Unix Timestamp Converter
Convert between Unix timestamps and human-readable dates.
Seconds or milliseconds — auto-detected
How It Works
A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds elapsed since the Unix epoch — midnight on January 1, 1970 UTC. It is the standard way to represent time in most programming languages, APIs, databases, and log files because it is timezone-independent, always increasing, and trivially comparable.
Many modern systems (JavaScript, Java) use milliseconds instead of seconds. This tool auto-detects the unit: inputs with 13 or more digits are treated as milliseconds, shorter inputs as seconds.
Note: 32-bit signed integers overflow at timestamp 2147483647 (January 19,
2038), known as the Y2K38 problem. Systems that store timestamps as 32-bit
integers will fail at that point. 64-bit integers (used by most modern systems) are safe for
hundreds of billions of years.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Unix timestamp?
A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds (or milliseconds) elapsed since January 1, 1970 00:00:00 UTC (the Unix epoch). It is timezone-independent and used universally in programming, APIs, databases, and log files.
How do I get the current Unix timestamp?
In JavaScript: Date.now() (milliseconds) or Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) (seconds). In Python: import time; time.time(). In bash: date +%s. The live clock at the top of this tool shows the current timestamp updating in real time.
Is the timestamp in seconds or milliseconds?
This tool auto-detects: 13+ digits = milliseconds (JavaScript style), fewer digits = seconds (Unix style). Current seconds timestamp is 10 digits; milliseconds is 13 digits. Example: 1735689600 is seconds; 1735689600000 is milliseconds.
What is the Y2K38 problem?
On January 19, 2038 at 03:14:07 UTC, 32-bit signed integers storing Unix timestamps will overflow (value exceeds 2,147,483,647). Systems still using 32-bit time storage will malfunction. Most modern systems use 64-bit integers, which are safe for billions of years.