Table of Contents
Is Discord adding a native time command to help manage global server events?
You should be aware of a significant quality-of-life update currently in testing on the Discord desktop client. This native utility, identified as the @time feature, streamlines how you communicate temporal information across different time zones. For community managers and server administrators, this function eliminates the reliance on external timestamp generators, directly addressing a long-standing friction point in platform coordination.
Operational Mechanics
The feature operates through a straightforward syntax command. When you type @time into the chat input field, the client triggers an autocomplete menu. This interface allows you to input natural language phrases—such as “tomorrow at 5pm” or “in three days”—which the system immediately converts into a relative timestamp.
Once posted, this timestamp displays dynamically for every user in the channel. A member in London sees the time in GMT, while a member in Tokyo sees the same event converted to JST. This removes the manual calculation errors often associated with global event planning.
Technical Architecture
The backend logic relies on established parsing libraries. A Discord staff member, identifying as advaith1, confirmed that the system utilizes Chrono for processing supported natural languages. For languages outside Chrono’s scope, the system reverts to Moment.js. This hybrid approach ensures the tool can interpret a vast array of inputs, ranging from specific calendar dates (e.g., “1/3/26”) to relative future projections.
Users testing the system found robust handling of extreme edge cases, with date calculations functioning up to hundreds of thousands of years in the future, likely bounded only by 64-bit integer limits.
Strategic Implications for Community Management
If you manage a server, this update offers specific operational advantages:
- Workflow Efficiency: You no longer need to navigate away from the app to sites like hammertime.cyou to format Unix timestamps.
- Accessibility: Early testing indicates this feature is available to all users and is not gated behind a Nitro subscription.
- Adoption: While currently spotted primarily on desktop clients, the positive reception suggests a high probability of wider implementation.
This development represents a mature step in Discord’s platform evolution, prioritizing functional communication tools over cosmetic additions. Monitor your client for the @time prompt to begin integrating this into your scheduling workflows.