Templates plugin - problem with date format

[hec204]

Hello, I'm hoping somebody can help me resolve an issue with date format in a template.

I've created a template which includes a date variable (as a custom field, i.e. when I use the template I get a pop-up window with a date picker). The template works. So far so good. However, despite my Joplin date format being set to YYYY-MM-DD, the dates in notes created by the template are formatted as DD-MM-YYYY. This is problematic because I'm using the Frontmatter Overview plugin to create an overview table of all notes created via the template, and I can only sort this table by date-desc if the format is YYYY-MM-DD. Can anyone advise how I can get the template to fill in dates as YYYY-MM-DD. NB. I need to be able to select ANY date in the template; not necessarily today's date. Thank you!
The screenshot below is from my Windows PC, but I've also tried on my Android phone and I have the same problem there.

[dpoulton]

(post deleted by author)

[dpoulton]

There is an issue on the template plug-in developers GitHub repo about this problem.

There is an associated pull request (PR) to fix this which states,

The native HTML5 <input type="date"> in Chromium (used by Electron/Joplin) hardcodes its display format to the OS locale and completely ignores Joplin's Tools → Options → Date format setting.

You might want to keep your eye on it or maybe comment on it.

I am not that good at following progress on GitHub, however it looks like the PR went silent in March 2026.