--- title: Date Field label: Date order: 70 desc: The Date field type stores a Date in the database. Learn how to use and customize the Date field, see examples and options. keywords: date, fields, config, configuration, documentation, Content Management System, cms, headless, javascript, node, react, nextjs --- The Date Field saves a Date in the database and provides the [Admin Panel](../admin/overview) with a customizable time picker interface. To add a Date Field, set the `type` to `date` in your [Field Config](./overview): ```ts import type { Field } from 'payload' export const MyDateField: Field = { // ... type: 'date', // highlight-line } ``` ## Config Options | Option | Description | | ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **`name`** \* | To be used as the property name when stored and retrieved from the database. [More](/docs/fields/overview#field-names) | | **`label`** | Text used as a field label in the Admin Panel or an object with keys for each language. | | **`index`** | Build an [index](/docs/database/overview) for this field to produce faster queries. Set this field to `true` if your users will perform queries on this field's data often. | | **`validate`** | Provide a custom validation function that will be executed on both the Admin Panel and the backend. [More](/docs/fields/overview#validation) | | **`saveToJWT`** | If this field is top-level and nested in a config supporting [Authentication](/docs/authentication/overview), include its data in the user JWT. | | **`hooks`** | Provide Field Hooks to control logic for this field. [More details](../hooks/fields). | | **`access`** | Provide Field Access Control to denote what users can see and do with this field's data. [More details](../access-control/fields). | | **`hidden`** | Restrict this field's visibility from all APIs entirely. Will still be saved to the database, but will not appear in any API or the Admin Panel. | | **`defaultValue`** | Provide data to be used for this field's default value. [More](/docs/fields/overview#default-values) | | **`localized`** | Enable localization for this field. Requires [localization to be enabled](/docs/configuration/localization) in the Base config. | | **`required`** | Require this field to have a value. | | **`admin`** | Admin-specific configuration. [More details](#admin-options). | | **`custom`** | Extension point for adding custom data (e.g. for plugins) | | **`typescriptSchema`** | Override field type generation with providing a JSON schema | | **`virtual`** | Provide `true` to disable field in the database. See [Virtual Fields](https://payloadcms.com/blog/learn-how-virtual-fields-can-help-solve-common-cms-challenges) | _\* An asterisk denotes that a property is required._ ## Admin Options The customize the appearance and behavior of the Date Field in the [Admin Panel](../admin/overview), you can use the `admin` option: ```ts import type { Field } from 'payload' export const MyDateField: Field = { // ... admin: { // highlight-line // ... }, } ``` The Date Field inherits all of the default options from the base [Field Admin Config](../admin/fields#admin-options), plus the following additional options: | Property | Description | | ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **`placeholder`** | Placeholder text for the field. | | **`date`** | Pass options to customize date field appearance. | | **`date.displayFormat`** | Format date to be shown in field **cell**. | | **`date.pickerAppearance`** \* | Determines the appearance of the datepicker: `dayAndTime` `timeOnly` `dayOnly` `monthOnly`. | | **`date.monthsToShow`** \* | Number of months to display max is 2. Defaults to 1. | | **`date.minDate`** \* | Min date value to allow. | | **`date.maxDate`** \* | Max date value to allow. | | **`date.minTime`** \* | Min time value to allow. | | **`date.maxTime`** \* | Max date value to allow. | | **`date.overrides`** \* | Pass any valid props directly to the [react-datepicker](https://github.com/Hacker0x01/react-datepicker/blob/master/docs/datepicker.md) | | **`date.timeIntervals`** \* | Time intervals to display. Defaults to 30 minutes. | | **`date.timeFormat`** \* | Determines time format. Defaults to `'h:mm aa'`. | _\* This property is passed directly to [react-datepicker](https://github.com/Hacker0x01/react-datepicker/blob/master/docs/datepicker.md). ._ ### Display Format and Picker Appearance These properties only affect how the date is displayed in the UI. The full date is always stored in the format `YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss.SSSZ` (e.g. `1999-01-01T8:00:00.000+05:00`). `displayFormat` determines how the date is presented in the field **cell**, you can pass any valid (unicode date format)[https://date-fns.org/v4.1.0/docs/format]. `pickerAppearance` sets the appearance of the **react datepicker**, the options available are `dayAndTime`, `dayOnly`, `timeOnly`, and `monthOnly`. By default, the datepicker will display `dayOnly`. When only `pickerAppearance` is set, an equivalent format will be rendered in the date field cell. To overwrite this format, set `displayFormat`. ## Example `collections/ExampleCollection.ts` ```ts import type { CollectionConfig } from 'payload' export const ExampleCollection: CollectionConfig = { slug: 'example-collection', fields: [ { name: 'dateOnly', type: 'date', admin: { date: { pickerAppearance: 'dayOnly', displayFormat: 'd MMM yyy', }, }, }, { name: 'timeOnly', type: 'date', admin: { date: { pickerAppearance: 'timeOnly', displayFormat: 'h:mm:ss a', }, }, }, { name: 'monthOnly', type: 'date', admin: { date: { pickerAppearance: 'monthOnly', displayFormat: 'MMMM yyyy', }, }, }, ], } ```