Date-Time Parser

Overview

Parses a date/time string against an ordered list of candidate formats — named java.time formatters or explicit patterns — and returns a normalized ISO-8601 value, the format that matched, and the precision the input actually carried (YEAR through NANO). Parsing is strict by default: 2026-02-30 is rejected rather than rolled to March. Text that no candidate matches returns parsed: false with a finding, not an error. There is no natural-language parsing and no 'now': a zone-less input stays local unless 'defaultZone' supplies one.

Date strings from upstream systems vary in format — we parse against your candidate ladder and tell you what matched and how precise the input was.

When to use it

Scope

Non-goals

• Does not parse natural language such as 'next Tuesday' or 'in three days'
• Does not read the system clock, so nothing is relative to 'now'
• Does not guess a zone the input does not carry and the caller does not supply
• Does not roll an impossible date — 2026-02-30 is rejected, not moved to March
• Does not invent a time for a date-only input, and so returns no epochMillis for one

Properties

Capabilities

Cost & billing

Flat rate per invocation

File handling

How we handle your data

Input schema

Output schema

API contract

curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/v1/execute" -H "Authorization: Bearer $KEY" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"skillKey":"time.parse_datetime","input":{"text":"2026-03-15 14:30:00","defaultZone":"Europe/Brussels"}}'

import { Squillify } from "@squillify/sdk";

const sq = new Squillify({ apiKey: process.env.SQUILLIFY_API_KEY });

const { output } = await sq.execute("time.parse_datetime", {"defaultZone":"Europe/Brussels","text":"2026-03-15 14:30:00"});

Errors

Other limits

Limitations

• Does not parse natural language such as 'next Tuesday' or 'in three days'
• Does not read the system clock, so nothing is relative to 'now'
• Does not guess a zone the input does not carry and the caller does not supply
• Does not roll an impossible date — 2026-02-30 is rejected, not moved to March
• Does not invent a time for a date-only input, and so returns no epochMillis for one
• Interpreting relative phrases such as 'yesterday'
• Converting between zones once parsed (use time.convert_timezone)
• Formatting a value for display

How to call

POST /v1/execute (requires authentication)

{
  "skillKey": "time.parse_datetime",
  "input": {
    "defaultZone": "Europe/Brussels",
    "text": "2026-03-15 14:30:00"
  }
}

Examples

{
  "defaultZone": "Europe/Brussels",
  "text": "2026-03-15 14:30:00"
}

{
  "epochMillis": 1773581400000,
  "zoneKnown": true,
  "matchedFormat": "uuuu-MM-dd HH:mm:ss",
  "findings": [],
  "precision": "SECOND",
  "parsed": true,
  "zone": "Europe/Brussels",
  "iso": "2026-03-15T14:30:00+01:00",
  "_meta": {
    "candidatesTried": 7,
    "tzdbVersion": "2026b"
  }
}

{
  "text": "2026-03-15"
}

{
  "parsed": true,
  "matchedFormat": "ISO_LOCAL_DATE",
  "findings": [],
  "_meta": {
    "candidatesTried": 5,
    "tzdbVersion": "2026b"
  },
  "precision": "DAY",
  "iso": "2026-03-15",
  "zoneKnown": false
}

Recommended use cases

• Normalize timestamps arriving from several upstream systems in different formats
• Decide whether a user-supplied date string is well formed before storing it
• Learn whether an input carried a date, a minute, or a nanosecond

Avoid for

• Interpreting relative phrases such as 'yesterday'
• Converting between zones once parsed (use time.convert_timezone)
• Formatting a value for display

Related skills

Composable with

Safety & privacy

• Runs without calling any external service.
• Your payloads are never stored permanently.
• Telemetry captures metadata only — never your payload contents.
• We never train models on your payloads.
• No human reviews your payloads.

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