⏱️ Timestamp Converter
Convert Unix timestamps to dates and back. Useful for developers debugging logs and APIs. Free, unlimited, private — works entirely in your browser.
How to use
- Choose your direction: timestamp → date or date → timestamp.
- Enter the Unix timestamp (10 digits = seconds, 13 digits = milliseconds) or pick a date and time.
- Select the timezone for the human-readable result — it defaults to your local timezone.
- Click Convert and copy the result for your code, logs, or database.
FAQ
Is it really free?
Yes — every tool on this site is 100% free with no limits, no signup and no watermarks.
Is my data private?
Absolutely. All processing happens locally in your browser. Your files are never uploaded to any server.
What exactly is a Unix timestamp?
It is the number of seconds (or milliseconds) elapsed since January 1, 1970 00:00:00 UTC — known as the Unix epoch. It is the standard way computers store date and time values, because a single number is unambiguous and easy to compare or sort.
How do I know if my timestamp is in seconds or milliseconds?
Count the digits: 10 digits means seconds (for example 1761091200), 13 digits means milliseconds (for example 1761091200000). This tool auto-detects the format, but you can also switch manually if needed.
What is the Year 2038 problem?
On old 32-bit systems, signed Unix timestamps overflow on January 19, 2038. Modern 64-bit systems, databases, and JavaScript use 64-bit time, so any realistic date converts correctly here.
Do timestamps account for leap seconds and timezones?
Unix time deliberately ignores leap seconds — every day is exactly 86,400 seconds. Timezones only affect how the timestamp is displayed: the same timestamp shows the correct local time anywhere in the world once you pick the right zone.
Complete Guide to Unix Timestamps
Almost every timestamp you encounter as a developer — in APIs, databases, log files, JWT tokens — is a Unix timestamp: a plain number counting seconds from the Unix epoch (midnight, January 1, 1970, UTC). It was chosen because comparing two moments becomes trivial integer math, with no timezones or formats to argue about.
The seconds-vs-milliseconds trap is the number-one timestamp bug in the wild. JavaScript's Date.now() returns milliseconds (13 digits), while most server APIs and databases use seconds (10 digits). Paste a millisecond value into code expecting seconds and you land in the year 56,000. This converter auto-detects the digit count so you always know which one you are holding.
Everyday uses
- Debugging logs: server logs often print raw epoch values — convert them to see exactly when an event happened in your timezone.
- API work: REST APIs return
created_atas epoch seconds; convert to verify token expiry or cache TTLs. - Databases: check what a stored integer date actually represents before running migrations.
- Scheduling: convert a future date to a timestamp for cron jobs, reminders, or countdown timers.
Converting in code
In JavaScript: new Date(1761091200 * 1000) (multiply seconds by 1000). In Python: datetime.fromtimestamp(1761091200, tz=timezone.utc). In PostgreSQL: to_timestamp(1761091200). Going the other way: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) in JS, or int(datetime.now(timezone.utc).timestamp()) in Python.
Best practice: always store timestamps in UTC and convert to local time only for display — exactly what this tool does when you pick a timezone. That single habit eliminates an entire class of timezone bugs, including daylight-saving surprises.
Negative timestamps and far-future dates
Timestamps are not limited to dates after 1970. Negative values represent moments before the epoch — for example, -86400 is December 31, 1969. Historians and archivists use negative timestamps for pre-1970 records, and the converter handles them correctly. Far-future dates work too: 64-bit timestamps remain valid for hundreds of millions of years, far beyond any practical need.
Common timestamp formats in the wild
- ISO 8601 strings ("2026-10-22T07:00:00Z") — human-readable, sortable, and unambiguous. Preferred for APIs.
- Epoch seconds (1761091200) — compact; standard in Unix systems, PHP (
time()), and most databases. - Epoch milliseconds (1761091200000) — JavaScript's native format via
Date.now(). - RFC 2822 ("Thu, 22 Oct 2026 07:00:00 GMT") — used in email headers and HTTP.
When you receive a timestamp and are unsure of its format, paste it here first — the auto-detection will tell you whether you are looking at seconds or milliseconds before you write a single line of code.