Gets, checks, and verifies the current UTC date and time for unambiguous temporal reference. Use when starting tasks, verifying temporal context, ensuring date awareness before time-sensitive operations, or when incorrect date assumptions are detected.
Get the current UTC date and time to ensure correct temporal context for all operations.
This skill requires COMMAND EXECUTION, not assumption-based answers.
When this skill loads, you MUST:
Why this matters: This skill exists precisely because date assumptions are unreliable. Model training cutoffs, context issues, and stale information mean assumptions about "today" are frequently wrong. The ONLY reliable source is executing the date command and reporting actual output.
This skill provides a simple, reliable way to verify the current date and time. It addresses situations where Claude Code or subagents may have incorrect assumptions about the current date due to model training cutoffs.
Why a dedicated skill?
What this skill does NOT do:
IMPORTANT: This is an execution-only skill. Always run the command; never state dates from memory.
Use this skill when:
Get current UTC date and time:
date -u +"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S UTC (%A)"
Expected output:
2025-11-09 18:31:10 UTC (Sunday)
Format explanation:
2025-11-09 - ISO 8601 date format (YYYY-MM-DD)18:31:10 - 24-hour time with seconds (UTC)UTC - Coordinated Universal Time(Sunday) - Day of weekExecution Checklist:
date -u +"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S UTC (%A)"
# Then proceed with task...
date -u +"%Y-%m-%d"
# Use for "Last Verified" dates
date -u +"%Y%m%d-%H%M%S"
# Use in filenames
Load on demand based on context:
| Reference | When to Load |
|---|---|
| references/platform-alternatives.md | Windows users, PowerShell needed |
| references/format-reference.md | Need alternative output formats |
| references/troubleshooting.md | Errors or issues occur |
| references/testing/evaluations.md | During skill testing or audit |
| references/testing/model-notes.md | Multi-model testing |
Date: 2025-11-28 Model: claude-opus-4-5-20251101