GetSystemTime function (sysinfoapi.h)

Article
02/22/2024

Retrieves the current system date and time in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) format.

To retrieve the current system date and time in local time, use the GetLocalTime function.

Syntax

void GetSystemTime(
  [out] LPSYSTEMTIME lpSystemTime
);

Parameters

[out] lpSystemTime

A pointer to a SYSTEMTIME structure to receive the current system date and time. The lpSystemTime parameter must not be NULL. Using NULL will result in an access violation.

Return value

None

Remarks

To set the current system date and time, use the SetSystemTime function.

Examples

#include <windows.h>
#include <stdio.h>

void main()
{
    SYSTEMTIME st, lt;
    
    GetSystemTime(&st);
    GetLocalTime(&lt);
    
    printf("The system time is: %02d:%02d\n", st.wHour, st.wMinute);
    printf(" The local time is: %02d:%02d\n", lt.wHour, lt.wMinute);
}

// Sample output

The system time is: 19:34
 The local time is: 12:34

For more information about this example, see SYSTEMTIME.

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Minimum supported client	Windows 2000 Professional [desktop apps \| UWP apps]
Minimum supported server	Windows 2000 Server [desktop apps \| UWP apps]
Target Platform	Windows
Header	sysinfoapi.h (include Windows.h)
Library	Kernel32.lib
DLL	Kernel32.dll