updatedat

Updatedat (often rendered as updatedAt, updated_at, or updatedat) is a field used to record the timestamp of the most recent modification to a data record. It serves as a simple, sortable indicator of recency and is commonly paired with a createdAt field to provide a full history of when a record was created and last changed. The exact naming convention depends on the language, framework, or database conventions in use.

In practice, updatedat is typically a timestamp or datetime value stored in a standard format such as ISO 8601 or a numeric epoch. Many frameworks provide automatic management of this field: updates set updatedat to the current time on every modification, while createdat remains fixed at creation. In SQL databases, the column may be defined with default and on-update behaviors, or maintained via triggers. In document databases or ORMs, enabling built-in timestamp options often results in automatic updates.

Common use cases include sorting records by recency, triggering cache invalidation, supporting data synchronization across clients, and enabling basic audit trails or optimistic locking. Accurate timekeeping usually requires consistent time zones, with UTC being a best practice to avoid confusion across systems.

Implementation considerations include data type choice (datetime vs timestamp), time zone handling, and indexing to support fast queries by update time. If privacy or retention policies apply, updatedat data may need to be managed in accordance with data governance rules. Overall, updatedat is a practical, widely adopted mechanism for tracking the freshness of stored data.