The Parse Date transformation converts date values in your dataset from one format to another, producing a clean, standardized output. This is useful any time your source data contains dates in an inconsistent or system-specific format, such as Unix epoch timestamps from an API, US-style date strings from a CRM export, or month-name formats from a reporting tool.
Parse Date replaces the selected column in place rather than creating a new one, keeping your dataset organized.
How to Add a Parse Date Transformation
In your pipeline, click Select transformation and choose Parse Date from the list. The transformation form will appear with the following fields:
Name: Give your transformation a descriptive name, such as "Parse Created At" or "Convert Epoch to Date."
Column: Select the single column containing the date values you want to convert.
Input Format: Enter the format code that matches how the dates are currently stored in your data. See the examples below for common formats.
Output Format: Enter the format code for how you want the dates to appear after transformation. Defaults to
%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.Output Timezone: Select the timezone for the formatted output. Defaults to UTC.
Once configured, click Save Transformation to apply.
The Parse Date transformation form showing Name, Column, Input Format, Output Format, and Output Timezone fields
Common Business Use Cases
Converting Unix Epoch Timestamps (API and Event Data)
Many APIs and data platforms store timestamps as Unix epoch values -- the number of seconds or milliseconds elapsed since January 1, 1970. These are not human-readable without conversion.
Scenario | Input Format | Output Format | Example Input | Example Output |
Epoch in seconds (e.g., Salesforce, Segment) |
|
|
|
|
Epoch in milliseconds (e.g., Mixpanel, Kafka) |
|
|
|
|
Note: Use %s for epoch timestamps in seconds and %Q for timestamps in milliseconds. If your values are 13 digits, use %Q. If they are 10 digits, use %s.
Reformatting US-Style Date Strings (CRM and Spreadsheet Exports)
Data exported from tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Excel often uses a US date format (month/day/year). Parse Date lets you standardize these to ISO format for downstream processing.
Scenario | Input Format | Output Format | Example Input | Example Output |
US date format |
|
|
|
|
US date with time |
|
|
|
|
Converting Long-Form Date Strings (Reports and Documents)
Some reporting tools or document exports write out the full month name. Parse Date handles these as well.
Scenario | Input Format | Output Format | Example Input | Example Output |
Full month name |
|
|
|
|
Abbreviated month |
|
|
|
|
Extracting Date Only from a Datetime Value
If your source data includes a full timestamp but you only need the date portion for grouping or reporting purposes, you can use Parse Date to strip the time.
Scenario | Input Format | Output Format | Example Input | Example Output |
Datetime to date only |
|
|
|
|
Format Code Reference
Parse Date uses strftime format codes. The most common codes are:
%Y-- Four-digit year (e.g., 2024)%m-- Two-digit month (e.g., 03)%d-- Two-digit day (e.g., 05)%H-- Hour in 24-hour format (e.g., 14)%M-- Minutes (e.g., 30)%S-- Seconds (e.g., 00)%B-- Full month name (e.g., March)%b-- Abbreviated month name (e.g., Mar)%s-- Unix epoch in seconds%Q-- Unix epoch in milliseconds
Note: If a value in the selected column is null or cannot be parsed using the specified input format, Parse Date will convert that value to null rather than returning an error.