How to Get the Current Date in MariaDB

Galaxy Glossary

How do I get the current date in MariaDB?

Returns today’s date as a DATE value without the time portion.

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Description

Example H2

Example H3

What does CURRENT_DATE return?

CURRENT_DATE (or its synonym CURDATE()) returns the server’s current date as a DATE value, formatted YYYY-MM-DD, with no time component. Use it whenever you only need the date part.

How do I select today’s orders?

Filter rows where order_date = CURRENT_DATE. This isolates records created today regardless of the time zone set on the connection.

SELECT * FROM Orders WHERE order_date = CURRENT_DATE;

Can I store CURRENT_DATE in a column?

Yes.Set a DATE column’s default to CURRENT_DATE, or insert the function explicitly. The column records the day the row was created.

ALTER TABLE Orders ADD COLUMN created_on DATE DEFAULT CURRENT_DATE;

Why choose CURRENT_DATE over NOW()?

NOW() returns a DATETIME. If your column type is DATE, NOW() triggers an implicit cast that can hide time-zone errors. CURRENT_DATE avoids this.

How do I use it in arithmetic?

Add or subtract integers to move days forward or back.For instance, CURRENT_DATE - 7 gets the date one week ago.

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM Orders WHERE order_date >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL 7 DAY;

Best practices

1) Use DATE columns when you don’t need the time. 2) Match data types in predicates. 3) Index DATE columns used with CURRENT_DATE for faster lookups.

Why How to Get the Current Date in MariaDB is important

How to Get the Current Date in MariaDB Example Usage


-- Find customers who placed an order today
SELECT c.id, c.name, o.id AS order_id, o.total_amount
FROM Customers c
JOIN Orders o ON o.customer_id = c.id
WHERE o.order_date = CURRENT_DATE;

How to Get the Current Date in MariaDB Syntax


-- Return today’s date
SELECT CURRENT_DATE;               -- Standard SQL
SELECT CURDATE();                  -- MariaDB synonym

-- Use in expressions
SELECT CURRENT_DATE + INTERVAL 1 DAY; -- Tomorrow
SELECT CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL 1 WEEK;-- One week ago

-- Insert default date into Orders table
INSERT INTO Orders (customer_id, order_date, total_amount)
VALUES (12, CURRENT_DATE, 199.99);

-- Set default on new column
ALTER TABLE Orders
ADD COLUMN created_on DATE DEFAULT CURRENT_DATE;

Common Mistakes

Mixing DATETIME and DATE types. Using NOW() against a DATE column forces a cast and can miss index usage. Fix by using CURRENT_DATE for DATE columns.
Forgetting server time zone. CURRENT_DATE follows the session time zone, so misconfigured sessions return the wrong day. Verify with SELECT @@session.time_zone.