How to Solve date.getTime is not a Function in JavaScript

In this tutorial, we are going to learn about how to solve the TypeError: date.getTime is not a function in JavaScript.

When we call a ‘getTime()’ method on a value which is not a data type date object we will get the following error in our console.

Here is an example, how the error occurs:

const date = Date.now();
console.log(date); // unix timestamp

console.log(date.getTime());

Output:

"TypeError: date.getTime is not a function

In the example above, we are getting the error because we are using the ‘getTime()’ method on a integer data type, but the getTime method is only available on a date object.

To solve the “TypeError: date.getTime is not a function”, make sure to call the getTime() method on a data type date object or convert the given value to a valid date object before calling the getTime() method on it.

Here is an example:

const date = new Date();

const result = date.getTime();
console.log(result);

Output:

1695945089466

In the example above, we have called the getTime() method a valid date object. So, it returns the timestamp in milli-seconds for this date, since the beginning of January 1, 1970, UTC.

Type checking

To avoid the run time errors, we can also check if the given datatype is a object or not before calling the getTime() method on it.

Here is an example:

const date = new Date();

if(typeof date === 'object' && date !== null && 'getTime' in date){
    console.log(date.getTime());
}else{
    console.log('Given value is not a Date object');
}

Conclusion

The “TypeError: date.getTime is not a function” error occurs, when we call a getTime() method on a value which is not Date object. To solve the error, convert the value to an date object before calling the getTime() method on it or make sure to use the getTime() method on a valid date objects.