twas
A 280-byte JavaScript function that converts timestamps to human-readable relative time strings like '3 seconds ago'.
What is twas?
twas is a tiny JavaScript function that converts timestamps into human-readable relative time strings, such as '3 seconds ago' or '2 days ago'. It solves the problem of formatting time differences in a lightweight, dependency-free way for web and Node.js applications.
JavaScript developers building applications that need to display relative timestamps without adding significant bundle size, such as in chat apps, social feeds, or activity logs.
Developers choose twas for its extreme minimalism (280 bytes) and simplicity, offering a focused solution for relative time formatting without the overhead of larger date libraries.
Overview
🕰 Tiny (280B) relative time string function (eg: "3 seconds ago")
Use Cases
Best For
- Adding relative timestamps to social media or chat applications
- Displaying activity logs with human-readable time differences
- Reducing bundle size in performance-sensitive frontend projects
- Formatting dates in lightweight Node.js utilities or CLI tools
- Replacing heavier date libraries for basic relative time needs
- Prototyping or small projects where minimal dependencies are preferred
Not Ideal For
- Applications requiring multi-language relative time strings (i18n)
- Projects that need to format future dates or handle time zone conversions
- Systems where custom time intervals or advanced date formatting is necessary
- Large-scale applications needing comprehensive date manipulation libraries
Pros & Cons
Pros
At 280 bytes minified and gzipped, it adds negligible overhead to web applications, as emphasized in the GitHub description.
The function takes a timestamp and returns a readable string like '5 seconds ago', making it straightforward to integrate without configuration hassles.
Being self-contained, it avoids dependency bloat and reduces maintenance risks in projects, as noted in the key features.
Outputs human-friendly phrases such as 'just now' or '2 weeks ago', enhancing user experience in time-sensitive displays like chat apps or feeds.
Cons
Only provides English output, which limits its use in global applications without additional localization efforts, a common need not addressed.
Primarily handles past dates; support for future dates or complex time ranges is not built-in, as seen from the usage example focusing on 'ago'.
Offers no configuration for adjusting time thresholds or output formats, restricting flexibility for specific project requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
timeago.js:clock8: :hourglass: timeago.js is a tiny(2.0 kb) library used to format date with `*** time ago` statement.
fechaLightweight and simple JS date formatting and parsing
pretty-msConvert milliseconds to a human readable string: `1337000000` → `15d 11h 23m 20s`
time-stampGet a formatted timestamp. Used in gulp, assemble, generate, and many others.
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