Unix Timestamp Converter
Convert epoch timestamps to dates instantly. Auto-detects seconds vs milliseconds. See the time in UTC, local, and ISO 8601 format.
Common Reference Timestamps
How to use Unix Timestamp Converter
The Unix Timestamp Converter translates between Unix timestamps (seconds or milliseconds since 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z) and human-readable date-time strings in any timezone. Unix time is the universal currency of time in computing — used in database records, HTTP headers, JWT claims, log files and cryptographic certificates — making a reliable converter an everyday tool for developers and system administrators.
- To convert a Unix timestamp to a date, enter the numeric value in the "Timestamp" field and select seconds or milliseconds.
- Select your target timezone from the dropdown (or use UTC for a canonical result).
- The corresponding ISO 8601 date, local date string and day-of-week are displayed instantly.
- To convert a date to a Unix timestamp, switch to the "Date → Timestamp" tab.
- Enter the year, month, day, hour, minute and second, choose the timezone, and click Convert.
- Copy the numeric timestamp for use in API calls, database queries or configuration files.
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Unix time and the epoch
Unix time counts the number of non-leap seconds elapsed since the Unix epoch: midnight UTC on 1 January 1970. It ignores leap seconds, making it monotonic and easy to compute differences between timestamps with simple subtraction. A 32-bit signed Unix timestamp overflows on 19 January 2038 at 03:14:07 UTC — the Year 2038 Problem (Y2K38). Modern systems use 64-bit integers that will not overflow for approximately 292 billion years.
Milliseconds, microseconds and ISO 8601
JavaScript's Date.now() and many REST APIs return timestamps in milliseconds (ms) rather than seconds, so the value is 1,000 times larger. Some high-precision systems (databases, tracing tools) use microseconds or nanoseconds. ISO 8601 (e.g., 2024-06-15T14:30:00Z) is the standardised human-readable representation and is unambiguous across locales — always prefer it over locale-specific formats in API responses and log files. The trailing Z denotes UTC; offsets are expressed as ±HH:MM.
| Unit | Digits (approx.) | Example value | Common source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seconds | 10 | 1718457600 | Unix stat, JWT exp/iat, HTTP headers |
| Milliseconds | 13 | 1718457600000 | JavaScript Date.now(), REST APIs |
| Microseconds | 16 | 1718457600000000 | PostgreSQL, Python time.time_ns() |
| Nanoseconds | 19 | 1718457600000000000 | Go time.Now().UnixNano(), Linux clock_gettime |
Glossary
- Unix epoch
- The reference point of Unix time: midnight UTC on 1 January 1970.
- UTC
- Coordinated Universal Time — the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks.
- ISO 8601
- An international standard for representing dates and times as strings, e.g. 2024-06-15T14:30:00Z.
- Y2K38
- The Year 2038 Problem — 32-bit Unix timestamps overflow on 19 January 2038.
- Leap second
- An occasional one-second adjustment to UTC; Unix time ignores leap seconds and treats each day as exactly 86,400 seconds.
Related reading
Frequently Asked Questions
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Why use Unix Timestamp Converter?
- No installation — use directly from any browser
- Handles large inputs without crashing or timeouts
- Syntax highlighting and formatted output for readability
- Copy to clipboard shortcut for fast workflow integration
Common use cases
- Validate and format JSON responses from APIs
- Encode/decode Base64 strings during debugging
- Generate UUIDs for database seeds or test data
- Minify CSS or JavaScript before deployment
- Diff two code snippets to spot regressions
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