postgres-date

2.1.0 verified Sat Apr 25 auth: no javascript

A focused parser that converts PostgreSQL date/time output strings into JavaScript Date objects, preserving precision and matching Postgres behavior. Version 2.1.0 supports Node >=12 and includes TypeScript types. It is maintained as a patch-level library with no minor releases planned, releasing fixes only. Unlike heavier database clients, this is a minimal single-purpose tool for accurate date parsing.

Common errors

error TypeError: (intermediate value)(...) is not a function ↓

cause Using named import `{ parse }` instead of default import.

fix

Use import parse from 'postgres-date' or const parse = require('postgres-date').

error Cannot find module 'postgres-date' or its corresponding type declarations. ↓

cause Package not installed or TypeScript cannot resolve types.

fix

Run npm install postgres-date and ensure tsconfig.json includes node_modules in moduleResolution.

error RangeError: Invalid time value ↓

cause Parsing a date string that is out of JavaScript's Date range (e.g., year 100000).

fix

Check input dates and handle extremely large years manually.

Warnings

gotcha Infinity dates ('infinity', '-infinity') return null instead of a Date object. ↓

fix Check for null before using the result if your data may contain infinity dates.

gotcha The parser does not handle BC dates (before Christ) correctly. ↓

fix Manually handle BC dates by adjusting the year: parse('0001-01-01 BC') will not give correct year.

gotcha Parsing timestamps with time zone '00:00' will interpret as UTC, but Postgres may use different timezone offsets. ↓

fix Ensure your Postgres session timezone is set to UTC or verify the offset before parsing.

Install

npm install postgres-date

yarn add postgres-date

pnpm add postgres-date

Imports

default
wrong
```
const { parse } = require('postgres-date')
```
correct
```
import parse from 'postgres-date'
```
The module exports a single default function. Named import will not work.
require (CommonJS)
wrong
```
const parse = require('postgres-date').default
```
correct
```
const parse = require('postgres-date')
```
CommonJS require returns the default export directly; no .default needed.

parse

wrong

import { parse } from 'postgres-date'
parse('2011-01-23 22:15:51Z')

correct

import parse from 'postgres-date'
parse('2011-01-23 22:15:51Z')

The default export is the parse function; named import parse does not exist.

Quickstart

Demonstrates parsing various PostgreSQL date strings including timezone offsets and infinity values.

import parse from 'postgres-date';

const dateString = '2023-12-25 10:30:00+02';
const date = parse(dateString);
console.log(date.toISOString());
// => 2023-12-25T08:30:00.000Z

// With time zone offset
const date2 = parse('2023-01-01 00:00:00-05');
console.log(date2.toISOString());
// => 2023-01-01T05:00:00.000Z

// Infinity dates
console.log(parse('infinity')); // null
console.log(parse('-infinity')); // null