Timestamp Converter

Unix Timestamp Converter — Timestamp ↔ Date Online

Convert any Unix timestamp to a human-readable date, or any date back to an epoch timestamp — instantly, in your browser. This free epoch converter handles seconds and milliseconds, displays UTC and local time side-by-side, and shows the current Unix timestamp live so you always have a reference point.

Paste a value from a log file, a JWT token, or a database field and get the local time, UTC, and ISO 8601 back in one click. No install, no sign-up, no server round-trip.

How to Convert a Timestamp to Date

Converting a Unix timestamp to a human-readable date takes seconds:

1. Paste your epoch timestamp into the left panel (e.g., 1712448000).
2. Select the unit — Seconds (10 digits) or Milliseconds (13 digits, used by JavaScript Date.now()).
3. Choose a timezone from the dropdown to see the local time in any region.
4. Read the result — Local time, UTC/GMT, and ISO 8601 are shown instantly. Click COPY next to any row.

Tip: Click "Use Now" to load the current Unix time into the field and convert it immediately.

How to Convert a Date to Unix Timestamp

Going the other direction — date to Unix timestamp — is just as simple:

1. Pick a date and time in the right panel using the date picker.
2. Select a timezone (defaults to your browser's local timezone).
3. Copy the result — the Unix timestamp in seconds is shown prominently. Click the ms or hex values below to copy those formats too.

What Is a Unix Timestamp?

A Unix timestamp — also called an epoch timestamp or epoch time — is the number of seconds elapsed since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC, the Unix epoch. It is the universal time standard in computing: timezone-independent, sortable, and trivial to compare or calculate with arithmetically.

Every major programming language, operating system, and database uses Unix timestamps under the hood. When your API returns "expires_at": 1744070400, that's a Unix timestamp. When PostgreSQL stores a created_at as a BIGINT, it's often a Unix timestamp. The format appears everywhere — logs, JWT tokens, cron schedules, mobile push notifications, and event streams.

The Year 2038 problem (Y2K38) affects systems using 32-bit signed integers, which overflow at 2147483647 (January 19, 2038). Modern 64-bit systems handle timestamps well past the year 9999 without issues.

Seconds vs Milliseconds — 10 vs 13 Digits

This is the most common source of confusion with Unix timestamps:

Rule of thumb: if your timestamp has 13 digits, it's in milliseconds — divide by 1000 to get seconds. If it has 10 digits, it's in seconds. This converter handles both: select the unit in the left panel before converting.

Some APIs and languages use microseconds (16 digits) or nanoseconds (19 digits). This converter handles seconds and milliseconds; divide by 1,000 or 1,000,000 respectively to reduce to seconds.

Conversion Examples

Real-world Unix timestamp examples you can paste directly into the converter:

Common Use Cases

• API debugging: REST and GraphQL APIs routinely return created_at, expires_at, and last_modified as Unix timestamps. Pasting those values here during debugging removes a major friction point without opening a REPL or writing throwaway code.
• JWT token inspection: JSON Web Tokens encode iat (issued at) and exp (expiration) as epoch timestamps. Converting exp instantly shows whether a token is still valid — pair this with the JWT Decoder to decode the full payload.
• Log analysis: Server logs, audit trails, and event streams record events as Unix timestamps. Converting ranges helps correlate events across services and timezones without running queries.
• Scheduling and cron jobs: Writing cron expressions or scheduling tasks at an exact moment requires knowing the Unix timestamp for a target date, especially when working across timezones.
• Database queries: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, and Redis all support Unix timestamp storage. Use this tool to validate stored records or build date-range query boundaries manually.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my timestamp 13 digits?

A 13-digit Unix timestamp is in milliseconds — the format used by JavaScript (Date.now()), Java (System.currentTimeMillis()), and most modern web APIs. Divide by 1000 to convert to seconds. A standard 10-digit timestamp is in seconds. In this converter, select "Seconds" or "Milliseconds" in the unit selector on the left panel before converting.

Is a Unix timestamp always UTC?

Yes. A Unix timestamp always represents seconds (or milliseconds) since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. Timezones only come into play when you convert a timestamp to a human-readable date for display. The raw number itself is always UTC-based and contains no timezone information.

How do I get the current Unix timestamp?

The live current Unix timestamp is shown at the bottom of the converter and updates every second — click it to copy instantly. In code: JavaScript uses Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000), Python uses int(time.time()), and in Bash use date +%s. The "Use Now" button in the tool loads the current timestamp into the epoch field automatically.

What is epoch time?

Epoch time is another name for Unix time. The "epoch" refers to the starting point — January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. Everything is counted in seconds from that reference. The terms "Unix timestamp", "epoch timestamp", "epoch time", and "Unix epoch" all mean the same thing and are used interchangeably in documentation and codebases.

Can Unix timestamps represent dates before 1970?

Yes. Negative timestamps represent dates before the Unix epoch. For example, -86400 is December 31, 1969, 00:00:00 UTC. Most modern systems and languages handle negative timestamps correctly, though very old or embedded software may not.

What is ISO 8601 and why does it matter?

ISO 8601 is the international standard for formatting dates as strings: 2024-04-07T00:00:00Z. The trailing Z means UTC. This format is unambiguous, sortable lexicographically, and parseable in every major programming language. It's the standard for HTTP headers, JWT tokens, and REST API payloads — and what this tool outputs in the ISO 8601 row.

Resources

• MDN Web Docs — Date — Authoritative reference for JavaScript's Date API and timestamp handling in browsers and Node.js.
• IETF RFC 3339 — The spec for ISO 8601-based timestamps used in HTTP headers and JWT tokens.
• Wikipedia — Unix time — Comprehensive overview of the Unix epoch, edge cases, and the Y2K38 problem.