Using WordPress ‘comment_date()’ PHP function

The comment_date() WordPress PHP function is used to display the date of the current comment. The format of the date can be customized, and it defaults to the ‘date_format’ option in your WordPress settings. You can use this function to print the date for a specific comment or the currently active comment in a comments loop.

Usage

You can use the function comment_date() like so:

comment_date('F j, Y');

This will print the date of the current comment in the format ‘Month Day, Year’. For example, ‘January 1, 2023’.

Parameters

  • $format (string): This is an optional parameter where you can specify a custom PHP date format. If left blank, it defaults to the ‘date_format’ option in your WordPress settings.
  • $comment_id (int|WP_Comment): This is another optional parameter. You can provide either the ID of a specific comment or an instance of the WP_Comment class to print the date for that comment. If left blank, it defaults to the currently active comment in a comments loop.

More information

See WordPress Developer Resources: comment_date()
This function is part of the WordPress core and is not deprecated. It is located in the wp-includes/comment-template.php file.

Examples

Basic Usage

Display the date of the current comment in the default format.

comment_date();

Custom Date Format

Display the date of the current comment in the ‘F j, Y’ format.

comment_date('F j, Y');

Specific Comment ID

Display the date of the comment with the ID of 10 in the default format.

comment_date('', 10);

Specific Comment ID and Custom Format

Display the date of the comment with the ID of 20 in the ‘F j, Y’ format.

comment_date('F j, Y', 20);

Using WP_Comment Object

First, get a WP_Comment object for a specific comment. Then, display the date of that comment in the default format.

$comment = get_comment(30);
comment_date('', $comment);