# How should I handle dates and time zones returned by a tool?

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HELP CENTER · FAQ Tools 1 min read
# How should I handle dates and time zones returned by a tool?
Treat timestamps as values with an explicit format and time-zone meaning, not as interchangeable display strings. Preserve the original value when accuracy matters, convert deliberately for comparison, and format for a person only at the presentation boundary.
IaGenify
Tools

## Parse before comparing
Check whether the response contains an offset, a named time zone, or no zone information at all. A date-time without a zone can be ambiguous; do not silently assume that it means the agent's local time or UTC.
Normalize instants to a consistent representation for ordering and duration calculations, while retaining the source zone when it carries business meaning such as a local appointment or billing day. Treat date-only values separately from instants.
## Display with context
When presenting a time, identify the zone or make the user's locale choice explicit. Daylight-saving transitions can create missing or repeated local times, so validate inputs such as scheduled appointments around those transitions.
If the tool's format is unclear, inspect its documentation or sample payload before transforming values. Test boundary cases—midnight, offset changes, and date-only fields—so a conversion does not move an event to the wrong day. [← Back to Tools FAQs](https://help.iagenify.com/faqs/tools)