Timestamp Converter
Convert Unix timestamps to dates and back, in any time zone.
About Unix timestamps
A Unix timestamp counts the seconds since 1 January 1970 at 00:00:00 UTC. It is the way almost every system stores a moment in time internally, because it is a single number with no time zone, no locale and no formatting to argue about.
Paste a timestamp and get the date; enter a date and get the timestamp. Seconds and milliseconds are both accepted and detected automatically, and the result is shown as ISO 8601, RFC 2822, a formatted local date in whichever time zone you pick, the UTC offset, and how long ago it was.
Seconds or milliseconds?
This is the most common source of confusion. Unix time is defined in seconds, and most
back-end languages use it that way. JavaScript's Date.now() returns
milliseconds, and so do most JavaScript APIs.
The giveaway is length: a current timestamp in seconds is 10 digits, in milliseconds it is 13. Getting it wrong by a factor of 1,000 puts your date in 1970 or in the year 55,000 β both obvious once you know to look. This tool detects which you meant from the magnitude.
The year 2038 problem
Systems that store Unix time in a signed 32-bit integer run out of room at 03:14:07 UTC on 19 January 2038, when the counter overflows and wraps to 1901. It is the same shape of problem as Y2K.
Modern systems use 64-bit timestamps and are unaffected β that limit is around 292 billion years away. The risk sits in embedded devices, older databases and file formats with a fixed 32-bit field, which is why it is still worth checking rather than assuming.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Unix timestamp?
The number of seconds elapsed since 1 January 1970 00:00:00 UTC, known as the Unix epoch. It represents a single moment with no time zone attached, which makes it unambiguous to store and compare.
Is my timestamp in seconds or milliseconds?
Count the digits. A present-day timestamp is 10 digits in seconds and 13 in milliseconds. This converter detects which you have pasted from its size, so both work.
How do I convert a date to a Unix timestamp?
Enter it in the date and time field and pick the time zone it is written in. The timestamp updates immediately β click any row in the results to copy it.
Why does my timestamp show the wrong date?
Usually a seconds-versus-milliseconds mix-up, which shifts the date by a factor of 1,000, or a time zone assumption β a timestamp is always UTC, so a local date needs the offset applied.
What happens in 2038?
Systems storing Unix time in a signed 32-bit integer overflow on 19 January 2038 and wrap to 1901. Anything using 64-bit timestamps, which is most modern software, is unaffected.