--- title: Custom Time Frames description: >- Use custom time frame syntaxes including fixed dates, relative dates, and calendar-aligned periods in Datadog dashboards. breadcrumbs: Docs > Dashboards > Graphing Guides > Custom Time Frames --- # Custom Time Frames ## Overview{% #overview %} {% alert level="info" %} Queries are run in UTC time, but the query time frame is selected according to your **browser's time zone**. Toggle between displaying the default time zone or UTC from the dashboard configure action. For more information, see the [Dashboard configuration documentation](https://docs.datadoghq.com/dashboards/configure.md#configuration-actions). {% /alert %} Many views in Datadog can be scoped to a specific time frame. Time controls include a list of common time frames and a calendar picker for quick selection. Time frames can be: - **Sliding**: Both start and end move forward as time ticks by (for example, `5h` always shows the most recent 5 hours). - **Growing**: A fixed start with the end tracking "now" (for example, `since Jun 1` shows everything from June 1 until the current time). - **Fixed**: Both start and end are frozen to specific points in time (for example, `Jan 1 - Jan 2`). To increment by month, day, year, hour, or minute, highlight a portion of the time frame and use the `[↑]` and `[↓]` keys: {% video url="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/dashboards/guide/custom_time_frames/increment_with_arrow_keys.mp4" /%} ## Supported syntaxes{% #supported-syntaxes %} ### Fixed dates{% #fixed-dates %} {% video url="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/dashboards/guide/custom_time_frames/custom_fixed_time_frame.mp4" /%} | Format | Examples | | ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | | `{MMM/MMMM} D` | Jan 1January 1 | | `M/D` | 1​/​1 | | `M-D` | 1-1 | | `M/D/{YY/YYYY}` | 1/1/191/1/2019 | | `M-D-{YY/YYYY}` | 1-1-191-1-2019 | | `{MMM/MMMM} D, h:mm a` | Jan 1, 1:00 pmJanuary 1, 1:00 pm | | `{MMM/MMMM} D, YYYY, h:mm a` | Jan 1, 2019, 1:00 pmJanuary 1, 2019, 1:00 pm | | `h:mm a` | 1:00 pm | | Unix seconds timestamp | 1577883600 | | Unix milliseconds timestamp | 1577883600000 | Any fixed date can be entered as part of a range. For example: - `1577883600 - 1578009540` - `Jan 1 - Jan 2` - `6:00 am - 1:00 pm` ### Relative dates{% #relative-dates %} Relative dates update over time; they are calculated from the current time. {% video url="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/dashboards/guide/custom_time_frames/custom_relative_time_frame.mp4" /%} | Format | Description | | --------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `N{unit}` | Displays a sliding window of the past N units. Accepted units are listed below. Both start and end move forward with time. For example, **3 mo** (the past 3 months). To create a growing window where the end stays at "now," use the `to now` syntax (for example, `10am to now`). For more information, see Growing time frames. | The following strings are accepted for any `{unit}` in a relative date: - Minutes: `m`, `min`, `mins`, `minute`, `minutes` - Hours: `h`, `hr`, `hrs`, `hour`, `hours` - Days: `d`, `day`, `days` - Weeks: `w`, `week`, `weeks` - Months: `mo`, `mos`, `mon`, `mons`, `month`, `months` ### Growing time frames{% #growing-time-frames %} Growing time frames have a fixed start and automatically extend to the current time ("now"). They are useful when you want to see all activity since a specific point in time. {% video url="https://docs.dd-static.net/images/dashboards/guide/custom_time_frames/custom_growing_time_frame.mp4" /%} | Format | Description | | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `{date} to now` | A growing window from `{date}` until now. For example, **Jan 1 to now**. | | `{date} - now` | Equivalent to `{date} to now`. For example, **Jan 1 - now**. | | `since {date}` | Equivalent to `{date} to now`. For example, **since Jun 1**, **since 5h**, **since 1549116000**. | | `from {date}` | Equivalent to `{date} to now`. For example, **from Jun 1**, **from 5h**. | The `{date}` in both formats accepts any of the following: - Relative shorthand (for example, `5h`, `2d`, `3w`) - Fixed dates (for example, `Jun 1`, `Feb 2 2pm`, `1/15/2024`) - Unix timestamps in seconds or milliseconds (for example, `1549116000`, `1549116000000`) ### Calendar-aligned dates{% #calendar-aligned-dates %} Calendar-aligned dates snap to calendar boundaries (such as midnight, start of the week, and start of the month) and update accordingly as time passes. | Format | Description | | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `today` | The current calendar day until present | | `yesterday` | The full previous calendar day | | `week to date` | The current week from 12AM Monday until present | | `month to date` | The current month from the 1st until present | | `year to date` | The current year from January 1 until present | | `this {unit}` | The current calendar unit until present. For example, **this month**, **this year** | | `last {unit}` | The full previous calendar unit. For example, **last month**, **last year** | | `previous {unit}` | Equivalent to `last {unit}`. For example, **previous week**, **previous month** | | `N {units} ago` | The full calendar unit N periods back. For example, **2 weeks ago**, **3 months ago** | ## URLs{% #urls %} You can manipulate time queries in the URL of a dashboard. Consider the following dashboard URL: ``` https://app.datadoghq.com/dash/host/?from_ts=&to_ts=&live=true ``` - The `from_ts` parameter is the Unix milliseconds timestamp of the query starting time. For example, `1683518770980`. - The `to_ts` parameter is the Unix milliseconds timestamp of the query ending time. For example, `1683605233205`. - `live=true` indicates that relative time specifications are retained when a query is saved or shared. You can also use `live=false`.