In MariaDB, DATE_SUB() is a built-in date and time function that allows you to subtract an amount from a date.

It allows you to change a date by specifying the date, the unit to subtract, and the amount to subtract. You can pass a negative amount in order to add to the date, instead of subtracting from it.

Syntax

The syntax goes like this:

DATE_SUB(date,INTERVAL expr unit)

Where date is the date to change, expr is the amount to subtract, and unit is the date/time unit to subtract (e.g. second, minute, etc).

Example

Here’s a basic example:

SELECT DATE_SUB('2021-05-31 10:00:00', INTERVAL 1 HOUR);

Result:

+--------------------------------------------------+
| DATE_SUB('2021-05-31 10:00:00', INTERVAL 1 HOUR) |
+--------------------------------------------------+
| 2021-05-31 09:00:00                              |
+--------------------------------------------------+

This is like doing the following:

SELECT '2021-05-31 10:00:00' - INTERVAL 1 HOUR;

Result:

+-----------------------------------------+
| '2021-05-31 10:00:00' - INTERVAL 1 HOUR |
+-----------------------------------------+
| 2021-05-31 09:00:00                     |
+-----------------------------------------+

Negative Intervals

Providing a negative interval adds that amount from the date.

Example:

SELECT DATE_SUB('2021-05-31 10:00:00', INTERVAL -1 HOUR);

Result:

+---------------------------------------------------+
| DATE_SUB('2021-05-31 10:00:00', INTERVAL -1 HOUR) |
+---------------------------------------------------+
| 2021-05-31 11:00:00                               |
+---------------------------------------------------+

Other Units

Here’s an example that adds an interval of 1 to the various date and time units:

SELECT 
    DATE_SUB('2021-05-10 10:00:00', INTERVAL 1 YEAR) AS YEAR,
    DATE_SUB('2021-05-10 10:00:00', INTERVAL 1 MONTH) AS MONTH,
    DATE_SUB('2021-05-10 10:00:00', INTERVAL 1 DAY) AS DAY,
    DATE_SUB('2021-05-10 10:00:00', INTERVAL 1 HOUR) AS HOUR,
    DATE_SUB('2021-05-10 10:00:00', INTERVAL 1 MINUTE) AS MINUTE,
    DATE_SUB('2021-05-10 10:00:00', INTERVAL 1 SECOND) AS SECOND,
    DATE_SUB('2021-05-10 10:00:00', INTERVAL 1 MICROSECOND) AS MICROSECOND;

Result (using vertical output):

       YEAR: 2020-05-10 10:00:00
      MONTH: 2021-04-10 10:00:00
        DAY: 2021-05-09 10:00:00
       HOUR: 2021-05-10 09:00:00
     MINUTE: 2021-05-10 09:59:00
     SECOND: 2021-05-10 09:59:59
MICROSECOND: 2021-05-10 09:59:59.999999

Composite Units

Here’s an example that uses composite units:

SELECT 
    DATE_SUB('2021-05-01 10:00:00', INTERVAL '1:2' YEAR_MONTH) AS "YEAR_MONTH",
    DATE_SUB('2021-05-01 10:00:00', INTERVAL '1:25:35' HOUR_SECOND) AS "HOUR_SECOND",
    DATE_SUB('2021-05-01 10:00:00', INTERVAL '1:30' DAY_MINUTE) AS "DAY_MINUTE";

Result:

+---------------------+---------------------+---------------------+
| YEAR_MONTH          | HOUR_SECOND         | DAY_MINUTE          |
+---------------------+---------------------+---------------------+
| 2020-03-01 10:00:00 | 2021-05-01 08:34:25 | 2021-05-01 08:30:00 |
+---------------------+---------------------+---------------------+

Null Dates

Passing null for the date returns null:

SELECT DATE_SUB(null, INTERVAL 1 YEAR);

Result:

+---------------------------------+
| DATE_SUB(null, INTERVAL 1 YEAR) |
+---------------------------------+
| NULL                            |
+---------------------------------+

Missing Argument

Calling DATE_SUB() with the wrong number of arguments, or without passing any arguments results in an error:

SELECT DATE_SUB();

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 ')' at line 1