Free tool · runs in your browser
Unix timestamp converter
Convert a Unix timestamp (epoch time) to a readable date, or a date to a timestamp, and see the current time in seconds and milliseconds.
Quick answer
A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds since 1 January 1970 at 00:00 UTC. Paste one and the tool shows the date in UTC and in your local time zone; it detects milliseconds automatically (13 digits instead of 10). It also converts a date and time back into a timestamp.
How to use it
- Paste a timestamp. Seconds (10 digits) or milliseconds (13 digits) are detected automatically.
- Read the date. You get the date in UTC, in your local time zone and in ISO 8601 format.
- Or pick a date. Choose a date and time to get its timestamp in seconds and milliseconds.
Frequently asked questions
What is epoch time?
The number of seconds since 1 January 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. It is the same everywhere, regardless of time zone.
Is my timestamp in seconds or milliseconds?
Current timestamps have 10 digits in seconds and 13 in milliseconds. JavaScript Date.now() returns milliseconds; most APIs and JWTs use seconds.
How do I get the current timestamp in JavaScript?
Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) for seconds, or Date.now() for milliseconds.
Why is my date off by some hours?
The timestamp is in UTC; the difference is your time zone offset. Compare the UTC and local results.
What is the year 2038 problem?
Systems that store timestamps as signed 32-bit integers overflow on 19 January 2038. Modern systems use 64-bit values.
Do Unix timestamps include leap seconds?
No. Unix time ignores leap seconds, so every day is exactly 86,400 seconds.
What is ISO 8601?
An international date format such as 2026-10-31T14:30:00Z, where the Z means UTC.
How do I convert a timestamp in Python?
datetime.fromtimestamp(ts, tz=timezone.utc) gives a UTC date, and int(datetime.now(timezone.utc).timestamp()) gives the current timestamp.
Can a Unix timestamp be negative?
Yes. Negative values are dates before 1 January 1970.
Should I store dates as timestamps or strings?
Either works. Store times in UTC and convert to the user's time zone only when you display them.