POST /format_datetime • Credits: 0.5 credits per call

Format Datetime parses one date string or one Unix timestamp, converts it to a target time zone, and returns the result in 18 date fields. The format parameter controls the main output string and accepts Python strftime tokens or a Go layout. Each call costs 0.5 credits.

Enrichment data arrives in many date shapes. A LinkedIn scrape returns 2026-05-07T09:14:40.056Z, a CRM export returns 05/07/2026, and a webhook returns 1778145280056. Format Datetime reads all three and returns one consistent set of date fields. RichAPI runs Format Datetime as a local function, so the call reaches no external provider and the date leaves no trace with a third party. The endpoint tries 33 date patterns in a fixed order. If no pattern matches, and the input holds only digits, the endpoint reads a Unix timestamp.

CAUTION: Each Format Datetime call costs 0.5 credits. A call that fails to parse the date returns status 200 and still costs 0.5 credits.

Only date is required. A request that holds date alone returns every field in UTC and in English.

Format Datetime tries these 33 patterns in this order and keeps the first match. If no pattern matches, the endpoint reads the value as a Unix timestamp.

The month name and the weekday name in the input must be English. Format Datetime parses 11 Apr 2026. It fails to parse 11 avr. 2026.

CAUTION: The US pattern runs before the European pattern. Format Datetime reads 04/11/2026 as April 11, 2026 and 11/04/2026 as November 4, 2026. For a day-first source, convert the value to 2026-04-11 before you send it.

CAUTION: A 10-digit Unix seconds value matches the compact digit pattern first. The result is a date in the year 1775 or another wrong year. Send the timestamp in milliseconds, such as 1775917800000. A seconds value with a decimal point, such as 1775917800.0, also parses correctly.

Format Datetime passes the format value to the Python strftime function. The table lists every token that the endpoint names, with the Go token that maps to it. The example column shows the output for the input 2026-04-05T09:07:05.250Z with no time zone conversion.

Any other token that Python strftime supports also works. Every character that is not a token passes through unchanged, so %B %-d, %Y at %-I:%M %p returns April 5, 2026 at 9:07 AM.

CAUTION: The tokens %B, %b, %A, and %a always return English names. The locale parameter changes the localized fields, not formatted_date.

Format Datetime accepts a Go reference layout in the same format parameter. Six tokens mark a Go layout: 2006, 01, 02, 15, 04, and 05. If the format value holds one of them, RichAPI translates the whole value to strftime tokens first. The Go token column above lists every string that the translation replaces.

The request above returns formatted_date as Sunday, April 5, 2026 at 9:07 AM.

CAUTION: The translation runs on the whole format value. A strftime pattern that also holds 2006, 01, 02, 15, 04, or 05 as literal text gets translated too. Write a literal year as %Y instead of 2026.

Format Datetime applies these five rules in this order.

CAUTION: The applied_timezone field echoes the requested name. It is not proof that the conversion happened. To confirm a conversion, compare full_date_time with the input time.

An input that ends with the literal Z parses as a value with no offset, so original_timezone decides the instant. The default UTC gives the correct result. If you set original_timezone to Europe/Paris for a Z input, the endpoint reads the time as a Paris time.

The block below is an example response for the cURL request above. It parses 2026-04-11T14:30:00Z and converts it to America/New_York.

The formatted_date field is the only field that format controls. Every other field uses a fixed pattern.

The LinkedIn Company Posts API returns two date values for each post: postedAt.date as 2026-05-07T09:14:40.056Z, and postedAt.timestamp as 1778145280056. Format Datetime reads both and returns the same result.

Send the ISO 8601 value and ask for a readable date in the reader's time zone.

The response holds the readable date in formatted_date.

The millisecond value 1778145280056 returns the same 18 fields. Only original_input differs, because it echoes the value that you sent. Both requests cost 0.5 credits.

To write the date in French, set locale to fr and read localized_date_with_month_name. That field returns mai 7, 2026, while formatted_date stays in English.

Format Datetime returns status 200 with parsed_successfully set to false. Every string field holds an empty string and every numeric field holds 0. The original_input, applied_timezone, and applied_locale fields still echo the request.

CAUTION: A parse failure returns status 200 and costs 0.5 credits. Test parsed_successfully before you write the result to a record.

A request that holds no date field returns status 400 with the message Missing required field: date. A date value of spaces alone returns status 400 with the body {"error": "date is required"}. A 400 response costs no credit.

Format Datetime costs 0.5 credits per call. At $0.02 a credit, the rate on the 1,000 and 5,000 credit packs, one call costs $0.01. Larger packs cost less per credit. The credit count does not change with the input format, the output format, the time zone, or the locale.

RichAPI charges no credit for a 400, 401, 403, 404, 405, 429, or 500 response. RichAPI charges 0.5 credits for every 200 response, and a parse failure returns status 200.

No. RichAPI runs Format Datetime as a local function inside the API. The date reaches no third-party provider, and the response returns in a few milliseconds.

No. The formatted_date field always uses English month names and English weekday names. The locale parameter changes month_name, localized_date_with_month_name, localized_date_with_weekday, and localized_date_time. The accepted values are en, fr, es, and de.

Format Datetime reads it as April 11, 2026, because the US pattern %m/%d/%Y runs before the European pattern %d/%m/%Y. The value 11/04/2026 returns November 4, 2026. For a day-first source, convert the value to 2026-04-11 before you send it.

Yes, in milliseconds. Send 1775917800000. A numeric value of 1,000,000,000,000 or more is divided by 1000 and read as milliseconds. A plain 10-digit seconds value matches a compact date pattern first and returns a wrong year. Add a decimal point and send 1775917800.0 instead.

Format Datetime keeps the original time zone and returns status 200. No error is returned, and applied_timezone holds the original_timezone value. Send an IANA name such as America/New_York or Europe/Berlin.

No. Each call reads one date value and costs 0.5 credits. To convert a list of dates, send one call per date.

The unix_timestamp field holds the instant as Unix seconds, and full_date_time holds it as YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS. Neither field is affected by the format parameter or by the locale parameter.