---
title: `current_timestamp`
url: https://nexyron.tech/docs/cypher/functions/temporal/current-timestamp
description: Returns the current timestamp. It is documented separately because time construction, sequence ordering, window parameters, and as of behavior materially change analytical meaning.
---

# `current_timestamp`

## Generic Description

Returns the current timestamp. It is documented separately because time construction, sequence ordering, window parameters, and as-of behavior materially change analytical meaning.

Simple example:

```cypher
RETURN current_timestamp() AS value
```

## Consumer-Level Explanation

Use it for live as-of calculations and freshness expressions. Prefer this function when the temporal assumption should be visible to the planner, especially for event streams, freshness checks, and sequence features.

## More Detailed Explanation

`current_timestamp` belongs to the temporal construction, conversion, or extraction surface. Use it to make time semantics explicit in the query text: whether a value is date-only, time-only, timestamp-like, duration-like, current-time dependent, or bucketed to a chosen calendar unit.

## Advanced Example

This example names the event stream and operational context before applying `current_timestamp`, which helps planner tooling preserve the intended sequence semantics.

```cypher
WITH 'sensor-1' AS subject_id,
     [{ts: 1735689600000, value: 10.0, state: 'ok'}, {ts: 1735689660000, value: 13.0, state: 'ok'}, {ts: 1735689840000, value: 9.0, state: 'warn'}, {ts: 1735690200000, value: 16.0, state: 'ok'}] AS readings
RETURN subject_id,
       current_timestamp() AS value
```

## Real Use Cases

-   time-bucketed graph analytics
-   as-of filtering and event-window construction
-   making imported timestamp strings or epoch values typed before comparison

## Real Limitations And Tradeoffs

-   current-time functions are intentionally nondeterministic
-   timezone and local-time choices should be made explicit when results cross systems
-   extractors and truncation functions do not create temporal history; they only transform values already in the row