TO_TIME

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Syntax

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Format supplied for each row

to_time(value, format_column)

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Arguments

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Returns

• Type: TIME with microsecond precision
• NULL behavior: NULL value or NULL format yields NULL; non-NULL text that matches no pattern raises an error.

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Properties

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Usage notes

• The format can vary by row, such as HH:mm:ss for one row and HH:mm for another.
• Square brackets mark optional parts of a pattern, such as HH:mm[:ss].

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Examples

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Parse rows with different time formats

WITH t AS (
  SELECT id,
    CASE WHEN id = 0 THEN '10:30:45' ELSE '09:15' END AS v,
    CASE WHEN id = 0 THEN 'HH:mm:ss' ELSE 'HH:mm' END AS f
  FROM range(0, 2)
)
SELECT to_time(v, f) AS result
FROM t
ORDER BY id NULLS LAST;

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Parse 12-hour times with AM and PM

WITH sample AS (
  SELECT id,
    CASE WHEN id = 0 THEN '11:05 PM' ELSE '08:15:30 AM' END AS time_text,
    CASE WHEN id = 0 THEN 'hh:mm a' ELSE 'hh:mm:ss a' END AS time_format
  FROM range(0, 2)
)
SELECT to_time(time_text, time_format) AS parsed FROM sample ORDER BY id;

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Limitations

• Calls that evaluate time text at runtime with an omitted or constant format currently fail with a time-precision error. Use the varying-format form shown in the example.
• Optional format sections expand to at most 256 candidate patterns. A value requiring a candidate outside that limit will not parse.