How to convert MomentJS Date to Users Local Timezone?

When we are working with dates, sometimes we need to display the time in the user's local timezone. For example, when we are building a global application where users are in different parts of the world. We are going to learn how to convert Moment.js date to users' local timezone.

Below are the approaches to convert the moment.js date to the user's local timezone:

Using Moment.js with No Additional Plugins

Moment.js by itself can handle basic timezone conversions by using the system's local timezone. However, this method requires us to handle the conversion manually, and it might not be as accurate if our users are located in different time zones.

Syntax:

moment.utc(date).local();

Parameters:

• date: The date you want to convert, in UTC format.
• local(): Converts the UTC date to the local timezone of the user's system.

Example : This code converts a UTC date to the local time zone and formats it as "YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm

const moment = require('moment');

const utcDate = moment.utc('2023-08-17T12:00:00Z');
const localDate = utcDate.local();
console.log(localDate.format('YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss'));

Output:

2023-08-17 14:00:00 (assuming the user is in a timezone UTC+2)

Using Moment Timezone Plugin

Moment Timezone is a plugin for Moment.js that provides more advanced timezone handling. This method allows us to convert dates to any timezone, not just the user's local timezone, making it more flexible and accurate.

Syntax:

moment.tz(date, timezone);

Parameters:

• date: The date you want to convert.
• timezone: The target timezone you want to convert to.

Example: This code converts a UTC date to the user's local time zone and formats it as YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm using Moment Timezone.

const moment = require('moment-timezone');

const date = '2023-08-17T12:00:00Z';
// it automatically guesses the user's timezone
const localTimezone = moment.tz.guess(); 
const localDate = moment.tz(date, localTimezone);
console.log(localDate.format('YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss'));

Output:

2023-08-17 14:00:00 (assuming the user is in a timezone UTC+2)