What Is a Unix Timestamp
A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds that have passed since January 1, 1970 (UTC). It is widely used in programming, APIs, and databases to store time in a universal format.
Unix timestamps can be in seconds (10 digits) or milliseconds (13 digits).
This tool operates in four modes:
Mode | Description |
|---|
Current Time | Displays the current time (UTC and your local timezone) in Unix format. Also converts the timestamp into common date and time formats. |
Timestamp → Date | Converts a Unix timestamp into human-readable date and time formats. |
Date → Timestamp | Converts a specific date and time into a Unix timestamp and other common formats. |
Formatter | Formats a date using a custom pattern with macros. |
Unix timestamps are always stored in UTC. When converting to a date, the result depends on the user’s timezone, so the same value may appear differently.
Time Conversion Table
Period | Convert to seconds |
|---|
Second | 1 sec |
Minute | 60 sec |
Hour | 3600 sec |
Day | 86400 sec |
Week | 604800 sec |
Month (30 days) | 2592000 sec |
Year (365 days) | 31536000 sec |
Month and year values are approximate and used for reference only. The actual duration depends on the calendar and leap years. The converter correctly accounts for real calendar values.
Period | Macros |
|---|
Year | YYYY, YY, Y |
Month | MMMM, MMM, MM, M |
Day | DDDD, DDD, DD, D |
Hour (24h) | HH, H |
Hour (12h) | hh, h |
Minute | mm, m |
Second | ss, s |
Millisec | SSS, SS, S |
AM/PM | A, a |
You can build custom date/time formats using macros:
Format | Result |
|---|
YYYY-MM-DD | 2026-04-15 |
DD.MM.YYYY | 15.04.2026 |
HH:mm:ss | 14:32:10 |
YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm | 2026-04-15 14:32 |
Working with Unix Timestamp in Popular Programming Languages
Language | Current Timestamp | Date → Timestamp | Timestamp → Date |
|---|
JavaScript | Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) | Math.floor(new Date('2026-04-15T12:00:00Z').getTime()/1000) | new Date(1776254400 * 1000) |
Python | int(time.time()) | int(datetime.datetime(2026,4,15,12,0).timestamp()) | datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(1776254400) |
PHP | time() | strtotime('2026-04-15 12:00:00') | date('Y-m-d H:i:s', 1776254400) |
Java | Instant.now().getEpochSecond() | LocalDateTime.of(2026,4,15,12,0).toEpochSecond(ZoneOffset.UTC) | Instant.ofEpochSecond(1776254400) |
C# (.NET) | DateTimeOffset.UtcNow.ToUnixTimeSeconds() | new DateTimeOffset(2026,4,15,12,0,0,TimeSpan.Zero).ToUnixTimeSeconds() | DateTimeOffset.FromUnixTimeSeconds(1776254400) |
Go | time.Now().Unix() | time.Date(2026,4,15,12,0,0,0,time.UTC).Unix() | time.Unix(1776254400, 0) |
Ruby | Time.now.to_i | Time.new(2026,4,15,12,0,0).to_i | Time.at(1776254400) |
Bash (Linux) | date +%s | date -d "2026-04-15 12:00:00" +%s | date -d @1776254400 |
SQL (PostgreSQL) | EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM NOW()) | EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM TIMESTAMP '2026-04-15 12:00:00') | TO_TIMESTAMP(1776254400) |
SQL (MySQL) | UNIX_TIMESTAMP() | UNIX_TIMESTAMP('2026-04-15 12:00:00') | FROM_UNIXTIME(1776254400) |
In most languages, timestamps are returned in seconds, but in JavaScript they are in milliseconds (you need to divide by 1000). Methods without an explicit timezone may use local time, which can lead to errors. When working with APIs, always use UTC instead of local time — this eliminates most time-related issues.
Common Mistakes
confusing UTC with local time
using milliseconds instead of seconds
incorrect date format
invalid or inconsistent timezones
