Unix Timestamp Converter

Convert between Unix timestamps and human-readable dates. Unix time is the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970 (UTC), not counting leap seconds.

Current Unix Timestamp

1741866400

Updates automatically

UTC:Thu, 13 Mar 2025 11:46:40 GMT
Local:Thu Mar 13 2025 11:46:40 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Convert Unix Timestamp to Date

Enter a Unix timestamp in seconds to convert to a human-readable date

UTC:-
Local:-
Relative:-

Convert Date to Unix Timestamp

Select a date and time to convert to Unix timestamp

Unix Timestamp:-
Milliseconds:-

Timestamp Operations

Enter a Unix timestamp and select an operation to perform

Enter a value and select a time unit for the operation

Result Timestamp:-
Result Date (UTC):-

About Unix Timestamps

A Unix timestamp (also known as Epoch time, POSIX time, or Unix time) is the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970 (midnight UTC/GMT), not counting leap seconds. It is widely used in computer systems and programming for representing dates and times in a standardized format.

Common Uses:

  • Database record timestamps for tracking when records were created or modified
  • File modification times in operating systems
  • Session expiration times for web applications
  • API request signatures and authentication tokens
  • Scheduling tasks and events in software applications

Advantages:

  • Compact representation of date and time as a single integer
  • Easy to compare and calculate time differences
  • Independent of time zones and daylight saving time
  • Widely supported across programming languages and platforms
  • Efficient for storage and processing in databases

Unix Timestamp Limitations

The standard Unix timestamp is stored as a signed 32-bit integer, which will overflow on January 19, 2038 (known as the "Year 2038 problem"). Modern systems often use 64-bit integers for timestamps to avoid this limitation, extending the usable time range to billions of years.

Related Concepts

Millisecond Timestamps: Some systems use milliseconds instead of seconds, resulting in timestamps that are 1000 times larger than standard Unix timestamps.

ISO 8601: An international standard for representing dates and times as text strings, often used alongside Unix timestamps in APIs and data exchange.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Unix timestamp?

A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970 (midnight UTC/GMT), not counting leap seconds. It's a way to represent a specific point in time as a single number.

How do I convert a Unix timestamp to a readable date?

You can use our Unix Timestamp Converter tool above. Simply enter the timestamp in the "Convert Unix Timestamp to Date" section and click "Convert". The tool will show you the date in UTC, your local time, and as a relative time.

What is the current Unix timestamp?

The current Unix timestamp is displayed in the "Current Unix Timestamp" section of our tool. It updates automatically every second.

Why do some systems use millisecond timestamps?

Millisecond timestamps provide more precision for applications that need to track events occurring within the same second. JavaScript's Date.now(), for example, returns the number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch.

How can I get the Unix timestamp in different programming languages?

Here are examples in common programming languages:

  • JavaScript: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
  • PHP: time()
  • Python: import time; int(time.time())
  • Java: System.currentTimeMillis() / 1000
  • Ruby: Time.now.to_i