jquery-timeago is a jQuery plugin that converts ISO 8601 formatted timestamps embedded in HTML into automatically updating fuzzy time strings like "4 minutes ago" or "about 1 day ago".
The plugin solves the problem of displaying relative timestamps that stay current without page refresh. It works by attaching to time elements or other HTML elements containing ISO 8601 datetime attributes, then periodically updating the displayed text as time passes. The fuzzy format makes timestamps more human-readable than absolute dates, and automatic updates keep them accurate without requiring users to reload the page.
The tool suits projects using jQuery where you want to display relative timestamps with minimal setup. It supports both the HTML5 time element and legacy abbr elements for microformat compatibility. The plugin includes a cutoff setting to fall back to the original date for very old timestamps, and an update function for programmatically changing timestamps. Multiple language locales are available in the repository's locales directory. The README does not compare this plugin to alternatives.
Development shows a long history of incremental improvements across many versions, with each release cycle adding features like the update function, cutoff setting, allowPast option, and updateFromDOM function, alongside consistent locale additions and bug fixes. The project maintains broad compatibility through UMD wrappers and AMD support, and includes unit tests to verify functionality.
