How to Get the Current Date in Redshift
Last updated July 25, 2026 · By the SaturnSQL team
GETDATE() returns the current timestamp (truncated to seconds), CURRENT_DATE returns just the date, and SYSDATE returns the timestamp at the start of the current transaction, microseconds included.
SELECT GETDATE() AS now_ts,
CURRENT_DATE AS today,
SYSDATE AS txn_start;Common date math
SELECT *
FROM orders
WHERE created_at >= DATEADD(day, -30, GETDATE());Inside a long transaction SYSDATE stays frozen at the transaction start while GETDATE() moves with the statement, which matters for audit columns. NOW() also exists but only runs on the leader node.
Run this in SaturnSQL
SaturnSQL is a browser-based SQL editor for teams: shared query library, schema-aware autocomplete, and scheduled exports to Google Sheets and Slack.
Try it free