Time syntax

Commands that accept --start and --end (cx logs, cx spans, cx dataprime query, cx metrics query-range) support the following time expressions. cx metrics query uses --time for a single instant instead.

Formats

Format	Example	Description
`now`	`now`	Current UTC time
Relative	`now-1h`	Subtract a duration from now
Relative with spaces	`now - 3d`	Spaces around `-` are allowed
ISO 8601 / RFC 3339	`2024-01-01T00:00:00Z`	Absolute UTC timestamp

Duration tokens

Relative expressions use humantime duration syntax:
Token Meaning
s Seconds
m Minutes
h Hours
d Days
w Weeks

Compound durations are supported: 1h30m, 2d12h.

Defaults by command

Command	`--start` default	`--end` default
`cx logs`	`now-1h`	`now`
`cx spans`	`now-1h`	`now`
`cx dataprime query`	`now-1h`	`now`
`cx metrics query-range`	`now-1h`	`now`
`cx metrics query`	Uses `--time` (defaults to `now`)	N/A

Examples

## Last hour (default)
cx logs 'filter $m.severity == ERROR'

## Last 6 hours
cx logs 'filter $m.severity == ERROR' --start now-6h

## Specific time window
cx logs 'filter $m.severity == ERROR' \
  --start 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z \
  --end 2024-01-01T01:00:00Z

## Last 3 days of spans for a specific service
cx spans 'filter $l.serviceName == "checkout"' --start now-3d

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