Convert time.Time to string

You can use the Time.String() method to convert a time.Time to a string. This uses the format string "2006-01-02 15:04:05.999999999 -0700 MST".

If you need other custom format, you can use Time.Format(). For example to get the timestamp in the format of yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss use the format string "2006-01-02 15:04:05".

Example:

t := time.Now()
fmt.Println(t.String())
fmt.Println(t.Format("2006-01-02 15:04:05"))

Output (try it on the Go Playground):

2009-11-10 23:00:00 +0000 UTC
2009-11-10 23:00:00

Note: time on the Go Playground is always set to the value seen above. Run it locally to see current date/time.

Also note that using Time.Format(), as the layout string you always have to pass the same time –called the reference time– formatted in a way you want the result to be formatted. This is documented at Time.Format():

Format returns a textual representation of the time value formatted according to layout, which defines the format by showing how the reference time, defined to be

Mon Jan 2 15:04:05 -0700 MST 2006

would be displayed if it were the value; it serves as an example of the desired output. The same display rules will then be applied to the time value.

package main                                                                                                                                                           

import (
    "fmt"
    "time"
)

// @link https://golang.org/pkg/time/

func main() {

    //caution : format string is `2006-01-02 15:04:05.000000000`
    current := time.Now()

    fmt.Println("origin : ", current.String())
    // origin :  2016-09-02 15:53:07.159994437 +0800 CST

    fmt.Println("mm-dd-yyyy : ", current.Format("01-02-2006"))
    // mm-dd-yyyy :  09-02-2016

    fmt.Println("yyyy-mm-dd : ", current.Format("2006-01-02"))
    // yyyy-mm-dd :  2016-09-02

    // separated by .
    fmt.Println("yyyy.mm.dd : ", current.Format("2006.01.02"))
    // yyyy.mm.dd :  2016.09.02

    fmt.Println("yyyy-mm-dd HH:mm:ss : ", current.Format("2006-01-02 15:04:05"))
    // yyyy-mm-dd HH:mm:ss :  2016-09-02 15:53:07

    // StampMicro
    fmt.Println("yyyy-mm-dd HH:mm:ss: ", current.Format("2006-01-02 15:04:05.000000"))
    // yyyy-mm-dd HH:mm:ss:  2016-09-02 15:53:07.159994

    //StampNano
    fmt.Println("yyyy-mm-dd HH:mm:ss: ", current.Format("2006-01-02 15:04:05.000000000"))
    // yyyy-mm-dd HH:mm:ss:  2016-09-02 15:53:07.159994437
}