There are three ways to get yesterday's date in PHP: use the strtotime() function, combine the date() function to output detailed time, or use the DateTime class for flexible processing. The first method directly obtains yesterday's date through echo date('Ym-d', strtotime('yesterday'));; the second method can output the full time containing hours, minutes and seconds, such as echo date('Ymd H:i:s', strtotime('yesterday'));; the third method uses the object-oriented DateTime class to facilitate complex date operations, such as adding and subtracting days or setting time zones, the code is $date = new DateTime('yesterday'); echo $date->format('Ym-d');. In addition, it is recommended to explicitly set the time zone to avoid bias, which can be achieved by date_default_timezone_set('Asia/Shanghai');
To get yesterday's date, it is actually very simple in PHP. The most common method is to use the two functions date()
and strtotime()
to cooperate. Let me talk about several common practices.

Quickly get yesterday's date with strtotime
This is the most direct way:

echo date('Ym-d', strtotime('-1 day'));
Or it can be written as:
echo date('Ym-d', strtotime('yesterday'));
Both writing methods will output yesterday's date, and the format is年-月-日
. If you want to change to another format, such as 2025/04/04
or 04-Apr-2025
, you only need to change the first parameter of date()
.

Get the full timestamp or detailed time of yesterday
If you not only need dates, but also need specific time (such as hours, minutes and seconds), you can write it like this:
echo date('Ymd H:i:s', strtotime('yesterday'));
This will output a result similar to 2025-04-03 15:30:00
.
You can also use this method to do scenarios that require standard time formats such as file naming and logging.
Combined with the DateTime
class to handle more flexibly
For object-oriented style code, PHP provides the DateTime
class, which is also recommended for use in complex logic:
$date = new DateTime('yesterday'); echo $date->format('Ym-d');
The advantage of this method is that it is easier to do complex date operations, such as adding and subtracting days, months, setting time zones, etc. For example:
- Add one day:
$date->modify(' 1 day');
- One hour reduced:
$date->modify('-1 hour');
- Set time zone:
$date->setTimezone(new DateTimeZone('Asia/Shanghai'));
Pay attention to time zone issues
By default, PHP uses the server-set time zone. If your application is targeted to users in multiple regions, or is deployed on servers in different regions, it is recommended to explicitly set the time zone:
date_default_timezone_set('Asia/Shanghai');
This can avoid date deviations due to local settings of the server.
Basically that's it. Whether you use strtotime
or DateTime
, you can easily get yesterday's date. Just choose the right method according to your project style and needs.
The above is the detailed content of php get yesterday's date. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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