Qlik Replicate - Commit vs now (replicate) timestamps

[FabioTavares]

Hello,

I have a task copying data. I have a couple of rules where I add columns. 2 of those columns are:

- COMMIT_TIMESTAMP - it comes from header $AR_H_COMMIT_TIMESTAMP.

- REPLICATE_TIMESTAMP -  it comes from expression datetime('now')

Its my understanding that both, in terms of time zone, would reflect the Qlik Replicate server time zone but curious enough I always see the REPLICATE_TIMESTAMP "happening" before the COMMIT_TIMESTAMP.

How is this possible? Am I missing something with the time zones?

[john_wang]

Hello @FabioTavares ,

There are two possible reasons:

1. datetime('now') returns the UTC time.
   If you need the local time, you can use:
   datetime('now','localtime').

2. Please verify the system time and time zone settings on both the source database server and the Replicate server, and ensure they are properly synchronized.

Hope this helps.

John.

[FabioTavares]

Hello @john_wang,

Thank you for the quick assist. I think I got confused... indeed datetime('now') is utc.
I will check the Qlik server time zone but out of curiosity, is there a way to bring the value of header 'AR_H_COMMIT_TIMESTAMP' in UTC without knowing the server time zone?

[john_wang · Accepted solution]

Hello @FabioTavares ,

AR_H_COMMIT_TIMESTAMP is stored in the database local time.
If you convert REPLICATE_TIMESTAMP to local time as well, the comparison becomes much easier.

thanks,

John.

[DesmondWOO · Accepted solution]

Hi @FabioTavares ,

You don’t need to know the server’s time zone; simply specifying the UTC parameter is sufficient, as shown below

datetime($AR_H_COMMIT_TIMESTAMP, 'UTC')

Regards,
Desmond

[FabioTavares]

Hello @DesmondWOO,

I just did the transformations and forced a reload (with truncate), but I still see the replicate before the commit. What am I missing?

[FabioTavares]

Hello @DesmondWOO, @john_wang,

Apologies for insisting, but can you check my previous post? Seems the 'UTC' mark is not working and not sure I'm doing something wrong.

[john_wang]

Hello @FabioTavares ,

Could you please share the source and target database types, as well as the time zones of the following three machines:

• Source database server

• Qlik Replicate server

• Target database server

In the meantime, you can add the following three expressions to the table and compare their values to better understand how the timestamps are being interpreted:

• datetime($AR_H_COMMIT_TIMESTAMP)

        → Source database server local time

• datetime($AR_H_COMMIT_TIMESTAMP, 'localtime')

        → Source database server local time adjusted by your local time zone

• datetime($AR_H_COMMIT_TIMESTAMP, 'UTC')

        → Source database server local time converted to UTC

For reference, you can also check:

• datetime('now', 'UTC')

        → Current UTC time

Comparing these values should help clarify the time zone logic in effect.

Hope this helps.

John.

[FabioTavares]

Hi @john_wang,

	Source Database	Qlik Server	Target Database
Machine\Version	SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server 2019 (RTM-CU32-GDR) (KB5063757) - 15.0.4440.1 (X64) Jul 14 2025 12:59:40 Copyright (C) 2019 Microsoft Corporation Enterprise Edition: Core-based Licensing (64-bit) on Windows Server 2019 Standard 10.0 <X64> (Build 17763: ) (Hypervisor)	Unknown	Azure Fabric SQL Microsoft SQL Azure (RTM) - 12.0.2000.8  Jan  2 2026 13:26:31  Copyright (C) 2025 Microsoft Corporation
Timezone	(UTC+01:00) Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna	Can I check via Qlik? I do not have access to the machine itself.	(UTC) Coordinated Universal Time

I just did a copy of a table and here is the result

Config

Result on target

I also have this log
00006992: 2026-01-29T12:30:12 [TASK_MANAGER ]I: Start loading table 'dbo'.'wf_tran_header' (Id = 1) by subtask 1. Start load timestamp 000649852DF876C0 (replicationtask_util.c:760)