Date

Use the Date Step to format, shift, round, extract parts from, or compare dates without writing code. Format it for a person, shift it, pull out one part, measure the gap between two dates, round it, or take the current date.

At a glanceVerified in app · Oct 29, 2026

Use it to: Format, add or subtract time, round, extract date parts, or measure the gap between two dates
Find it: Tools → Data → Transform → Date
Cost: 1 Step credit per execution
Limits: 7 operations (Format, Add, Subtract, Extract, Between, Round, Now) · Epoch numbers need inline parse_date first
Output: {{ N.result }}, {{ N.resultType }}, plus {{ N.date }} and {{ N.formatted }} (or {{ N.exact }} for Between)
Instead: Inline date pipes ({{ $now | date_add:7:days | format_date:date_iso }})

Dates are unavoidable in operations work: invoice due dates, SLA windows, “anything older than 30 days”. This step handles them without a trip to the Code editor.

Format or shift dates directly inside fields: You can format, shift, or snap dates directly within any variable reference using Data Transformation:

Format for reading: {{ 1.created_at | format_date:date_medium:Europe/Prague }}
Add 30 days: {{ 1.invoice_date | date_add:30:days }}
Start of month: {{ 1.timestamp | date_start_of:month }}

Use the dedicated Date canvas step when you need to calculate gaps between dates (Between) for downstream Conditions. It is also useful when multiple steps reuse the computed date.

Setting it up

Add the step

Open Tools in the dock and choose Date.

Pick what to do

What to do decides which fields appear:

Operation	What it does	Required Fields & Behavior
Format	Renders a date as display text	Date, Format, Timezone
Add	Moves a date forwards	Date, How much, Unit (years through seconds)
Subtract	Moves a date backwards	Date, How much, Unit (years through seconds)
Extract	Pulls out one part of a date	Date, Part to extract (year, quarter, month number/name, week of year, day of month/year, weekday, hour, minute, second)
Between	Measures the gap between two dates	Date, Second date, Measure in (counted in whole units, so 36 hours in days answers `1`)
Round	Snaps to a unit boundary	Date, Round to (year, month, week, day, hour, minute), Direction (down or up; weeks start on Monday)
Now	Takes the current date and time	Format, Timezone

Give it the date

Date takes a reference such as {{ 1.created_at }}, {{ $now }}, or a date string (2026-08-03, 2026-08-03 14:22, 2026-08-03T14:22:00Z). If the incoming text uses a non-standard shape (such as DD.MM.YYYY), specify Input format so Glow can parse it when automatic parsing fails. A plain number such as a Unix timestamp (1769817600) is rejected directly; convert it inline with {{ 1.timestamp | parse_date:epoch_seconds }} (or epoch_milliseconds) before passing it to Date.

Choose a format and timezone

Set Timezone to the reader’s local timezone whenever a date can cross midnight. Choose a preset Format or select Custom:

Preset Formats

ISO: 2026-08-03 - Day-first: 03/08/2026 - Month-first: 08/03/2026 - Long date: 3 August 2026 - Date and time: 2026-08-03 14:22 - Long date and time: 3 August 2026 at 14:22

What it passes on

{{ N.result }} holds the operation’s primary answer, and {{ N.resultType }} names its type (date, text, or number). The step also publishes operation and timezone:

Operation	`{{ N.result }}`	`{{ N.date }}` & `{{ N.formatted }}`	Additional Fields
Format	Formatted display text	Present (`date` = UTC ISO instant, `formatted` = timezone display)	None
Add, Subtract, Round, Now	UTC ISO instant (`...Z`)	Present (`date` = UTC ISO instant, `formatted` = timezone display)	None
Extract	Number, or text for a month/weekday name	Absent	`{{ N.part }}`
Between	Whole-unit gap (number)	Absent	`{{ N.exact }}`, `{{ N.unit }}`, `{{ N.direction }}`, `{{ N.milliseconds }}`

Examples to copy

Date (Between: created_at to $now)Conditions (result > 7)Slack Escalation

Goal	Configuration	Downstream Reference
Due date 30 days out	What to do: `Add` · Date: `{{ 1.invoice_date }}` · How much: `30` · Unit: `days`	Use `{{ N.formatted }}` in emails and `{{ N.date }}` in API calls.
Ticket age (SLA check)	What to do: `Between` · Date: `{{ 2.created_at }}` · Second date: `{{ $now }}` · Measure in: `days`	Branch on `{{ N.result }}` in Conditions.
Run on weekdays only	What to do: `Extract` · Part to extract: `Day of the week (number)`	Monday is `1` and Sunday is `7`; check `{{ N.result }}` is less than `6`.
Start of current month	What to do: `Round` · Round to: `month` · Direction: `down`	Pass `{{ N.date }}` as the report’s start timestamp.

Verify it works

Run: Choose Add (30 days) on {{ $now }} and click Run step in Test & Debug
You should see: The Output tab shows result and date as the UTC ISO timestamp 30 days ahead, alongside formatted in your chosen timezone.

What’s Next?

Branch on the answer with Conditions.
See what {{ $now }} and {{ $today }} give you in Variable Syntax.