How to use the timestamp converter
- Paste any number or date. The unit auto-detects from digit count: 10 digits = seconds, 13 = milliseconds, 16 = microseconds.
- For ambiguous cases, pick an explicit unit from the dropdown.
- Click Now to load the current time.
- Copy any format (six shown: Unix s, Unix ms, ISO UTC, local, RFC 1123 UTC, day-of-year).
What is a Unix timestamp?
A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (the "epoch"). It's timezone-neutral — the same number refers to the same instant anywhere on Earth. This is why every backend, log line, and API uses epoch time internally.
Seconds vs milliseconds vs microseconds
Which unit you get depends on who made the timestamp:
- Seconds (10 digits, today) — Unix traditionally, POSIX, most databases, most HTTP headers.
- Milliseconds (13 digits) — JavaScript
Date.now(), most modern APIs, MongoDB ObjectIds embed this. - Microseconds (16 digits) — high-precision logs, some Google APIs, Python's
time.time_ns()/ 1000. - Nanoseconds (19 digits) — rare but real (Go's
time.Now().UnixNano()). This tool auto-detects and converts.
The Year 2038 problem
Unix timestamps stored as signed 32-bit integers overflow at 2038-01-19 03:14:07 UTC. Any system still using 32-bit time_t after that date will wrap to 1901. Most platforms migrated to 64-bit years ago; some embedded and legacy systems have not. This tool correctly handles all 64-bit values.
Common FAQ
My timestamp shows 1970 — what happened?
You sent milliseconds to a system expecting seconds (or vice versa). Check the digit count and adjust by 1000.
How do I get the current epoch in different languages?
JavaScript: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000). Python: int(time.time()). Bash: date +%s. PHP: time(). Go: time.Now().Unix(). Rust: SystemTime::now().duration_since(UNIX_EPOCH).unwrap().as_secs().
Does this tool handle timezones?
Epoch is timezone-neutral; local time uses your browser's timezone. For arbitrary timezone conversion, paste an ISO string with an offset like 2026-04-25T10:00:00+05:00.
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Pillar
Part of Dev Productivity — regex, cron, timestamps, HTTP, color, word counter, aspect ratio, case.
Written by Mian Ali Khalid. Last updated 2026-04-25.