Sat, 04 Jul 2026 08:51:26 GMT
A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds elapsed since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC (the Unix epoch). It is a universal, timezone-independent way to represent a moment in time.
Unix timestamps in seconds are 10 digits long (e.g. 1700000000). In milliseconds they are 13 digits (e.g. 1700000000000). JavaScript's Date.now() returns milliseconds; most Unix systems use seconds.
32-bit signed integers can store timestamps up to 2,147,483,647 (January 19, 2038). Modern systems use 64-bit integers which will not overflow for billions of years.
JavaScript: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) | Python: import time; int(time.time()) | PHP: time() | Linux shell: date +%s
Unix timestamps are always in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) β they have no timezone. The timezone is only applied when converting to a human-readable format. This makes timestamps perfect for storing dates in databases and APIs.
In JavaScript: new Date(timestamp * 1000).toLocaleString('en-US', { timeZone: 'America/New_York' }). Or use the Intl.DateTimeFormat API for precise control. The Unix timestamp itself does not change β only the display format changes with the timezone.
For 32-bit systems: 2,147,483,647 (January 19, 2038 at 03:14:07 UTC) β this is the Year 2038 problem. For 64-bit systems: approximately 292 billion years in the future. Modern databases and languages all use 64-bit timestamps.
Unix timestamps are the universal language of time in computing β a single integer that represents any moment in history, independent of timezone. This tool converts between Unix timestamps and human-readable dates in both directions.
Convert a timestamp to a date
Paste a Unix timestamp (10-digit seconds or 13-digit milliseconds) into the timestamp field. The tool auto-detects the precision and displays the corresponding date and time in your local timezone.
Convert a date to a timestamp
Enter a date string in any common format (e.g. 2024-01-15T10:30:00, Jan 15 2024, or 2024/01/15) into the date field. The tool outputs the corresponding Unix timestamp in both seconds and milliseconds.
Read the current timestamp
The live counter at the top shows the current Unix timestamp, updating every second. Copy it for use in code, logging, or debugging.
Use the 'Use now' shortcut
Click 'Use now' to fill in the current timestamp or date automatically, saving time when you need to reference the current moment.
Debug application logs
Server logs and database records often store timestamps as Unix integers. Paste them here to convert to human-readable times and reconstruct the timeline of an incident or bug.
Set token expiry times
JWT 'exp' claims and API token expiries are specified as Unix timestamps. Calculate the correct expiry value by converting 'now + 1 hour' or 'tomorrow at midnight' into a Unix timestamp.
Work across timezones
Unix timestamps are timezone-agnostic. When coordinating events across different timezones, convert all times to Unix timestamps first, then let each user's local tool convert to their timezone.
A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds (or milliseconds in JavaScript) elapsed since midnight UTC on January 1, 1970 β called the Unix epoch. It is the universal representation of a point in time in software: compact, timezone-agnostic, and trivially comparable and sortable. Unix timestamps appear in API responses, database records, log files, JWT claims (iat, exp, nbf), HTTP headers (Last-Modified, Expires), and cryptographic certificates.
The most common source of bugs when working with timestamps is the seconds vs. milliseconds mismatch: most Unix systems and languages use seconds, but JavaScript's Date.now() and database drivers for Node.js return milliseconds. This converter accepts both and displays the corresponding human-readable date in UTC and your local timezone, making it easy to verify a timestamp found in a log or API response without writing a one-off script.