Timestamp Converter

What is a Unix Timestamp?

A Unix timestamp represents a point in time as a single integer — the number of seconds (or milliseconds) elapsed since the Unix Epoch: January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. It is universally used across programming languages, databases, APIs, and operating systems because it avoids all timezone and locale complexity.

Common Use Cases

• API responses — REST and GraphQL APIs commonly return created_at or expires_at fields as Unix timestamps.
• JWT expiry — The exp and iat claims in JSON Web Tokens are Unix timestamps in seconds.
• Log analysis — Server logs often use Unix timestamps for easy sorting and arithmetic.
• Database storage — Storing timestamps as integers avoids timezone conversion bugs.
• Scheduling — Cron jobs and task queues frequently express fire times as Unix timestamps.

How to Use This Tool

1. Type or paste a Unix timestamp (seconds or milliseconds) or any date string into the input field.
2. The tool auto-detects the format and instantly shows all representations.
3. Use the Timezone selector to change the local time display.
4. Click Use Now to load the current moment.
5. Click any Copy button to copy that value to your clipboard.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Unix timestamp?

A Unix timestamp (also called Epoch time or POSIX time) is the number of seconds that have elapsed since 00:00:00 UTC on January 1, 1970. It provides a single universal number to represent any point in time, independent of timezone.

What is the difference between seconds and milliseconds timestamps?

Unix timestamps in seconds (10 digits, e.g. 1716134400) are the most common and used by most Unix/Linux tools and APIs. Millisecond timestamps (13 digits, e.g. 1716134400000) are used by JavaScript's Date.now(), Java, and many web APIs. This tool auto-detects which format you've entered.

How do I convert a date to a Unix timestamp?

Type any human-readable date or date-time string into the input field (e.g. "2024-05-19", "May 19 2024 12:00:00", or "2024-05-19T12:00:00Z"). The tool will automatically parse it and show the corresponding Unix timestamps in the results.

What timezone is a Unix timestamp in?

Unix timestamps are always in UTC — they represent seconds since the UTC epoch. When converting to a human-readable date, this tool shows both the UTC representation and a local representation in your selected timezone.

What does "relative time" mean?

Relative time shows how long ago or how far in the future the timestamp is from the current moment — for example, "2 years ago" or "in 3 days". It updates each time you convert a new value.