All flow nodes support JSONata expressions for advanced control over the output, repetition, delay, conditions and rules. These expressions support the JSONata built-in functions, the Node-RED function extensions and a couple of additional functions related to date and time calculation. There are some functions common to all nodes and other functions specific to certain nodes only. Some of below described functions overlap with functionality already provided by the $moment function from the Node-RED extensions but the Chronos provided functions have the advantage that they match the functionality as known from the node's user interface and they respect the time zone setting from the node's assigned configuration as far as applicable.

There are also some common expression variables as described below available in all JSONata expressions. Additional node specific variables are documented on the corresponding pages of the nodes.

Common Variables

The common variables are described below.

$node

Contains the configured name of the node or an empty string in case no name has been set.

$config

Contains information about the associated configuration node. The variable is an object and has the following proerties:

Property	Type	Description
name	String	The name of the assigned configuration node.
latitude	Number	The latitude configured in the assigned configuration node or null if the latitude is configured as global context variable. Use $getLatitude() in this case.
longitude	Number	The longitude configured in the assigned configuration node or null if the longitude is configured as global context variable. Use $getLongitude() in this case.
timezone	String	The time zone configured in the assigned configuration node or null if the time zone is configured as global context variable. Use $getTimeZone() in this case.
locale	String	The locale configured in the Node-RED instance or - if not specified - the locale of the OS running Node-RED.

Common Functions

The common functions are described below.

$getLatitude()

Signature: $getLatitude()

Returns the latitude configured in the assigned configuration node. If the latitude is configured as global context variable, it is retrieved from that variable on-the-fly.

Return Value

The latitude as number between -90° and 90°.

$getLongitude()

Signature: $getLongitude()

Returns the longitude configured in the assigned configuration node. If the longitude is configured as global context variable, it is retrieved from that variable on-the-fly.

Return Value

The longitude as number between -180° and 180°.

$getTimeZone()

Signature: $getTimeZone()

Returns the time zone configured in the assigned configuration node. If the time zone is configured as global context variable, it is retrieved from that variable on-the-fly.

Return Value

The time zone as string containing a time zone identifier.

$millisecond()

Signature: $millisecond(ts)

Returns the millisecond portion of the provided timestamp ts.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp, must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.

Return Value

The return value is a number containing the elapsed milliseconds within the current second (0..999).

$second()

Signature: $second(ts)

Returns the second portion of the provided timestamp ts.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp, must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.

Return Value

The return value is a number containing the elapsed seconds within the current minute (0..59).

$minute()

Signature: $minute(ts)

Returns the minute portion of the provided timestamp ts.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp, must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.

Return Value

The return value is a number containing the elapsed minutes within the current hour (0..59).

$hour()

Signature: $hour(ts)

Returns the hour portion of the provided timestamp ts.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp, must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.

Return Value

The return value is a number containing the elapsed hours within the current day (0..23).

$day()

Signature: $day(ts)

Returns the day of the month portion of the provided timestamp ts.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp, must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.

Return Value

The return value is a number containing the day of the month (1..31).

$dayOfWeek()

Signature: $dayOfWeek(ts)

Returns the day of the week portion of the provided timestamp ts.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp, must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.

Return Value

The return value is a number containing the day of the week (1..7) according to the configured locale.

$dayOfYear()

Signature: $dayOfYear(ts)

Returns the day of the year portion of the provided timestamp ts.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp, must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.

Return Value

The return value is a number containing the day of the year (1..365).

$week()

Signature: $week(ts)

Returns the week number of the provided timestamp ts.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp, must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.

Return Value

The return value is a number containing the week of the year according to the configured locale (1..52).

$month()

Signature: $month(ts)

Returns the month portion of the provided timestamp ts.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp, must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.

Return Value

The return value is a number containing the month (1..12).

$quarter()

Signature: $quarter(ts)

Returns the quarter of the year portion of the provided timestamp ts.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp, must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.

Return Value

The return value is a number containing the quarter of the year (1..4).

$year()

Signature: $year(ts)

Returns the year portion of the provided timestamp ts.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp, must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.

Return Value

The return value is a number containing the year.

$time()

Signature: $time(ts, time, offset, random)

Returns the time according to the given time string or number at the date from the provided timestamp.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp for the date part, must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date (today), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.
time	Number, String	yes	Time as number or string. In case of a string, the format must be the same as described in section Time Input. In case of a number, it must contain the number of milliseconds elapsed since midnight.
offset	Number	no	Offset to add to or subtract from the time; must be in minutes between -300 and +300.
random	Number	no	Offset randomization span with offset being the center; must be in minutes between 0 and 300.

Return Value

The return value is a timstamp as number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch.

$sunTime()

Signature: $sunTime(ts, pos, offset, random)

Returns the sun time for the given sun position name at the date from the provided timestamp.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp for the date part; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date (today), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.
pos	String	yes	Name of the sun position; one of "nightEnd", "nauticalDawn", "dawn", "sunrise", "sunriseEnd", "goldenHourEnd", "solarNoon", "goldenHour", "sunsetStart", "sunset", "dusk", "nauticalDusk", "night" or "nadir".
offset	Number	no	Offset to add to or subtract from the time; must be in minutes between -300 and +300.
random	Number	no	Offset randomization span with offset being the center; must be in minutes between 0 and 300.

Return Value

The return value is a timstamp as number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch.

$moonTime()

Signature: $moonTime(ts, pos, offset, random)

Returns the moon time for the given moon position name at the date from the provided timestamp.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp for the date part; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date (today), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.
pos	String	yes	Name of the moon position; one of "rise" or "set".
offset	Number	no	Offset to add to or subtract from the time; must be in minutes between -300 and +300.
random	Number	no	Offset randomization span with offset being the center; must be in minutes between 0 and 300.

Return Value

The return value is a timstamp as number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch.

Time Switch/Filter Node Functions

The following functions are specific to the Time Switch and Time Filter node.

$isSame()

Signature: $isSame(ts, type, value, offset, random, precision)

Checks if the given timestamp is equal to the time specified by arguments type, value, offset, random and precision.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
type	String	yes	The type of time; one of "time", "sun", "moon" or "custom", see also Time Input.
value	String	yes	The time value, whose content is depending on the type of time, see also Time Input.
offset	String	no	The offset to the time in minutes; must be between -300 und +300.
random	Number	no	Offset randomization span with offset being the center; must be in minutes between 0 and 300.
precision	String	no	The precision for comparison; one of "millisecond", "second", "minute", "hour", "day", "month" or "year".

Return Value

true if timestamp is earlier, false otherwise.

$isBefore()

Signature: $isBefore(ts, type, value, offset, random, precision)

Checks if the given timestamp is earlier than the time specified by arguments type, value, offset, random and precision.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
type	String	yes	The type of time; one of "time", "sun", "moon" or "custom", see also Time Input.
value	String	yes	The time value, whose content is depending on the type of time, see also Time Input.
offset	String	no	The offset to the time in minutes; must be between -300 und +300.
random	Number	no	Offset randomization span with offset being the center; must be in minutes between 0 and 300.
precision	String	no	The precision for comparison; one of "millisecond", "second", "minute", "hour", "day", "month" or "year".

Return Value

true if timestamp is earlier, false otherwise.

$isAfter()

Signature: $isAfter(ts, type, value, offset, random, precision)

Checks if the given timestamp is later than the time specified by arguments type, value, offset, random and precision.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
type	String	yes	The type of time; one of "time", "sun", "moon" or "custom", see also Time Input.
value	String	yes	The time value, whose content is depending on the type of time, see also Time Input.
offset	String	no	The offset to the time in minutes; must be between -300 und +300.
random	Number	no	Offset randomization span with offset being the center; must be in minutes between 0 and 300.
precision	String	no	The precision for comparison; one of "millisecond", "second", "minute", "hour", "day", "month" or "year".

Return Value

true if timestamp is equal or later, false otherwise.

$isBetween()

Signature: $isBetween(ts, type1, value1, offset1, random1, precision1, type2, value2, offset2, random2, precision2)

Checks if the given timestamp is equal to or later than the time specified by arguments type1, value1, offset1, random1 and precision1 and earlier than or equal to the time specified by arguments type2, value2, offset2, random2 and precision2.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
type1	String	yes	The type of first time; one of "time", "sun", "moon" or "custom", see also Time Input.
value1	String	yes	The first time value, whose content is depending on the type of first time, see also Time Input.
offset1	Number	yes	The offset to the first time in minutes; must be between -300 und +300.
random1	Number	yes	Offset randomization span with offset1 being the center; must be in minutes between 0 and 300.
precision1	String	yes	The precision for comparison; one of "millisecond", "second", "minute", "hour", "day", "month" or "year".
type2	String	yes	The type of second time; one of "time", "sun", "moon" or "custom", see also Time Input.
value2	String	yes	The second time value, whose content is depending on the type of second time, see also Time Input.
offset2	Number	yes	The offset to the second time in minutes; must be between -300 und +300.
random2	Number	yes	Offset randomization span with offset2 being the center; must be in minutes between 0 and 300.
precision2	String	yes	The precision for comparison; one of "millisecond", "second", "minute", "hour", "day", "month" or "year".

Return Value

true if timestamp is equal to or later than the first and earlier than the second time, false otherwise.

$isOutside()

Signature: $isOutside(ts, type1, value1, offset1, random1, precision1, type2, value2, offset2, random2, precision2)

Checks if the given timestamp is earlier than the time specified by arguments type1, value1, offset1, random1 and precision1 or later than the time specified by arguments type2, value2, offset2, random2 and precision2.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
type1	String	yes	The type of first time; one of "time", "sun", "moon" or "custom", see also Time Input.
value1	String	yes	The first time value, whose content is depending on the type of first time, see also Time Input.
offset1	Number	yes	The offset to the first time in minutes; must be between -300 und +300.
random1	Number	yes	Offset randomization span with offset1 being the center; must be in minutes between 0 and 300.
precision1	String	yes	The precision for comparison; one of "millisecond", "second", "minute", "hour", "day", "month" or "year".
type2	String	yes	The type of second time; one of "time", "sun", "moon" or "custom", see also Time Input.
value2	String	yes	The second time value, whose content is depending on the type of second time, see also Time Input.
offset2	Number	yes	The offset to the second time in minutes; must be between -300 und +300.
random2	Number	yes	Offset randomization span with offset2 being the center; must be in minutes between 0 and 300.
precision2	String	yes	The precision for comparison; one of "millisecond", "second", "minute", "hour", "day", "month" or "year".

Return Value

true if timestamp is earlier than the first or later than the second time, false otherwise.

$isFirstDay()

Signature: $isFirstDay(ts, day)

Checks if the day of the given timestamp matches the provided type of day and if it is the first one of the month.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date (today), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
day	String	no	Type of day; one of "monday", "tuesday", "wednesday", "thursday", "friday", "saturday", "sunday", "day", "workday" or "weekend". If omitted, "day" (i.e., any day) is assumed.

Return Value

true for a match, false otherwise.

$isSecondDay()

Signature: $isSecondDay(ts, day)

Checks if the day of the given timestamp matches the provided type of day and if it is the second one of the month.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date (today), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
day	String	no	Type of day; one of "monday", "tuesday", "wednesday", "thursday", "friday", "saturday", "sunday" or "day". If omitted, "day" (i.e., any day) is assumed.

Return Value

true for a match, false otherwise.

$isThirdDay()

Signature: $isThirdDay(ts, day)

Checks if the day of the given timestamp matches the provided type of day and if it is the third one of the month.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date (today), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
day	String	no	Type of day; one of "monday", "tuesday", "wednesday", "thursday", "friday", "saturday", "sunday" or "day". If omitted, "day" (i.e., any day) is assumed.

Return Value

true for a match, false otherwise.

$isFourthDay()

Signature: $isFourthDay(ts, day)

Checks if the day of the given timestamp matches the provided type of day and if it is the fourth one of the month.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date (today), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
day	String	no	Type of day; one of "monday", "tuesday", "wednesday", "thursday", "friday", "saturday", "sunday" or "day". If omitted, "day" (i.e., any day) is assumed.

Return Value

true for a match, false otherwise.

$isFifthDay()

Signature: $isFifthDay(ts, day)

Checks if the day of the given timestamp matches the provided type of day and if it is the fifth one of the month.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date (today), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
day	String	no	Type of day; one of "monday", "tuesday", "wednesday", "thursday", "friday", "saturday", "sunday" or "day". If omitted, "day" (i.e., any day) is assumed.

Return Value

true for a match, false otherwise.

$isLastDay()

Signature: $isLastDay(ts, day)

Checks if the day of the given timestamp matches the provided type of day and if it is the last one of the month.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date (today), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
day	String	no	Type of day; one of "monday", "tuesday", "wednesday", "thursday", "friday", "saturday", "sunday", "day", "workday" or "weekend". If omitted, "day" (i.e., any day) is assumed.

Return Value

true for a match, false otherwise.

$isSpecificDay()

Signature: $isSpecificDay(ts, day, month)

Checks if the given timestamp matches a specific day of a specific month or of any month.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date (today), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
day	Number	yes	The day of the month (1..31).
month	Number	no	The number of the month (1..12). If omitted, matches any month.

Return Value

true for a match, false otherwise.

$matchesWeekdays()

Signature: $matchesWeekdays(ts, days)

Checks if the given timestamp matches one of the given weekdays.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date (today), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
days	Object	yes	May contain boolean properties with names of days of the week. If true, the timestamp must match that weekday, if false or not present, the timestamp must not match that weekday.

Return Value

true for a match, false otherwise.

$matchesMonths()

Signature: $matchesMonths(ts, months)

Checks if the given timestamp matches one of the given months.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date (today), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
months	Object	yes	May contain boolean properties with names of months of the year. If true, the timestamp must match that month, if false or not present, the timestamp must not match that month.

Return Value

true for a match, false otherwise.

$evaluateCondition()

Signature: $evaluateCondition(ts, condition)

Evaluates the given condition against the provided timestamp.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument; for the configured base time, pass the variable $baseTime.
condition	Object	yes	Condition to evaluate, must be in the same format as conditions that can be loaded from context variables.

Return Value

true for a match according to the condition, false otherwise.

Time Change Node Functions

The following functions are specific to the Time Change node.

$set()

Signature: $set(ts, part, value)

Sets the given part to the provided value and returns the modified timestamp.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.
part	String	yes	Name of the part to set; one of "year", "quarter", "month", "week", "weekday", "day", "hour", "minute", "second" or "millisecond".
value	Number	yes	Value to set the part of the timestamp to.

Return Value

The return value is a timstamp as number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch.

$add()

Signature: $add(ts, value, unit)

Adds time to the given timestamp and returns the modified timestamp.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.
value	Number	yes	Amount of time to add.
unit	String	yes	Unit of time; one of "years", "quarters", "months", "weeks", "days", "hours", "minutes", "seconds" or "milliseconds".

Return Value

The return value is a timstamp as number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch.

$subtract()

Signature: $subtract(ts, value, unit)

Subtracts time from the given timestamp and returns the modified timestamp.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.
value	Number	yes	Amount of time to subtract.
unit	String	yes	Unit of time; one of "years", "quarters", "months", "weeks", "days", "hours", "minutes", "seconds" or "milliseconds".

Return Value

The return value is a timstamp as number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch.

$startOf()

Signature: $startOf(ts, part)

Sets the given part to its start value and returns the modified timestamp.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.
part	String	yes	Part to set to the start value; one of "year", "quarter", "month", "week", "day", "hour", "minute", "second" or "millisecond".

Return Value

The return value is a timstamp as number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch.

$endOf()

Signature: $endOf(ts, part)

Sets the given part to its end value and returns the modified timestamp.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Mandatory	Description
ts	Number, String	yes	Timestamp; must be either a number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch or a string that is parsable by moment.js. For the current date and time (now), pass the result of the JSONata built-in function millis() as argument.
part	String	yes	Part to set to the end value; one of "year", "quarter", "month", "week", "day", "hour", "minute", "second" or "millisecond".

Return Value

The return value is a timstamp as number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch.