Language reference
to_date (parse a string to a DATE)
Syntax
to_date(<string-or-temporal>)
π id, to_date(date_str) → day (RawImport)Description
to_date turns a text string into a proper DATE value, so date data that arrived as text (from a CSV, a JSON field, or an open schema) can be compared and computed like a real date.
Technical Description
to_date(s: STRING | DATE | TIMESTAMP) → DATE. Parses s as an ISO-8601 date (YYYY-MM-DD, LocalDate.parse); a malformed string is an evaluation error. NULL input returns NULL. PURE, DETERMINISTIC.
Given a temporal value it converts it as SQL's CAST does: a TIMESTAMP gives its date at UTC, and ISO text naming a timestamp gives that timestamp's date at UTC. A DATE is returned as it is, and any other kind is an evaluation error. CAST(x AS DATE) is this function.
Examples
Convert an imported text date:
π id, to_date(date_str) → day (RawImport)PROJECT id, to_date(date_str) -> day (RawImport)Filter parsed dates:
σ to_date(due) >= DATE '2026-01-01' (Tasks)σ to_date(due) ≥ DATE '2026-01-01' (Tasks)SELECT to_date(due) >= DATE '2026-01-01' (Tasks)Limitations
Expects ISO-8601 (YYYY-MM-DD); other formats error. STRING argument; NULL in → NULL out.
Alternatives
to_timestamp for date+time strings; to_time for clock-time strings; a DATE '…' literal when the value is constant.