elasticsearch/docs/reference/query-languages/esql/_snippets/functions/description/date_diff.md

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Description

Subtracts the startTimestamp from the endTimestamp and returns the difference in multiples of unit. If startTimestamp is later than the endTimestamp, negative values are returned.

Datetime difference units
unit
year
quarter
month
dayofyear
day
week
weekday
hour
minute
second
millisecond
microsecond
nanosecond

Note that while there is an overlap between the function’s supported units and {{esql}}'s supported time span literals, these sets are distinct and not interchangeable. Similarly, the supported abbreviations are conveniently shared with implementations of this function in other established products and not necessarily common with the date-time nomenclature used by {{es}}.