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Getting Started

This page will guide you through making your first time zone conversion with OpenTimezone.

OpenTimezone uses a simple conversion endpoint:

https://api.opentimezone.com/convert

By sending a POST request with a date/time, a source time zone, and a target time zone, you can convert times between supported time zones.

OpenTimezone also provides helper endpoints for listing supported time zones, looking up a specific time zone, and searching time zone abbreviations.

Available endpoints
MethodEndpointDescription
POST/convertConvert a date/time from one time zone to another.
GET/timezonesList all supported time zones.
GET/timezone/{timezoneId}Get details for a specific time zone.
GET/timezones/abbreviationsList known time zone abbreviations.
GET/timezones/abbreviations/searchSearch for time zones by abbreviation.

Step 1: Convert UTC to New York time​

Below is a minimal example of how to convert a UTC date/time to New York time.

Try it out

View cURL request
curl -X 'POST' \
  'https://api.opentimezone.com/convert' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "dateTime": "2026-06-15T03:02:22.1771394",
    "fromTimezone": "UTC",
    "toTimezone": "America/New_York"
  }'
Example response
{
  "dateTime": "2026-06-14T23:02:22.1771394"
}

Step 2: Convert New York time to UTC​

You can also convert local time back to UTC.

Try it out

View cURL request
curl -X 'POST' \
  'https://api.opentimezone.com/convert' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "dateTime": "2026-06-14T23:02:22.1771971",
    "fromTimezone": "America/New_York",
    "toTimezone": "UTC"
  }'
Example response
{
  "dateTime": "2026-06-15T03:02:22.1771971"
}

Step 3: Convert between two local time zones​

OpenTimezone can convert directly between two local time zones.

Try it out

View cURL request
curl -X 'POST' \
  'https://api.opentimezone.com/convert' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "dateTime": "2026-06-14T23:02:22.1772092",
    "fromTimezone": "America/New_York",
    "toTimezone": "Europe/London"
  }'
Example response
{
  "dateTime": "2026-06-15T04:02:22.1772092"
}

Step 4: List all supported time zones​

Use the /timezones endpoint to retrieve the list of supported time zones.

Try it out

View cURL request
curl -X 'GET' \
  'https://api.opentimezone.com/timezones'
Example response

The response contains all supported time zones. This excerpt shows one item from the live API response.

[
  {
    "id": "Europe/London",
    "displayName": "(UTC+00:00) Europe/London",
    "baseOffset": "00:00:00"
  }
]

Step 5: Look up a specific time zone​

Use /timezone/{timezoneId} to retrieve information about a single time zone.

Try it out

View cURL request
curl -X 'GET' \
  'https://api.opentimezone.com/timezone/Europe%2FLondon'
Example response
{
  "id": "Europe/London",
  "displayName": "(UTC+00:00) Europe/London",
  "baseOffset": "00:00:00"
}

Step 6: Explore time zone abbreviations​

OpenTimezone can also return known time zone abbreviations.

Try it out

View cURL request
curl -X 'GET' \
  'https://api.opentimezone.com/timezones/abbreviations'
Example response

The response contains all known abbreviation groups. This excerpt shows the first few entries from the live API response.

{
  "abbreviations": [
    {
      "abbreviation": "SST",
      "utcOffset": "-11:00:00",
      "timezoneIds": [
        "Pacific/Midway",
        "Pacific/Pago_Pago"
      ]
    },
    {
      "abbreviation": "-11",
      "utcOffset": "-11:00:00",
      "timezoneIds": [
        "Pacific/Niue"
      ]
    },
    {
      "abbreviation": "HST",
      "utcOffset": "-10:00:00",
      "timezoneIds": [
        "America/Adak",
        "Pacific/Honolulu"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Step 7: Search by abbreviation​

Use /timezones/abbreviations/search to search for time zones by abbreviation.

The includeNumeric query parameter controls whether numeric-style abbreviations, such as -05:00:00, are included in the result.

Try it out

View cURL request
curl -X 'GET' \
  'https://api.opentimezone.com/timezones/abbreviations/search?abbreviation=EST&includeNumeric=true'
Example response
{
  "abbreviations": [
    {
      "abbreviation": "EST",
      "utcOffset": "-05:00:00",
      "timezoneIds": [
        "America/Atikokan",
        "America/Cancun",
        "America/Cayman",
        "America/Detroit",
        "America/Grand_Turk",
        "America/Indiana/Indianapolis",
        "America/Indiana/Marengo",
        "America/Indiana/Petersburg",
        "America/Indiana/Vevay",
        "America/Indiana/Vincennes",
        "America/Indiana/Winamac",
        "America/Iqaluit",
        "America/Jamaica",
        "America/Kentucky/Louisville",
        "America/Kentucky/Monticello",
        "America/Nassau",
        "America/New_York",
        "America/Panama",
        "America/Port-au-Prince",
        "America/Toronto"
      ]
    }
  ]
}