDs

Use timestamp for unique identifiers.

#generate#unique#ID#timestamp

const id = `item_${Date.now()}`;
// => "item_1705708800000"