Which command option retrieves the date in YYYY-MM-DD format?

The command option that retrieves the date in the YYYY-MM-DD format is indeed the one that specifies the format as a whole. In Linux, when using the date command, the format specifier +%F is a shorthand for %Y-%m-%d. This means that it directly asks the command to output the full date in the desired format: the full year (%Y), followed by the month as a two-digit number (%m), and finally, the day of the month as a two-digit number (%d).

Using +%Y would only display the year, +%d would only show the day, and +%m would only present the month. Therefore, while each of these options retrieves specific parts of a date, +%F is the only option that combines them in the required format of YYYY-MM-DD. This makes +%F the most complete and accurate answer for retrieving the full date in that particular format.