tz.js/README.md

# [xtz.js](https://github.com/therootcompany/tz.js)

A fast, lightweight, zero-dependency library to translate between Time Zones and UTC with native `Intl.DateTimeFormat`
in ~100 LoC. For Node.js & Browsers.

[![](./xtz-preview.png)](https://therootcompany.github.io/tz.js/)

XTZ is a poor man's `Temporal` polyfill, but just for time zones. \
Demo: <https://therootcompany.github.io/tz.js/>

```js
// What's the current time, in ISO+Offset format?

TZ.toLocalISOString(new Date()); // "2021-11-07T03:15:59.000-0500"
TZ.timeZone(); // "America/New_York"
```

```js
// What will the ISO+Offset datetime string be
// when it's 3:15am in New York?
//
// (Relative New York time to Absolute ISO+Offset Time)

TZ.toOffsetISOString("2021-11-07 03:15:59.000", "America/New_York");
// "2021-11-07T03:15:59.000-0500"
```

```js
// What time will it be in New York
// when it's 7:15am UTC?
//
// (Absolute UTC Zulu time to Relative New York time)

TZ.toTimeZoneISOString("2021-03-14T07:15:59.000Z", "America/New_York");
// "2021-03-14T03:15:59.000-0400"
```

# Features

- [x] Translate a UTC Zulu time to a Time Zone
- [x] Translate a Zoned time to ISO+Offset
- [x] Handles **Daylight Savings**, Weird Time Zones, etc...
  - [x] Well-tested `npm run test`
- [x] Lightweight (No deps)
  - 5kb Source + Comments
  - 2.5kb Minified
  - <1kb `gzip`d

Compatible with Browsers, and Node.js.

## Browsers

```html
<script src="https://unpkg.com/xtz@latest/xtz.min.js"></script>
```

```js
var TZ = window.XTZ;
```

## Node.js & Webpack

```bash
npm install --save xtz
```

```js
var TZ = require("xtz");
```

## Demo

See <https://therootcompany.github.io/tz.js/>.

## How was this built?

I live-streamed the creation of this entire project.

If you'd like to learn how I did it and what challenges I encountered, you can watch here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxki0D-ilnqa6horOJ2G18WMZlJeQFlAt

(though there have been a few minor updates and bug fixes off-camera)

# API

- `toLocalISOString(dateOrNull)`
- `toTimeZone(utcDate, timeZone)`
- `toTimeZoneISOString(isoString, timeZone)`
- `fromTimeZone(dtString, timeZone)`
- `toOffsetISOString(dtString, timeZone)`

## `toTimeZone(utcDate, timeZone)`

> Convert UTC into a Target Time Zone

Use ISO timestamps representing the absolute UTC time (ISO with or without offset):

```txt
"2021-11-07T08:15:59.000Z"
```

```js
var utcDate = TZ.toTimeZone("2021-03-14T07:15:59.000Z", "America/New_York");
// {
//   year: 2021, month: 2, day: 14,
//   hour: 3, minute: 15, second: 59, millisecond: 0,
//   offset: -240, timeZoneName: "Eastern Daylight Time"
// }

utcDate.toISOString();
// "2021-03-14T03:15:59.000-0400"
// (same as "2021-11-07T07:15:59.000Z")
```

### Convert directly to an ISO String:

```js
TZ.toTimeZoneISOString("2021-11-07T08:15:59.000Z", "America/New_York");
// "2021-11-07T03:15:59.000-0500"
```

### Or use our bespoke (custom) date object:

```js
var tzDate = TZ.toTimeZone("2021-11-07T08:15:59.000Z", "America/New_York");
```

### You can also use a date object with an absolute ISO time:

```js
var tzDate = TZ.toTimeZone(
  new Date("2021-11-07T08:15:59.000Z"),
  "America/New_York"
);
```

```js
console.log(tzDate.toISOString());
// "2021-11-07T03:15:59.000-0500"
```

### Our ISO Strings + Offsets work with JavaScript's native Date object!!

```js
new Date("2021-11-07T03:15:59.000-0500").toISOString());
// "2021-11-07T08:15:59.000Z"
```

## `fromTimeZone(dtString, timeZone)`

> Convert a Target Time Zone into ISO

Use ISO-like timestamps representing the _local_ time in the target time zone:

```txt
"2021-11-0 03:15:59.000"
```

```js
var tzDate = TZ.fromTimeZone("2021-11-07 03:15:59.000", "America/New_York");
// {
//   year: 2021, month: 10, day: 7,
//   hour: 3, minute: 15, second: 59, millisecond: 0,
//   offset: -300, timeZoneName: "Eastern Standard Time"
// }

tzDate.toISOString();
// "2021-11-07T03:15:59.000-0500"
// (same as "2021-11-07T08:15:59.000Z")
```

### Convert directly to an offset ISO String:

```js
TZ.toOffsetISOString("2021-11-07 03:15:59.000", "America/New_York");
// "2021-11-07T03:15:59.000-0500"
```

### Or our bespoke date object:

```js
var utcDate = TZ.fromTimeZone("2021-11-07 03:15:59.000", "America/New_York");
```

### Use a Date as a source time

You can also use a date object as the source time, but the date's UTC time will be treated as **_relative to time
zone_** rather than absolute (this is a workaround for JavaScript's lack of bi-directional timezone support).

```js
var utcDate = TZ.fromTimeZone(
  new Date("2021-11-07T03:15:59.000Z"),
  "America/New_York"
);
```

```js
utcDate.toISOString();
// "2021-11-07T03:15:59.000-0500"
```

# Daylight Savings / Edge Cases

> In 2021 Daylight Savings (in the US)
>
> - begins at 2am on March 14th (skips to 3am)
> - ends at 2am on November 7th (resets to 1am)
>
> See <https://www.timeanddate.com/time/change/usa>.

Q: What happens in March when 2am is skipped?

- A: Although 2am is not a valid time, rather than throwing an error this library will resolve to 1am instead, which
  is an hour early in real ("tick-tock" or "monotonic") time.
  ```js
  var utcDate = TZ.fromTimeZone("2021-03-14 02:15:59.000", "America/New_York");
  utcDate.toISOString();
  // "2021-03-14T02:15:59.000-0400"
  // (same as "2021-03-14T01:15:59.000-0500")
  ```

Q: What happens in November when 1am happens twice?

- A: Although both 1ams are distinguishable with ISO offset times, only the first can be resolved from a local time
  with this library.
  ```js
  var utcDate = TZ.fromTimeZone("2021-11-07 01:15:59.000", "America/New_York");
  utcDate.toISOString();
  // "2021-11-07T01:15:59.000-0400", same as "2021-11-07T05:15:59.000Z"
  // (an hour before the 2nd 1am at "2021-11-07T01:15:59.000-0500")
  ```

# List of Time Zones

See the [Full List of Time Zones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones) on Wikipedia.

Common Zones for Testing:

```txt
America/New_York    -0500
America/Denver      -0700
America/Phoenix     -0700 (No DST)
America/Los_Angeles -0800
UTC                 Z
Australia/Adelaide  +0930 (30-min, has DST)
Asia/Kathmandu      +0545 (No DST, 45-min)
Asia/Kolkata        +0530 (No DST, 30-min)
```