How to use the Timestamp Converter tool
- Paste a timestampEnter a Unix timestamp. The tool detects whether it is in seconds, milliseconds, microseconds or nanoseconds.
- Read the dateSee the date in UTC, your local time zone, ISO 8601 format and relative time, such as “3 days ago”.
- Convert a datePick a date and time, choose Local time or UTC, and get the timestamp in seconds and milliseconds.
- Copy what you needEvery value has its own Copy button. The live clock at the top shows the current timestamp.
Features
- Automatic unit detectionNo more dividing by 1,000. 10-digit, 13-digit, 16-digit and 19-digit timestamps are all understood.
- Both directionsTimestamp to date and date to timestamp, side by side.
- Time zone awareResults in UTC and in your own time zone, with ISO 8601 offsets.
- Live clockThe current Unix time ticks every second and can be paused or copied.
- Developer friendlyOutputs ready for logs, databases, APIs and JWT claims.
What is a Unix timestamp?
A Unix timestamp (also called Epoch time or POSIX time) is the number of seconds that have passed since 1 January 1970 at 00:00:00 UTC, a moment known as the Unix epoch. For example, 1700000000 is 14 November 2023 at 22:13:20 UTC. Because it is a single number with no time zone, it is the simplest way for computers to store and compare moments in time.
Seconds, milliseconds and more
| Unit | Digits today | Example | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seconds | 10 | 1700000000 | Unix, PHP, Python time.time(), JWT |
| Milliseconds | 13 | 1700000000000 | JavaScript Date.now(), Java |
| Microseconds | 16 | 1700000000000000 | PostgreSQL, some logs |
| Nanoseconds | 19 | 1700000000000000000 | Go UnixNano(), high-precision tracing |
The most common bug with timestamps is mixing units: treating milliseconds as seconds gives a date tens of thousands of years in the future, and the reverse lands you in January 1970. This converter detects the unit by the number of digits.
Getting the current timestamp in code
- JavaScript:
Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) - Python:
int(time.time()) - PHP:
time() - Java:
Instant.now().getEpochSecond() - Linux/macOS shell:
date +%s - MySQL:
UNIX_TIMESTAMP()
Time zones and leap seconds
A Unix timestamp is always in UTC. Converting it to “local time” only changes how it is displayed, not the moment it represents. Unix time also ignores leap seconds: every day is counted as exactly 86,400 seconds.
The year 2038 problem
Older systems store timestamps as a signed 32-bit integer, whose maximum value is 2147483647, which is 19 January 2038 at 03:14:07 UTC. One second later, such systems overflow and jump back to 1901. Modern systems use 64-bit integers, which push the limit billions of years into the future.
Working with token expiry dates? The JWT Decoder converts exp and iat claims automatically. To calculate a difference between dates, try the Age Calculator.