In MariaDB, CURDATE() is a built-in date and time function that returns the current date.

The date is returned in either 'YYYY-MM-DD' or YYYYMMDD, depending on whether the function is being used in a string or numeric context.

Syntax

The syntax goes like this:

CURDATE()

No arguments are required or accepted.

It also has the following synonyms:

CURRENT_DATE
CURRENT_DATE()

Example

Here’s an example:

SELECT CURDATE();

Result:

+------------+
| CURDATE()  |
+------------+
| 2021-05-08 |
+------------+

Numeric Context

When CURDATE() is used in a numeric context, the resulting date is in YYYYMMDD format.

Example:

SELECT CURDATE() + 0;

Result:

+---------------+
| CURDATE() + 0 |
+---------------+
|      20210508 |
+---------------+

Synonyms

CURRENT_DATE and CURRENT_DATE() are synonyms for CURDATE(). Therefore, we can use either one to get the same result.

Example

SELECT 
    CURDATE(),
    CURRENT_DATE,
    CURRENT_DATE();

Result:

+------------+--------------+----------------+
| CURDATE()  | CURRENT_DATE | CURRENT_DATE() |
+------------+--------------+----------------+
| 2021-05-08 | 2021-05-08   | 2021-05-08     |
+------------+--------------+----------------+

Adding to the Current Date

There are many ways to perform arithmetic on dates in MariaDB. You can use such methods to add a number of days, weeks, months, or years to the current date.

Here’s an example of using the addition operator (+) to add 6 months to the date:

SELECT 
    CURDATE(),
    CURDATE() + INTERVAL 6 MONTH;

Result:

+------------+------------------------------+
| CURDATE()  | CURDATE() + INTERVAL 6 MONTH |
+------------+------------------------------+
| 2021-05-08 | 2021-11-08                   |
+------------+------------------------------+

Also see functions like DATE_ADD() and ADDDATE() for an alternative way to add to the current date.

Subtracting from the Current Date

Here’s an example of using the subtraction operator (-) to subtract 6 months from the current date:

SELECT 
    CURDATE(),
    CURDATE() - INTERVAL 6 MONTH;

Result:

+------------+------------------------------+
| CURDATE()  | CURDATE() + INTERVAL 6 MONTH |
+------------+------------------------------+
| 2021-05-08 | 2021-11-08                   |
+------------+------------------------------+

See functions like DATE_SUB() and SUBDATE() for an alternative way to add to the current date.

No Arguments

The CURDATE() function doesn’t accept any arguments.

Here’s what happens when we pass an argument:

SELECT CURDATE(1);

Result:

ERROR 1064 (42000): You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MariaDB server version for the right syntax to use near '1)' at line 1