Timestamp

Overview

Generate timestamps in YYYYMMDDHHMMSS format (e.g., 20251030143215) using bash date command for deterministic, reliable timestamp generation.

When to Use

• Creating timestamped filenames or directories
• Adding timestamps to logs or commit messages
• Any situation requiring consistent timestamp formatting
• When deterministic bash execution is preferred over LLM-generated timestamps

Usage

Always use the bash script to generate timestamps:

bash ./skills/timestamp/scripts/generate_timestamp.sh

Examples

Timestamped filename:

timestamp=$(bash ./skills/timestamp/scripts/generate_timestamp.sh)
echo "backup_${timestamp}.tar.gz"
# Output: backup_20251030143215.tar.gz

Timestamped directory:

timestamp=$(bash ./skills/timestamp/scripts/generate_timestamp.sh)
mkdir "logs_${timestamp}"

In file content:

timestamp=$(bash ./skills/timestamp/scripts/generate_timestamp.sh)
echo "Generated at: ${timestamp}" > output.txt

Format Specification

• Format: YYYYMMDDHHMMSS
• Example: 20251030143215
• Breakdown:
  • YYYY: 4-digit year (2025)
  • MM: 2-digit month (10)
  • DD: 2-digit day (30)
  • HH: 2-digit hour, 24h format (14)
  • MM: 2-digit minute (32)
  • SS: 2-digit second (15)

Resources

scripts/generate_timestamp.sh

Executable bash script using date +"%Y%m%d%H%M%S" to generate timestamps in YYYYMMDDHHMMSS format.