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til/rails/set-a-timestamp-field-to-the-current-time.md

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# Set A Timestamp Field To The Current Time
To set a timestamp field to the current time, you could reach for the `#update`
method like you would when modifying any other field.
```ruby
MagicLink
.find_by(token: some_token)
.update(used_at: Time.zone.now)
```
This works, but it's more verbose than is necessary and requires that you
construct the right timestamp for _now_ (time zones and all).
Rails has a more concise and idomatic way of doing this:
[`#touch`](https://api.rubyonrails.org/v6.1.0/classes/ActiveRecord/Persistence.html#method-i-touch).
```ruby
MagicLink
.find_by(token: some_token)
.touch(:used_at)
```
Updating a timestamp to the current time is a common action in web
applications, so Rails offers the `#touch` method as a shorthand for doing it.
This will set the given field, in this case `:used_at`, to the current time.
This will also set the `updated_at/on` field.