What is a Unix timestamp?

The number of seconds (or milliseconds) elapsed since January 1, 1970 00:00:00 UTC — the 'Unix epoch'. Widely used in programming because it's timezone-neutral and easy to arithmetic on.

What about timezones?

Unix timestamps are inherently UTC. When we display a human-readable date, we show both UTC and your browser's local timezone.

Will Unix timestamps overflow?

32-bit signed timestamps overflow on January 19, 2038 — the 'Y2038 problem'. 64-bit timestamps (used by modern systems) are safe for ~292 billion years.

How do I generate a Unix timestamp in different programming languages?

JavaScript: Date.now() returns milliseconds, Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) for seconds. Python: import time; time.time() returns float seconds. Bash: date +%s. SQL: UNIX_TIMESTAMP() in MySQL, EXTRACT(epoch FROM NOW()) in PostgreSQL, strftime('%s', 'now') in SQLite. Go: time.Now().Unix() for seconds. Rust: std::time::SystemTime::now().duration_since(UNIX_EPOCH). Most languages distinguish seconds vs milliseconds; check your platform's default before integrating with another system.

How do I handle timezones with Unix timestamps?

Unix timestamps are inherently UTC — that's the entire point. Storage: always Unix timestamp (or ISO 8601 with UTC offset). Display: convert to user's local timezone at display time only. Database: store as INTEGER (Unix seconds) or TIMESTAMP (with explicit timezone). Common bug: storing 'local time' as DATETIME without timezone metadata, then queries comparing across regions break. Best practice: server stores UTC, client converts to local timezone via JavaScript Date object or library (date-fns, Day.js, Luxon). Never trust user-input timezones; capture browser timezone via Intl.DateTimeFormat().resolvedOptions().timeZone.

File & Format Converters · Free tool

Unix Timestamp Converter

Convert Unix epoch seconds or milliseconds to a human-readable date and vice versa. This timezone-aware tool works offline for free, with no sign-up.

Updated June 2026

Current Unix timestamp

1780333071

Timestamp → Date

ISO 8601 (UTC)

2026-06-01T16:57:51.000Z

Local time

6/1/2026, 4:57:51 PM

UTC string

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:57:51 GMT

Relative

just now

Date → Timestamp

Unix seconds

1780333071

Unix milliseconds

1780333071000

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What it does

A free Unix timestamp converter. The current epoch ticks live at the top so you can grab “right now” in one click. Paste any timestamp to see it rendered as ISO 8601, local time, UTC, and how long ago (or from now) the moment falls. Go the other direction too: pick a date and read back Unix seconds and milliseconds.

Unix timestamps are the internet’s favorite date format: timezone-agnostic, fixed-width, easy to sort. They crop up in API payloads, database columns, JWT tokens, and log lines. This tool handles both second and millisecond precision, which matters because half the world’s APIs use one and half use the other.

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How to use it

To read a timestamp: paste it and pick seconds or milliseconds.
To get the current epoch: click Use now.
To encode a date: enter it in the date/time field at the bottom.
Copy any output with the per-field Copy button.

When to use this tool

Debugging API responses that include Unix timestamps in fields like created_at.
Generating test data with specific past or future dates encoded as Unix timestamps.
Converting log timestamps to readable dates while investigating an incident.
Cron job verification — confirming next run time encoded as Unix timestamp.

When not to use it

Timezone-sensitive scheduling — Unix timestamps are UTC; combine with timezone metadata.
Calendar-aware operations (recurring events, business-day arithmetic) — use a date library.
Y2038-affected legacy systems — confirm whether 32-bit or 64-bit timestamps are involved.

Common use cases

Reading 1714521600 (April 30, 2024 00:00 UTC) from a JSON API response.
Generating a test fixture with timestamp = now + 7 days for expiry testing.
Converting Slack webhook timestamps (Unix seconds with 6 decimals for nanoseconds).
Verifying a JWT 'exp' claim represents the right expiration date.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Unix timestamp?: The number of seconds (or milliseconds) elapsed since January 1, 1970 00:00:00 UTC — the 'Unix epoch'. Widely used in programming because it's timezone-neutral and easy to arithmetic on.
Seconds or milliseconds?: JavaScript and most databases use milliseconds; most backend languages (Python, Ruby, Go) default to seconds. The converter auto-detects based on the magnitude of your input (a 13-digit value is assumed milliseconds).
What about timezones?: Unix timestamps are inherently UTC. When we display a human-readable date, we show both UTC and your browser's local timezone.
Will Unix timestamps overflow?: 32-bit signed timestamps overflow on January 19, 2038 — the 'Y2038 problem'. 64-bit timestamps (used by modern systems) are safe for ~292 billion years.
How do I generate a Unix timestamp in different programming languages?: JavaScript: Date.now() returns milliseconds, Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) for seconds. Python: import time; time.time() returns float seconds. Bash: date +%s. SQL: UNIX_TIMESTAMP() in MySQL, EXTRACT(epoch FROM NOW()) in PostgreSQL, strftime('%s', 'now') in SQLite. Go: time.Now().Unix() for seconds. Rust: std::time::SystemTime::now().duration_since(UNIX_EPOCH). Most languages distinguish seconds vs milliseconds; check your platform's default before integrating with another system.
How do I handle timezones with Unix timestamps?: Unix timestamps are inherently UTC — that's the entire point. Storage: always Unix timestamp (or ISO 8601 with UTC offset). Display: convert to user's local timezone at display time only. Database: store as INTEGER (Unix seconds) or TIMESTAMP (with explicit timezone). Common bug: storing 'local time' as DATETIME without timezone metadata, then queries comparing across regions break. Best practice: server stores UTC, client converts to local timezone via JavaScript Date object or library (date-fns, Day.js, Luxon). Never trust user-input timezones; capture browser timezone via Intl.DateTimeFormat().resolvedOptions().timeZone.

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