To get the first day of a month, it can be implemented through PHP built-in functions. The core methods include: 1. Use the date() function to directly construct the string of the first day of the current month; 2. Use strtotime() to obtain the timestamp; 3. Use the specified date to calculate the first day of the month; 4. Use the DateTime class for object-oriented style processing. In addition, attention should be paid to time zone settings, formatted output and application in database query. These methods are flexible and suitable for different scenarios, the key is to choose the right approach according to your needs and pay attention to details such as time zone and format control.
To get the first day of a certain month, the method is actually quite straightforward. In PHP, it can be done with the built-in date function, and there is no need to introduce additional complex libraries. If you want to know "how to get the first day of a certain month", the core idea is: construct a timestamp that indicates the first day of the target month 00:00:00.

The following methods can meet the needs of different scenarios, including the current month, the month where the specified date is, or used for formatting output, etc.

Get the first day of the current month
This is one of the most common needs. For example, if you want to count the data for that month, you need to start from the first day of the month.
$firstDay = date('Ym-01'); echo $firstDay; // The output is similar to 2025-04-01
This code takes advantage of the characteristics of date()
function: when you write 'Ym-01'
, it will automatically be recognized as the first day of the current month. If you want to get a timestamp instead of a string, you can use strtotime()
:

$timestamp = strtotime(date('Ym-01'));
Get the first day of the month on which the specified date is
Sometimes you don’t want the current month, but you want to deal with the month on which a specific date is, such as the first day of the month that '2024-03-15'
is located.
You can write this way:
$date = '2024-03-15'; $firstDay = date('Ym-01', strtotime($date)); echo $firstDay; // Output 2024-03-01
This method is suitable for handling user input or date fields in the database, with greater flexibility.
Use the DateTime class to be clearer (suitable for object-oriented style)
PHP's DateTime
class provides a more modern and easier to maintain way to deal with date issues.
$date = new DateTime('2024-05-20'); $date->modify('first day of this month'); echo $date->format('Ym-d'); // Output 2024-05-01
The advantage is that the syntax is more intuitive, especially when dealing with time zones or cross-month operations. If you are already using OOP style in your project, this method is recommended.
Common uses and precautions
Database query : often used to construct SQL query conditions, such as
WHERE created_at >= '2024-04-01'
Adjustable format : You don't have to do
Ymd
, you can also outputY/m/d
or take only the year and monthNote the time zone : The server time zone is used by default. If you need to consider the time zone where the user is located, it is recommended to set it in advance:
date_default_timezone_set('Asia/Shanghai');
Basically that's it. The method is not difficult, but what is easy to ignore is time zone issues and format control, especially when doing internationalization. Just pay attention to these details, it is very convenient to use PHP to obtain the first day of each month.
The above is the detailed content of php get first day of month. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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