> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/upstash/redis-js/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# time

> Get the server time

## Description

Returns the current server time as a tuple of Unix timestamp and microseconds.

## Method Signature

```typescript theme={null}
time(): Promise<[number, number]>
```

## Parameters

This command takes no parameters.

## Return Value

<ResponseField name="result" type="[number, number]">
  A tuple containing:

  1. **Unix timestamp** - Current server time in seconds since Unix epoch
  2. **Microseconds** - Microseconds component of the current time
</ResponseField>

## Examples

### Get server time

```typescript theme={null}
const [seconds, microseconds] = await redis.time();
console.log(`Seconds: ${seconds}`);
console.log(`Microseconds: ${microseconds}`);
```

### Convert to JavaScript Date

```typescript theme={null}
const [seconds, microseconds] = await redis.time();
const milliseconds = seconds * 1000 + Math.floor(microseconds / 1000);
const date = new Date(milliseconds);

console.log(date.toISOString());
```

### Calculate timestamp with microsecond precision

```typescript theme={null}
const [seconds, microseconds] = await redis.time();
const timestamp = seconds + microseconds / 1_000_000;
console.log(`Timestamp: ${timestamp}`);
```

### Measure server time difference

```typescript theme={null}
const [sec1, micro1] = await redis.time();

// Do some operations...
await redis.set("key", "value");
await redis.get("key");

const [sec2, micro2] = await redis.time();

const elapsed = (sec2 - sec1) * 1_000_000 + (micro2 - micro1);
console.log(`Elapsed: ${elapsed} microseconds`);
console.log(`Elapsed: ${elapsed / 1000} milliseconds`);
```

### Compare server time with client time

```typescript theme={null}
const clientTime = Date.now();
const [seconds, microseconds] = await redis.time();
const serverTime = seconds * 1000 + Math.floor(microseconds / 1000);

const drift = Math.abs(serverTime - clientTime);
console.log(`Time drift: ${drift}ms`);

if (drift > 1000) {
  console.warn("Server and client clocks differ by more than 1 second");
}
```

### Use for unique IDs

```typescript theme={null}
const [seconds, microseconds] = await redis.time();
const uniqueId = `${seconds}${microseconds.toString().padStart(6, '0')}`;
console.log(uniqueId); // e.g., "1709472123456789"
```

## Use Cases

* **Clock synchronization** - Compare server and client times
* **Distributed timestamps** - Get consistent time across multiple clients
* **Benchmarking** - Measure operation duration with microsecond precision
* **Unique ID generation** - Create time-based unique identifiers

## See Also

* [ping](/api/commands/ping) - Test server connection