timestamp() - Pine Script Function

Overview

timestamp() lets you generate UNIX timestamps from date components or ISO / RFC-formatted strings. Pine relies on these values for scheduling, session comparisons, and date arithmetic.

Syntax

timestamp(dateString) → const int
timestamp(timezone, year, month, day, hour, minute, second) → series int
timestamp(year, month, day, hour, minute, second) → series int

There are additional overloads for const vs series arguments; Pine infers the correct one based on input types.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`dateString`	`const/series string`	Date/time string in RFC 2822 (`"20 Feb 2024 09:30:00 -0500"`) or ISO 8601 (`"2024-02-20T09:30:00-05:00"`) format.
`timezone`	`const/series string` (optional)	Timezone identifier or offset (e.g., `"America/New_York"`, `"GMT+3"`).
`year`, `month`, `day`, `hour`, `minute`, `second`	`const/series int`	Components of the date/time. Omitted components default to zero.

Returns

series int — UNIX timestamp in milliseconds for the specified date/time.

Remarks

When no timezone is provided, timestamp() assumes UTC (GMT+0). This differs from time(), which operates in the exchange timezone by default.
Use timestamp() with time >= timestamp(...) style checks to enable logic at specific calendar moments (e.g., new year, scheduled release).
timestamp() with literal inputs yields const int outputs, useful for static configuration (e.g., indicator titles).

Example

//@version=6
indicator("Scheduled alert window", overlay=true)

releaseTime = input.string("2024-09-20T08:30:00-04:00", "Event time")
eventTs = timestamp(releaseTime)

isEventBar = time >= eventTs and time[1] < eventTs
plotshape(isEventBar, style=shape.labelup, text="Event",
    color=color.new(color.orange, 0), textcolor=color.white,
    location=location.abovebar)