Unix Timestamp Converter

How to Use the Unix Timestamp Converter

Our Unix timestamp converter provides two conversion modes side by side. The left panel converts a Unix timestamp into a human-readable date, showing the result in UTC, your local time zone, and ISO 8601 format. The right panel does the reverse — enter a date and time, and it gives you the corresponding Unix timestamp.

The live current timestamp display at the top updates in real time, giving you an always-accurate reference. You can click on the generated timestamp to copy it to your clipboard.

What Is a Unix Timestamp?

A Unix timestamp, also known as Epoch time or POSIX time, is a system for tracking time as a running total of seconds. It counts the number of seconds that have elapsed since the Unix Epoch — January 1, 1970, at 00:00:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), not counting leap seconds.

For example, the Unix timestamp 1700000000 corresponds to November 14, 2023, at 10:13:20 PM UTC. This system provides a simple, unambiguous way to represent any point in time as a single number, making it ideal for computer systems and databases.

Why Unix Timestamps Are Used

Unix timestamps are the backbone of time representation in computing for several important reasons:

• Universality: A Unix timestamp represents the same moment in time regardless of time zone. This eliminates ambiguity when systems in different time zones need to communicate.
• Simplicity: A single integer is much simpler to store, transmit, and compare than a formatted date string with time zone information.
• Arithmetic: Calculating the difference between two times is as simple as subtraction. Finding a time 3 hours in the future is just adding 10,800 seconds.
• Sorting: Timestamps can be sorted numerically, making chronological ordering trivial.

Common Use Cases

Web Development

Web developers encounter Unix timestamps in APIs, databases, cookies, and JWT tokens. Understanding how to convert between timestamps and human-readable dates is essential for debugging, logging, and data analysis.

Database Management

Many databases store dates as Unix timestamps or offer timestamp columns. MySQL's UNIX_TIMESTAMP() function, PostgreSQL's EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM ...), and SQLite's strftime() all work with Unix timestamps.

API Integration

Many APIs accept and return Unix timestamps for date parameters. Payment processors, social media APIs, and analytics platforms commonly use timestamps for specifying date ranges and recording events.

Log Analysis

Server logs and application logs frequently use Unix timestamps. Converting these to readable dates is essential for troubleshooting and monitoring. Our converter makes this process instant and effortless.

The Year 2038 Problem

One of the most well-known issues with Unix timestamps is the Year 2038 problem. Many older systems store timestamps as 32-bit signed integers, which have a maximum value of 2,147,483,647. This corresponds to January 19, 2038, at 03:14:07 UTC. After this moment, the integer overflows and wraps around to a date in December 1901, potentially causing widespread system failures.

Modern systems have largely migrated to 64-bit timestamps, which can represent dates up to approximately 292 billion years in the future, effectively eliminating this problem. However, many legacy systems, embedded devices, and file formats still use 32-bit timestamps and need to be updated before 2038.

Unix Timestamp Reference Points

• 0 — January 1, 1970 00:00:00 UTC (the Unix Epoch)
• 1000000000 — September 9, 2001 01:46:40 UTC
• 1500000000 — July 14, 2017 02:40:00 UTC
• 2000000000 — May 18, 2033 03:33:20 UTC
• 2147483647 — January 19, 2038 03:14:07 UTC (32-bit limit)

Tips for Working with Timestamps

• Remember that Unix timestamps are always in UTC. Always account for time zone differences when displaying to users.
• Some systems use millisecond timestamps (13 digits) instead of second timestamps (10 digits). If your timestamp is 13 digits, divide by 1000 first.
• Use this converter to verify timestamps during debugging — it is faster than writing code to convert them.
• Bookmark this page for quick access during development sessions.