PublishedAt

PublishedAt is a timestamp field used in digital content systems to indicate when an item was made publicly available. It is commonly found in APIs, content management systems, and data models representing articles, videos, posts, and other publishable resources. The value usually represents the moment the item became visible to end users, and may be null or unset for drafts or items not yet published.

Format and type: In most modern APIs and systems, publishedAt is stored as a string in ISO 8601 format with a Z suffix or an explicit offset, e.g., 2024-11-12T09:45:00Z. Some databases store it as a native datetime type. The exact field name may vary; published_at or publishDate are common alternatives. publishedAt is typically read-only for consumers of an API, though in editors it may be set by workflows.

Relationship to other timestamps: It is distinct from createdAt (when the item was created) and updatedAt (last modification). In many workflows, publishedAt becomes set when a draft is approved for public release. Some systems allow changes to publishedAt to reflect re-publishing or backdated publication.

Usage and considerations: Sorting, filtering, and analytics often rely on publishedAt to determine recency. When exchanging data across time zones, use UTC or include an explicit offset to avoid misinterpretation. In practice, consistency of time references is important for accurate ordering and historical records.

Example: publishedAt: 2023-07-08T14:30:00Z