PHP localtime() Function – Retrieve Local Time as an Array

The localtime() function in PHP returns an array containing the local date and time, matching the structure of the C library's localtime call. If no arguments are provided, it uses the current time returned by time().

Parameters

timestamp (optional): an integer Unix timestamp; defaults to the current time.

is_associative (optional): a boolean. When false or omitted, the function returns a numerically indexed array; when true, it returns an associative array with keys such as tm_sec, tm_min, etc.

Return value

By default, an array is returned. If the (undocumented) return_float option is set, a float may be returned instead.

Example usage

<?php
$localtime = localtime();
$localtime_assoc = localtime(time(), true);
print_r($localtime);
print_r($localtime_assoc);
?>

The first print_r call outputs a numeric‑indexed array, e.g.:

Array(
    [0] => 24
    [1] => 3
    [2] => 19
    [3] => 3
    [4] => 3
    [5] => 105
    [6] => 0
    [7] => 92
)

The second print_r call outputs an associative array with keys like tm_sec, tm_min, tm_hour, etc., for example:

Array(
    [tm_sec]  => 24
    [tm_min]  => 3
    [tm_hour] => 19
    [tm_mday] => 3
    [tm_mon]  => 3
    [tm_year] => 105
    [tm_wday] => 0
    [tm_yday] => 92
    [tm_isdst]=> 1
)