Unix Timestamp Converter

Timestamp → Date

Date → Timestamp

Frequently asked questions

What is a Unix timestamp?

A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC — a moment known as the Unix epoch. It is a simple, timezone-independent way to represent a specific point in time, used extensively in programming and databases.

What is the Unix epoch?

The Unix epoch is January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. This date was chosen as the reference point when Unix was being developed in the late 1960s. A timestamp of 0 equals exactly that moment; every second that passes increments the count by 1.

Why do developers use Unix timestamps?

Unix timestamps are language and timezone agnostic — a single integer that any system can interpret unambiguously. They are easy to store, compare, and do arithmetic on (e.g. "add 86400 to get tomorrow"). Databases, APIs, and log systems rely on them heavily.

What is the difference between seconds and milliseconds timestamps?

Classic Unix timestamps count seconds. JavaScript's Date.now() and many modern APIs return milliseconds (1000× larger). timestampDash accepts both — it automatically detects whether your input is in seconds or milliseconds based on its magnitude.

What is the Year 2038 problem?

Many older 32-bit systems store Unix timestamps as a signed 32-bit integer, which can only hold values up to 2,147,483,647 — corresponding to January 19, 2038 at 03:14:07 UTC. After that point, those systems will overflow. Modern 64-bit systems are not affected.

What is UTC and why does it matter?

UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) is the global time standard that Unix timestamps are based on. When you convert a timestamp, the UTC output is always unambiguous. Local time output depends on the timezone set in your browser, so it will differ between users in different regions.

How do I get the current Unix timestamp in code?

JavaScript: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000). Python: import time; int(time.time()). PHP: time(). Go: time.Now().Unix(). SQL (MySQL): UNIX_TIMESTAMP(). All of these return the current time as seconds since the Unix epoch.

What is ISO 8601?

ISO 8601 is an international standard for representing dates and times as strings — for example, 2024-06-15T14:32:00Z. The "Z" suffix means UTC. This format is unambiguous, sortable alphabetically, and widely supported in APIs and data exchange formats like JSON.