How to convert SQL Server's timestamp column to datetime format

It stores a unique binary value that automatically increments with each row modification and is typically used for concurrency control.

If you want to convert a timestamp column to a datetime format, you will need to convert the binary value of the timestamp (which is a varbinary type) to a datetime value.

How do I convert SQL Server's timestamp column to datetime format?

You can extract the hexadecimal integer from a TIMESTAMP column or convert it to a BIGINT for easier manipulation.

SELECT CAST (0x0000000017E30D64 AS BIGINT)

Output

400756068

In newer versions of SQL Server, the TIMESTAMP datatype is now called RowVersion, as it more accurately reflects its purpose for versioning rows.

The rowversion data type generates unique, automatically incrementing binary numbers in a database, typically used for version-stamping table rows. It does not store date or time information. To record dates or times, use the datetime2 data type instead.

You cannot convert a SQL Server TIMESTAMP to a date/time, as it is not designed to store date or time information. If you're referring to a DATETIME column instead, you can use standard date formats supported by SQL Server via CAST and CONVERT. Any other format would require manual casting and concatenation, which is not recommended.

DECLARE @toDay DATETIME = SYSDATETIME()
SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(30), @toDay, 121) // 2024-12-11 08:51:13.690