Zuofeng Zhang created FLINK-39032:
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Summary: [webui] Add customizable timestamp formatting for
watermarks
Key: FLINK-39032
URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/FLINK-39032
Project: Flink
Issue Type: Improvement
Components: Runtime / Web Frontend
Reporter: Zuofeng Zhang
*Summary*
Currently, the Watermarks page in the Flink Web UI displays raw {{long}}
timestamp values (e.g., {{{}1770256730000{}}}). While this is technically
accurate, it is not human-readable. We propose enhancing the UI to improve
developer experience by displaying formatted datetime strings by default, along
with a timezone switching feature.
*Current Behavior*
On the Watermarks page (and potentially other metric pages displaying time),
users see only the raw millisecond timestamp. * *Example:* {{1770256730000}}
This requires users to manually copy the value into external tools or IDEs to
understand the actual wall-clock time, which is inefficient for monitoring
real-time data freshness.
*Proposed Behavior*
We suggest the following enhancements: # *Default Display Format:*
Change the display format to show both the raw timestamp and the formatted
datetime in a tooltip or inline.
** *Format:* {{Timestamp (YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss Z)}}
** *Example:* {{1770256730000 (2026-02-05 09:58:50 UTC+8)}}
# *Timezone Switching:*
Add a global selector (dropdown or button group) at the top of the Watermarks
table to switch between common timezones (e.g., UTC, Local, UTC+8).
** This allows operators to view watermarks according to their local
operational standards without changing system settings.
# *Consistency:*
This formatting logic could potentially be reused in other parts of the UI
where time metrics are displayed (e.g., Checkpoints, Backpressure).
*Use Case*
This feature is crucial for: * *Debugging:* Quickly identifying if a specific
SubTask is experiencing delayed data (stuck watermark).
* *Monitoring:* Instantly assessing the end-to-end latency of the pipeline by
comparing the watermark to the current system time.
* *Operations:* Allowing ops teams in different regions to view times in their
preferred timezone.
*Design Sketch (Conceptual)*
[ Timezone: UTC+8 (Dropdown) ]
|SubTask|Watermark| |
|0|{{1770256730000(2026-02-05 09:58:50 UTC+8)}}| |
|1|{{1770256730000(2026-02-05 09:58:50 UTC+8)}}| |
|2|{{1770256730000(2026-02-05 09:58:50 UTC+8)}}| |
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