Modifier `:timestamp`

:timestamp does different things on different tags and fields:

Unix timestamp on {date_created}, {date_updated}, {payment_date}, and {today}, under What to show in the picker.
Example: {date_created:timestamp} gives 1768438800.
Convert to a Unix timestamp on Date and Time fields, under Change the output in the picker.
Example: {Start Date:128:timestamp} gives 1773878400. On the test form, this field is {Start Date:128} (Date).
Unix timestamp on {now}, {yesterday}, and {tomorrow}, under What to show in the picker.
Example: {now:timestamp} gives 1768449600.

Unix timestamp

A true UTC timestamp on {today}. On the entry's dates it is the site's local time shifted by its time-zone offset, so it is off by that offset on a site not set to UTC.

Product	Gravity Forms
Requires	Gravity Forms 1.9 or later
In the picker	What to show, for {date_created}, {date_updated}, {payment_date}, and {today}

Examples

Output from the real plugin code, run on a test entry.

Merge tag	Output	Without the modifier
`{date_created:timestamp}`	`1768438800`	`January 15, 2026`
`{date_updated:timestamp}`	`1768439400`	`January 15, 2026`
`{payment_date:timestamp}`	`1768439100`	`January 15, 2026`
`{today:timestamp}`	`1768467600`	`January 15, 2026`
`{date_created:timestamp}` Rendered against an entry nine days older, where the result differs.	`1768276800`	`January 15, 2026`
`{date_updated:timestamp}` Rendered against an entry nine days older, where the result differs.	`1768277400`	`January 15, 2026`
`{payment_date:timestamp}` Rendered against an entry nine days older, where the result differs.	`1768277100`	`January 15, 2026`

Works on

Merge tags: {date_created} · {date_updated} · {payment_date} · {today}.

Convert to a Unix timestamp

Converts the value with PHP's strtotime(). Outputs -1 for a date at or before the start of 1970, or one PHP cannot read.

Works in any merge tag while GravityView is active, including Gravity Forms notifications.

Product	GravityView
Requires	GravityView 1.17 or later
In the picker	Change the output, for Date and Time fields

How to use it

Give a date to a script as a number

The date as a count of seconds (Unix time): easy to sort or compare in JavaScript.

Write

<time data-timestamp="{Birthday:13:timestamp}">{Birthday:13}</time>

Get

<time data-timestamp="294019200">04/27/1979</time>

Examples

Output from the real plugin code, run on a test entry.

Merge tag	Output	Without the modifier
`{Birthday:13:timestamp}`	`294019200`	`04/27/1979`

Works on

Form fields: Date · Time.

Left out

Field kinds	Why
Date, after a custom format	Locked there. "Custom date format" already reads the value as a date. A second date step would read its result instead of the field’s value and give a wrong date. Remove it first.

Unix timestamp

On these tags, the timestamp is the site's local time shifted by its time-zone offset, not a true UTC timestamp (unlike {today:timestamp}).

Works in any merge tag while GravityView is active, including Gravity Forms notifications.

Product	GravityView
Requires	GravityView 2.30 or later
In the picker	What to show, for {now}, {yesterday}, and {tomorrow}

Examples

Output from the real plugin code, run on a test entry.

Merge tag	Output	Without the modifier
`{now:timestamp}`	`1768449600`	`January 15, 2026`
`{yesterday:timestamp}`	`1768363200`	`January 14, 2026`
`{tomorrow:timestamp}`	`1768536000`	`January 16, 2026`

Works on

Merge tags: {now} · {yesterday} · {tomorrow}.