Relative Time Formatter API

Overview

To use Relative Time Formatter, you need an API key. You can get one by creating a free account and visiting your dashboard.

GET Endpoint

https://api.apiverve.com/v1/relativetimeformatter

Example

How to call the Relative Time Formatter API in different programming languages.

curl -X GET \
  "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/relativetimeformatter?timestamp=1609459200&reference=2024-06-01T00%3A00%3A00Z&style=short" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here"

const response = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/relativetimeformatter?timestamp=1609459200&reference=2024-06-01T00%3A00%3A00Z&style=short', {
  method: 'GET',
  headers: {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  }
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

import requests

headers = {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

response = requests.get('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/relativetimeformatter?timestamp=1609459200&reference=2024-06-01T00%3A00%3A00Z&style=short', headers=headers)

data = response.json()
print(data)

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "io"
    "net/http"

)

func main() {
    req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/relativetimeformatter?timestamp=1609459200&reference=2024-06-01T00%3A00%3A00Z&style=short", nil)

    req.Header.Set("X-API-Key", "your_api_key_here")
    req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    fmt.Println(string(body))
}

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "target_date": "2021-01-01T00:00:00Z",
    "reference_date": "2025-12-16T22:28:24.459Z",
    "relative_time": "4 years ago",
    "is_past": true,
    "is_future": false,
    "difference_ms": -156464904459,
    "primary_unit": "year",
    "primary_value": 4,
    "all_units": {
      "years": 4,
      "months": 59,
      "weeks": 258,
      "days": 1810,
      "hours": 43462,
      "minutes": 2607748,
      "seconds": 156464904,
      "milliseconds": 156464904459
    },
    "style": "short"
  }
}

Authentication

The Relative Time Formatter API requires authentication via API key. Include your API key in the request header:

X-API-Key: your_api_key_here

Learn more about authentication →

Interactive API Playground

Test the Relative Time Formatter API directly in your browser with live requests and responses.

Parameters

The Relative Time Formatter API supports multiple query options. Use one of the following:

Response

The Relative Time Formatter API returns responses in JSON, XML, YAML, and CSV formats. The JSON response is shown in the Example section above; alternative formats below.

Other Response Formats

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<response>
  <status>ok</status>
  <error xsi:nil="true" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"/>
  <data>
    <target_date>2021-01-01T00:00:00Z</target_date>
    <reference_date>2025-12-16T22:28:24.459Z</reference_date>
    <relative_time>4 years ago</relative_time>
    <is_past>true</is_past>
    <is_future>false</is_future>
    <difference_ms>-156464904459</difference_ms>
    <primary_unit>year</primary_unit>
    <primary_value>4</primary_value>
    <all_units>
      <years>4</years>
      <months>59</months>
      <weeks>258</weeks>
      <days>1810</days>
      <hours>43462</hours>
      <minutes>2607748</minutes>
      <seconds>156464904</seconds>
      <milliseconds>156464904459</milliseconds>
    </all_units>
    <style>short</style>
  </data>
</response>

status: ok
error: null
data:
  target_date: '2021-01-01T00:00:00Z'
  reference_date: '2025-12-16T22:28:24.459Z'
  relative_time: 4 years ago
  is_past: true
  is_future: false
  difference_ms: -156464904459
  primary_unit: year
  primary_value: 4
  all_units:
    years: 4
    months: 59
    weeks: 258
    days: 1810
    hours: 43462
    minutes: 2607748
    seconds: 156464904
    milliseconds: 156464904459
  style: short

Response Structure

All API responses follow a consistent structure with the following fields:

Learn more about response formats →

Response Data Fields

When the request is successful, the data object contains the following fields:

Headers

Only X-API-Key is required. Optional headers include Accept for response format negotiation (JSON, XML, or YAML), User-Agent, and X-Request-ID for request tracing. See all request headers →

GraphQL AccessALPHA

Access Relative Time Formatter through GraphQL to combine it with other API calls in a single request. Query only the relative time formatter data you need with precise field selection, and orchestrate complex data fetching workflows.

Credit Cost: Each API called in your GraphQL query consumes its standard credit cost.

POST https://api.apiverve.com/v1/graphql

query {
  relativetimeformatter(
    input: {
      timestamp: "1609459200"
      reference: "2024-06-01T00:00:00Z"
      style: "short"
    }
  ) {
    target_date
    reference_date
    relative_time
    is_past
    is_future
    difference_ms
    primary_unit
    primary_value
    all_units {
      years
      months
      weeks
      days
      hours
      minutes
      seconds
      milliseconds
    }
    style
  }
}

Note: Authentication is handled via the x-api-key header in your GraphQL request, not as a query parameter.

CORS Support

The Relative Time Formatter API accepts cross-origin requests from any origin, so it can be called directly from browser-based applications without a proxy. See CORS support →

Rate Limiting

Relative Time Formatter requests are throttled per minute on the Free plan and unthrottled on paid plans. Exceeding the limit returns 429 Too Many Requests; rate-limit usage is reported in the X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining, and X-RateLimit-Reset response headers. See per-plan limits and best practices →

Error Codes

The Relative Time Formatter API uses standard HTTP status codes — 200 on success, 400 for invalid parameters, 401 for missing or invalid keys, 403 for insufficient credits, 429 for rate-limit exhaustion, and 500/503 for server-side issues. Each error response includes an X-Request-ID header you can quote when contacting support. See full error handling guide →

SDKs for Relative Time Formatter

Official Relative Time Formatter packages on npm, PyPI, NuGet, and JitPack — plus a Postman collection and an OpenAPI spec. See the SDK guide →

JitPack

No-Code Integrations

Relative Time Formatter works with Zapier, Make, Pipedream, n8n, and Power Automate using the same API key. See setup guides →

Zapier

Make

Pipedream

n8n

Power Automate

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