The since() method of Temporal.ZonedDateTime instances returns a new Temporal.Duration object representing the duration from another date-time (in a form convertible by Temporal.ZonedDateTime.from()) to this date-time. The duration is positive if the other date-time is before this date-time, and negative if after.

This method does this - other. To do other - this, use the until() method.

Syntax

since(other)
since(other, options)

Parameters

other

A string, an object, or a Temporal.ZonedDateTime instance representing a date-time to subtract from this date-time. It is converted to a Temporal.ZonedDateTime object using the same algorithm as Temporal.ZonedDateTime.from(). It must have the same calendar as this.

options Optional

An object containing the options for Temporal.Duration.prototype.round(), which includes largestUnit, roundingIncrement, roundingMode, and smallestUnit. largestUnit and smallestUnit accept all possible units. For largestUnit, the default value "auto" means "hours" or smallestUnit, whichever is greater. For smallestUnit, the default value is "nanoseconds". The current date is used as the relativeTo option. Note that using units larger than "hours" may make the duration not portable to other calendars, dates, or time zones.

Return value

A new Temporal.Duration object representing the duration since other to this date-time. The duration is positive if other is before this date-time, and negative if after.

Exceptions

RangeError

Thrown in one of the following cases:

• other has a different calendar than this.
• Any of the options is invalid.
• other has a different time zone than this, and largestUnit is "days" or above.

Description

The duration returned is a "hybrid" duration. This means that the duration's date portion represents full calendar days like Temporal.PlainDateTime.prototype.since() would return, while its time portion represents real-world elapsed time like Temporal.Instant.prototype.since() would return. This "hybrid duration" approach automatically adjusts for DST and matches widely-adopted industry standards like RFC 5545 (iCalendar). See below for examples.

Examples

Offset transitions

When transitions happen, a day may not have exactly 24 hours.

const start = Temporal.ZonedDateTime.from(
  "2024-11-03T01:00:00-04:00[America/New_York]",
);
const end = Temporal.ZonedDateTime.from(
  "2024-11-04T01:00:00-05:00[America/New_York]",
);
console.log(end.since(start).toString()); // PT25H
console.log(end.since(start, { largestUnit: "days" }).toString()); // PT1D

const start2 = Temporal.ZonedDateTime.from(
  "2024-03-10T01:00:00-05:00[America/New_York]",
);
const end2 = Temporal.ZonedDateTime.from(
  "2024-03-11T01:00:00-04:00[America/New_York]",
);
console.log(end2.since(start2).toString()); // PT23H
console.log(end2.since(start2, { largestUnit: "days" }).toString()); // PT1D

For this reason, the returned duration is purely time-based with no date portion by default, so that it stays unambiguous.

Different time zones

The time portion of the returned duration is purely based on instants and is not affected by time zones. However, if you want to include any date units like day, then the start and end must be in the same time zone.

const start = Temporal.ZonedDateTime.from(
  "2024-11-03T01:00:00-04:00[America/New_York]",
);
// Peru does not use DST so its offset remains -05:00 year-round
const end = Temporal.ZonedDateTime.from(
  "2024-11-04T01:00:00-05:00[America/Lima]",
);

end.since(start); // PT25H
end.since(start, { largestUnit: "days" }); // RangeError: time zones "America/Lima" and "America/New_York" aren't compatible

end.withTimeZone("America/New_York").since(start, { largestUnit: "days" }); // P1D
end.since(start.withTimeZone("America/Lima"), { largestUnit: "days" }); // P1D1H

For more examples about how to use since(), especially with rounding, see Temporal.PlainDate.prototype.since() and Temporal.PlainTime.prototype.since().

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• Temporal.ZonedDateTime
• Temporal.Duration
• Temporal.ZonedDateTime.prototype.add()
• Temporal.ZonedDateTime.prototype.subtract()
• Temporal.ZonedDateTime.prototype.until()