Skip to main content
Version: 3.28.0

Date.prototype.toString()

The toString() method returns a string representing the specified Date object interpreted in the local timezone.

Syntax​

toString()

Return value​

A string representing the given date.

Description​

The Date object overrides the toString() method of Object. Date.prototype.toString() returns a string representation of the Date as interpreted in the local timezone, containing both the date and the time — it joins the string representation specified in toDateString() and toTimeString() together, adding a space in between.

For example: "Thu Jan 01 1970 04:42:04 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)"

The toString() method is automatically called when a date is coerced to a string, such as const today = 'Today is ' + new Date().

Date.prototype.toString() must be called on Date instances. If the this value does not inherit from Date.prototype, a TypeError is thrown.

  • If you only want to get the date part, use toDateString().
  • If you only want to get the time part, use toTimeString().
  • If you want to make the date interpreted as UTC instead of local timezone, use toUTCString().
  • If you want to format the date in a more user-friendly format (e.g. localization), use toLocaleString().