Current Time in Google Sheets
Formula
Pull the live local time by city. =VERVE("worldtime", A2) returns the current time, date and timezone for a column — Sheets or Excel, auto-refreshing.
=VERVE("worldtime", A2)=VERVE.CALL("worldtime", A2)A2 holds the city you're looking up. Drag the formula down and each row resolves on its own.
With literal values
Nothing has to come from a cell — typed values work the same way.
=VERVE("worldtime", "San Francisco")Inputs
Required inputs are positional, in the order below. Everything else is passed as a "name", value pair after them — the same shape as SUMIFS.
| Input | Type | Where it goes | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
cityRequired | string | argument 2 | The city name for which you want to get the current time (e.g., New York) (e.g. San Francisco) |
What lands in your sheet
With no "field" pair the formula spills the whole response as two columns — field name on the left, value on the right — starting at the cell you typed in. Make sure the cells below and to the right are empty.
Pulling one value
Add a "field" pair to get a single cell back instead of a table. The field name is the dot-path from the table below.
=VERVE("worldtime", A2, "field", "search")=VERVE.CALL("worldtime", A2, "field", "search")Available fields
| Use as "field" | Type | Example cell value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
search | string | San Francisco | The city name that was searched for |
foundCities | array[2] | list of rows | Array of cities matching the search query |
foundCities.0.city | string | San Francisco | |
foundCities.0.city_ascii | string | San Francisco | |
foundCities.0.country | string | Argentina | |
foundCities.0.iso2 | string | AR | |
foundCities.0.iso3 | string | ARG | |
foundCities.0.province | string | Córdoba | |
foundCities.0.timezone | string | America/Argentina/Cordoba | |
foundCities.0.time | string | 19:33 | |
foundCities.0.time24 | string | 19:33:04 | |
foundCities.0.time12 | string | 07:33:04 PM | |
foundCities.0.date | string | 2025-12-16 | |
foundCities.0.day | string | Tuesday | |
foundCities.0.month | string | December | |
foundCities.0.year | string | 2025 | |
foundCities.0.unix | string | 1765924384 | |
foundCities.0.dst | boolean | false | |
foundCities.0.dst_start | string | 2025-12-16 19:33:04 | |
foundCities.0.dst_end | string | 2025-12-16 19:33:04 | |
foundCities.0.dst_name | string | -03 |
Filling a whole column
Hand the first argument a range instead of a cell and the add-in makes one batched call for the lot, then spills the answers down. That is faster than dragging the formula and costs the same credits — one per row looked up.
=VERVE("worldtime", A2:A100, "field", "search")=VERVE.CALL("worldtime", A2:A100, "field", "search")A2:A100 is the column of city values. The result spills down alongside it, one row per input, blanks skipped.
When a cell doesn't fill
A failed lookup returns readable text starting with #ERR rather than a spreadsheet error, because Excel cannot show a custom message on a real error — you would get a bare #VALUE! with no reason. The trade-off is that IFERROR() won't catch it; test with LEFT(cell, 4) = "#ERR" instead.
| Cell reads | What happened |
|---|---|
#ERR Not connected | No API key saved. Open the side panel and connect your account. |
#ERR Replace <name> with a cell or value | The preview formula was copied as-is. Swap the placeholder for a cell reference. |
#ERR No "x" in worldtime | An option name that this source doesn't take. The message lists the ones it does. |
#ERR No data point "…" | The "field" path isn't in the response. Check the dot-path against the table above. |
#PREMIUM(field) | The field exists but your plan doesn't include it. |
#ERR Out of credits | The month's credits are spent. Usage resets on your billing date. |
Before the formula works
The add-in reads the API key you saved once in the side panel — the key never goes in the formula, so a shared sheet doesn't leak it and a collaborator without access simply sees the last calculated values.
- Install the add-in for Google Sheets or Excel.
- Open the side panel and sign in, or paste a key from your dashboard.
- Type the formula above into any cell.
Other ways to use Current Time in Google Sheets
Set up Current Time in Google Sheets on VerveSheets, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveSheets account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.
Frequently asked questions
Does Current Time in Google Sheets work in both Google Sheets and Excel?
Yes — the same source, the same arguments. Sheets calls it =VERVE("worldtime", …) and Excel calls it =VERVE.CALL("worldtime", …); that function name is the only difference.
Do the cells recalculate on their own?
They recalculate when the sheet does — on edit, on open, or on a manual recalc. Each recalculation is a fresh call and spends credits, so for a large static column it's worth copying the results and pasting them as values.
How many credits does a filled column cost?
1 credit per row looked up, whether you drag the formula or pass a range. The range form is one HTTP call instead of many, but the credit count is the same.
Can I share the sheet without sharing my key?
Yes. The key is stored against your account, not in the file. Collaborators see the values already in the cells; formulas only recalculate for someone who has connected their own account.
Why is a cell showing #ERR instead of an error?
So you can read the reason. Excel can't display a custom message on a real spreadsheet error, so the add-in returns the explanation as text on both platforms instead.