Relative Time

<sl-relative-time> | SlRelativeTime

Since 2.0

stable

Outputs a localized time phrase relative to the current date and time.

Localization is handled by the browser’s Intl.RelativeTimeFormat API. No language packs are required.

<!-- Shoelace 2 release date 🎉 -->
<sl-relative-time date="2020-07-15T09:17:00-04:00"></sl-relative-time>

The date attribute determines when the date/time is calculated from. It must be a string that Date.parse() can interpret or a Date object set via JavaScript.

When using strings, avoid ambiguous dates such as 03/04/2020 which can be interpreted as March 4 or April 3 depending on the user’s browser and locale. Instead, always use a valid ISO 8601 date time string to ensure the date will be parsed properly by all clients.

Examples

Keeping Time in Sync

Use the sync attribute to update the displayed value automatically as time passes.

<div class="relative-time-sync">
  <sl-relative-time sync></sl-relative-time>
</div>

<script>
  const container = document.querySelector('.relative-time-sync');
  const relativeTime = container.querySelector('sl-relative-time');

  relativeTime.date = new Date(new Date().getTime() - 60000);
</script>

Formatting Styles

You can change how the time is displayed using the format attribute. Note that some locales may display the same values for narrow and short formats.

<sl-relative-time date="2020-07-15T09:17:00-04:00" format="narrow"></sl-relative-time><br />
<sl-relative-time date="2020-07-15T09:17:00-04:00" format="short"></sl-relative-time><br />
<sl-relative-time date="2020-07-15T09:17:00-04:00" format="long"></sl-relative-time>

Localization

Use the lang attribute to set the desired locale.

English:
Chinese:
German:
Greek:
Russian:

English: <sl-relative-time date="2020-07-15T09:17:00-04:00" lang="en-US"></sl-relative-time><br />
Chinese: <sl-relative-time date="2020-07-15T09:17:00-04:00" lang="zh-CN"></sl-relative-time><br />
German: <sl-relative-time date="2020-07-15T09:17:00-04:00" lang="de"></sl-relative-time><br />
Greek: <sl-relative-time date="2020-07-15T09:17:00-04:00" lang="el"></sl-relative-time><br />
Russian: <sl-relative-time date="2020-07-15T09:17:00-04:00" lang="ru"></sl-relative-time>

Properties

Name	Description	Type	Default
`date`	The date from which to calculate time from. If not set, the current date and time will be used. When passing a string, it’s strongly recommended to use the ISO 8601 format to ensure timezones are handled correctly. To convert a date to this format in JavaScript, use `date.toISOString()`.	`Date \| string`	`new Date()`
`format`	The formatting style to use.	`'long' \| 'short' \| 'narrow'`	`'long'`
`numeric`	When `auto`, values such as “yesterday” and “tomorrow” will be shown when possible. When `always`, values such as “1 day ago” and “in 1 day” will be shown.	`'always' \| 'auto'`	`'auto'`
`sync`	Keep the displayed value up to date as time passes.	`boolean`	`false`
`updateComplete`	A read-only promise that resolves when the component has finished updating.

Learn more about attributes and properties.