MySQL: Default a field to the current date/time

MySQL date/time FAQ: How do I create a field in a MySQL database table that will default to the current date and time whenever a new record is inserted into my table?

Answer: Just define the field in your table as a timestamp field, and combine that with the default keyword and the MySQL now() function when you define this field in your database table.

The syntax for creating a MySQL timestamp field that defaults to the current date and time when creating a new database table looks like this:

event_time timestamp not null default now()

A complete MySQL current date time default example

To put this in a little more perspective, here's the complete DDL for a small MySQL database table whose definition includes a timestamp field that defaults to the current data and time:

drop table if exists file_events;

create table file_events (
    id int unsigned auto_increment not null,
    file_id int unsigned not null,
    event_time timestamp not null default now(),    # the field that defaults to "now"
    primary key(id),
    constraint foreign key fk_file_events_to_sam_files (file_id) references files(id) on delete cascade
) ENGINE=InnoDB;

The event_time field in that table definition shows how to use the MySQL now() function.

See the now() output without creating a table

As a final note, you can see the output of the MySQL now function without creating a database table. Just enter this command from the MySQL command line interface (CLI) to see the current date and time:

select now();

Summary

I hope these MySQL current date/time examples have been helpful. If you have any questions about these examples, just use the Comment form below.