# How to convert a date to a string in JavaScript

By Atta Ur Rehman Shah (https://attacomsian.com/about). Published Sep 14, 2021, updated Nov 9, 2022. Topics: JavaScript.
Canonical URL: https://attacomsian.com/blog/javascript-format-date

> A quick guide to learning about different ways to format a date object to a string in JavaScript.

There are multiple ways to format a date in JavaScript. You can either use the built-in methods like `toUTCString()` and `toISOString()`, or the `Intl.DateTimeFormat` object.

## Convert date to string using built-in methods

The `Date` object in JavaScript exposes several built-in methods that you can use to display the date in different formats.

By default, the `toString()` method outputs the date in full text string format:

```javascript
const date = new Date(2021, 8, 14, 7, 14);

console.log(date.toString());
// OR
console.log(date);

// Tue Sep 14 2021 07:14:00 GMT+0500 (Pakistan Standard Time)
```

To display a [date as a UTC string](https://attacomsian.com/blog/javascript-convert-date-to-utc-string), you can use the `toUTCString()` method:

```javascript
console.log(date.toUTCString());
// Tue, 14 Sep 2021 02:14:00 GMT
```

If you want to show the date in ISO format, you use the `toISOString()` method instead:

```javascript
console.log(date.toISOString());
// 2021-09-14T02:14:00.000Z
```

Similarly, you can use `toDateString()` and `toTimeString()` methods to display only date and time parts of the `Date` object, respectively:

```javascript
console.log(date.toDateString());
// Tue Sep 14 2021

console.log(date.toTimeString());
// 07:14:00 GMT+0500 (Pakistan Standard Time)
```

You are not limited to the above methods only. Off course, you can also use methods like `getDate()`, `getMonth()`, and `getFullYear()` to retrieve day, month, and full year from a date object in JavaScript:

```javascript
const day = date.getDate();
const month = date.getMonth() + 1;
const year = date.getFullYear();

const str = `${day}/${month}/${year}`;

console.log(str);
// 14/9/2021
```

## Convert date to string using `Intl.DateTimeFormat` methods

The ` Intl.DateTimeFormat` object is available in all modern browsers and IE 11. It provides methods for language-sensitive date and time formatting in JavaScript.

One such method is `format()` that formats a date according to the locale and formatting options of the `Intl.DateTimeFormat` object.

Here is an example that formats the date using the default locale:

```javascript
const date = new Date(2021, 8, 14, 7, 14);

const str = Intl.DateTimeFormat().format(date);

console.log(str);
// 14/9/2021
```

If you need more localized date and time format, just pass the desired locale to `Intl.DateTimeFormat()` as shown below:

```javascript
console.log(new Intl.DateTimeFormat('de-DE').format(date));
// 14.9.2021

console.log(new Intl.DateTimeFormat('ko-KR').format(date));
// 2021. 9. 14.

console.log(new Intl.DateTimeFormat('ar-EG').format(date));
// ١٤‏/٩‏/٢٠٢١
```

The date object can be further customized by passing an `options` object to the `Intl.DateTimeFormat()` constructor:

```javascript
const options = {
    weekday: 'long',
    year: 'numeric',
    month: 'long',
    day: 'numeric'
};

console.log(new Intl.DateTimeFormat('de-DE', options).format(date));
// Dienstag, 14. September 2021

options.timeZone = 'CET';
options.timeZoneName = 'short';

console.log(new Intl.DateTimeFormat('it-IT', options).format(date));
// martedì 14 settembre 2021, GMT+2

options.fractionalSecondDigits = 3;

console.log(new Intl.DateTimeFormat('ar-EG', options).format(date));
// الاثنين، ١٣ سبتمبر ٢٠٢١ ٠٠٠ غرينتش-٥
```