> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/spatie/laravel-data/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Working with Dates

> Configure date formats, timezones, and types for date properties in Laravel Data

Laravel Data provides flexible date handling with support for multiple formats, timezones, and date types.

## Default Date Format

Configure the default format in `config/data.php`:

```php theme={null}
'date_format' => DATE_ATOM,
```

Use with `DateTimeInterfaceCast` and `DateTimeInterfaceTransformer`:

```php theme={null}
#[WithCast(DateTimeInterfaceCast::class)]
#[WithTransformer(DateTimeInterfaceTransformer::class)]
public DateTime $date;
```

## Custom Formats

Override the format per property:

```php theme={null}
#[WithCast(DateTimeInterfaceCast::class, format: DATE_ATOM)]
#[WithTransformer(DateTimeInterfaceTransformer::class, format: DATE_ATOM)]
public DateTime $date;
```

## Using Carbon

The package automatically casts to the property type:

```php theme={null}
#[WithCast(DateTimeInterfaceCast::class)]
public Carbon $date;
```

Or explicitly specify the type:

```php theme={null}
#[WithCast(DateTimeInterfaceCast::class, type: CarbonImmutable::class)]
public $date;
```

## Multiple Date Formats

Accept different date formats from various sources:

```php theme={null}
'date_format' => [DATE_ATOM, 'Y-m-d'],
```

When casting, the package searches for a valid format. When transforming without an explicit format, the first format in the array is used.

<Note>
  This is useful when receiving dates from iOS and React applications that use different underlying formats.
</Note>

## Casting with Different Timezones

Specify the timezone of incoming dates:

```php theme={null}
#[WithCast(DateTimeInterfaceCast::class, timeZone: 'UTC')]
public DateTime $date;
```

The date is created with the `UTC` timezone but represents the same moment in time as your application's timezone.

## Changing Timezones

### On Cast

Convert the date to a different timezone during casting:

```php theme={null}
#[WithCast(DateTimeInterfaceCast::class, setTimeZone: 'Europe/Brussels')]
public DateTime $date;
```

The time will be transformed. If the original time was in `UTC`, one or two hours (depending on daylight saving) will be added.

### On Transform

Convert the timezone when transforming:

```php theme={null}
#[WithTransformer(DateTimeInterfaceTransformer::class, setTimeZone: 'Europe/Brussels')]
public DateTime $date;
```

## Complete Example

```php theme={null}
use Carbon\Carbon;
use Spatie\LaravelData\Attributes\WithCast;
use Spatie\LaravelData\Attributes\WithTransformer;
use Spatie\LaravelData\Casts\DateTimeInterfaceCast;
use Spatie\LaravelData\Transformers\DateTimeInterfaceTransformer;

class EventData extends Data
{
    public function __construct(
        // Default format from config
        #[WithCast(DateTimeInterfaceCast::class)]
        #[WithTransformer(DateTimeInterfaceTransformer::class)]
        public Carbon $createdAt,
        
        // Custom format
        #[WithCast(DateTimeInterfaceCast::class, format: 'Y-m-d H:i:s')]
        #[WithTransformer(DateTimeInterfaceTransformer::class, format: 'Y-m-d H:i:s')]
        public Carbon $updatedAt,
        
        // With timezone conversion
        #[WithCast(DateTimeInterfaceCast::class, setTimeZone: 'Europe/Brussels')]
        #[WithTransformer(DateTimeInterfaceTransformer::class, setTimeZone: 'UTC')]
        public Carbon $scheduledAt,
    ) {
    }
}
```