Complete Guide on Getting Current Time, Hour, Minute, and Second in PHP

gitbox 2025-06-28

How to Get Current Time, Hour, Minute, and Second in PHP

PHP is a widely used server-side scripting language that not only handles various web development tasks but also offers powerful time-handling functions. In PHP, retrieving the current time is simple, and there are several built-in functions to achieve this. In this article, we will explore how to get the current time, hour, minute, and second using PHP.

Introduction to the time() Function

The time() function in PHP is used to retrieve the current time as a UNIX timestamp. A UNIX timestamp represents the number of seconds that have passed since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC.

Here is an example of using the time() function to get the current timestamp:


$time = time();
echo $time;

Running the above code will output the current UNIX timestamp.

Converting UNIX Timestamp to Readable Time

While UNIX timestamps are useful for computers, they are not very intuitive for humans. To display time in a more readable format, we can convert the UNIX timestamp to a formatted date and time.

The date() function in PHP is used to convert the timestamp into a readable format. Here's an example:


$time = time();
echo date("Y-m-d H:i:s", $time);

This code will output the current time in the format: year-month-day hour:minute:second.

Getting the Current Hour

If you only need the current hour, you can use the date() function with the "H" format. Here’s the code:


$time = time();
echo date("H", $time);

This code will return the current hour, for example, 14 for 2 PM.

Getting the Current Minute


$time = time();
echo date("i", $time);

This code will return the current minute.

Getting the Current Second

If you want the current second, use the following code:


$time = time();
echo date("s", $time);

This code will return the current second.

Getting the Current Millisecond

The time() function in PHP only provides timestamps down to the second. If you need millisecond precision, you can use the microtime() function. Here’s how you can get the current millisecond:


$microtime = microtime(true);
$millisecond = sprintf("%03d", ($microtime - floor($microtime)) * 1000);
echo $millisecond;

This code will return the current millisecond.

Conclusion

With the methods outlined in this article, you can easily retrieve the current hour, minute, second, and even millisecond in PHP. Time is an essential element in many development tasks, and mastering these basic time-handling functions can significantly improve your development efficiency.