PHP timestamp to HTML5 input type=datetime element

HTML5 datetime input elements require a specific format: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS. In PHP, you can convert timestamps to this format using the date() function with the appropriate format string.

Basic DateTime Format

To format the current timestamp for HTML5 datetime input −

<?php
echo date("Y-m-d\TH:i:s");
?>

2024-03-28T19:12:49

Converting Specific Timestamp

To convert a specific Unix timestamp to HTML5 datetime format −

<?php
$timestamp = 1640995200; // January 1, 2022 00:00:00
echo date("Y-m-d\TH:i:s", $timestamp);
?>

2022-01-01T00:00:00

HTML Integration

Using the formatted timestamp in an HTML datetime input element −

<input type="datetime-local" value="<?php echo date('Y-m-d\TH:i:s', $timestamp); ?>" />

Format Breakdown

Conclusion

Use date("Y-m-d\TH:i:s") to format PHP timestamps for HTML5 datetime inputs. The backslash before 'T' ensures it's treated as a literal character rather than a format code.