Timestamp Converter

Timestamp Converter is an online tool for bidirectional conversion between Unix timestamps and date/time formats. Convert Unix timestamps to human-readable dates or dates to Unix timestamps.

🕐 Current Time

Date/Time:2025-11-11 13:55:40

Unix Timestamp:1762869340

🔄 Conversion Mode

📝 Unix Timestamp Input

✨ Conversion Result

Unix Timestamp:-

Date/Time:-

Unix Timestamp represents seconds elapsed since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. Widely used for date/time data exchange between systems.

Features

• Bidirectional Conversion: Convert between timestamp ↔ date/time
• Real-time Current Time: Display current time and Unix timestamp
• Auto-detection: Automatically detects seconds vs milliseconds format
• One-Click Copy: Click to copy timestamp or date to clipboard
• Use Current Time: Quick button to use current time

What is Unix Timestamp?

Unix timestamp (or Epoch time) represents the number of seconds elapsed since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. This is the standard method for representing date/time in computer systems.

Key Characteristics

1. Universal Standard: Independent of timezone or locale
2. Simple Calculation: Easy to calculate time differences
3. Database Friendly: Efficient for storage and querying
4. Programming Convenience: Supported by all major programming languages

Example

Timestamp: 1640995200
Date: 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC

Timestamp Formats

Seconds (10 digits)

Standard Unix timestamp format, representing seconds:

1640995200  →  2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC

Milliseconds (13 digits)

Used in JavaScript and some APIs, representing milliseconds:

1640995200000  →  2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC

Our tool automatically detects and converts both formats.

Major Historical Timestamps

Event	Timestamp	Date
Unix Epoch	0	1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Y2K	946684800	2000-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
2010s Start	1262304000	2010-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
2020s Start	1577836800	2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
2030s Start	1893456000	2030-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
2038 Problem	2147483647	2038-01-19 03:14:07 UTC

Use Cases

1. API Response Handling

// API returns timestamp
const apiResponse = {
    created_at: 1640995200,
    updated_at: 1641081600
};

// Convert to date
const createdDate = new Date(apiResponse.created_at * 1000);
console.log(createdDate.toISOString());
// 2022-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

2. Database Queries

-- Find data from specific time period
SELECT * FROM orders
WHERE created_at BETWEEN 1640995200 AND 1641081600;

-- Convert timestamp to date
SELECT
    id,
    to_timestamp(created_at) as created_date
FROM orders;

3. Log Analysis

import time
from datetime import datetime

# Parse log timestamp
log_timestamp = 1640995200

# Convert to readable date
log_date = datetime.fromtimestamp(log_timestamp)
print(f"Log time: {log_date}")
# Log time: 2022-01-01 00:00:00

4. Caching and Expiration

// Set cache with expiration time
const cacheData = {
    value: 'some data',
    expires: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + 3600 // 1 hour from now
};

// Check if cache is expired
const isExpired = (cacheData.expires < Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000));

Programming Examples

JavaScript

// Current timestamp (seconds)
const timestamp = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000);
console.log(timestamp); // 1640995200

// Current timestamp (milliseconds)
const timestampMs = Date.now();
console.log(timestampMs); // 1640995200000

// Timestamp to date
const date = new Date(timestamp * 1000);
console.log(date.toISOString()); // 2022-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

// Date to timestamp
const dateObj = new Date('2022-01-01T00:00:00Z');
const ts = Math.floor(dateObj.getTime() / 1000);
console.log(ts); // 1640995200

// Formatted output
const formatted = date.toLocaleString('en-US', {
    year: 'numeric',
    month: '2-digit',
    day: '2-digit',
    hour: '2-digit',
    minute: '2-digit',
    second: '2-digit',
    hour12: false
});
console.log(formatted); // 01/01/2022, 00:00:00

Python

import time
from datetime import datetime

# Current timestamp
timestamp = int(time.time())
print(timestamp)  # 1640995200

# Timestamp to date
dt = datetime.fromtimestamp(timestamp)
print(dt)  # 2022-01-01 00:00:00

# Date to timestamp
date_obj = datetime(2022, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0)
ts = int(date_obj.timestamp())
print(ts)  # 1640995200

# Formatted output
formatted = dt.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
print(formatted)  # 2022-01-01 00:00:00

# ISO 8601 format
iso_format = dt.isoformat()
print(iso_format)  # 2022-01-01T00:00:00

PHP

// Current timestamp
$timestamp = time();
echo $timestamp; // 1640995200

// Timestamp to date
$date = date('Y-m-d H:i:s', $timestamp);
echo $date; // 2022-01-01 00:00:00

// Date to timestamp
$dateStr = '2022-01-01 00:00:00';
$ts = strtotime($dateStr);
echo $ts; // 1640995200

// DateTime object
$dt = new DateTime('@' . $timestamp);
$dt->setTimezone(new DateTimeZone('UTC'));
echo $dt->format('Y-m-d H:i:s'); // 2022-01-01 00:00:00

Java

import java.time.*;

public class TimestampExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Current timestamp
        long timestamp = Instant.now().getEpochSecond();
        System.out.println(timestamp); // 1640995200

        // Timestamp to date
        Instant instant = Instant.ofEpochSecond(timestamp);
        ZonedDateTime zdt = instant.atZone(ZoneId.of("UTC"));
        System.out.println(zdt); // 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z

        // Date to timestamp
        ZonedDateTime dateTime = ZonedDateTime.of(
            2022, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, ZoneId.of("UTC")
        );
        long ts = dateTime.toEpochSecond();
        System.out.println(ts); // 1640995200

        // Formatted output
        String formatted = zdt.format(
            DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss")
        );
        System.out.println(formatted); // 2022-01-01 00:00:00
    }
}

SQL

-- PostgreSQL
SELECT extract(epoch from now())::integer as timestamp;
SELECT to_timestamp(1640995200);

-- MySQL
SELECT UNIX_TIMESTAMP() as timestamp;
SELECT FROM_UNIXTIME(1640995200);

-- SQL Server
SELECT DATEDIFF(s, '1970-01-01 00:00:00', GETUTCDATE()) as timestamp;
SELECT DATEADD(s, 1640995200, '1970-01-01 00:00:00');

Timezone Considerations

UTC vs Local Time

Unix timestamps are always in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). When displaying to users, convert to local timezone:

// Timestamp (always UTC)
const timestamp = 1640995200;

// Convert to local timezone
const date = new Date(timestamp * 1000);
const localString = date.toLocaleString();
console.log(localString); // Displays in user's local timezone

// Explicitly specify timezone
const utcString = date.toLocaleString('en-US', { timeZone: 'UTC' });
const nyString = date.toLocaleString('en-US', { timeZone: 'America/New_York' });
const tokyoString = date.toLocaleString('en-US', { timeZone: 'Asia/Tokyo' });

DST (Daylight Saving Time)

Unix timestamps are not affected by DST as they are based on UTC. DST only affects local time display:

// Same timestamp
const timestamp = 1640995200;

// Different display depending on DST
const winterDate = new Date(timestamp * 1000);
const summerTimestamp = 1656633600; // 2022-07-01
const summerDate = new Date(summerTimestamp * 1000);

// In regions with DST, local time offset differs
console.log(winterDate.toLocaleString()); // e.g., EST
console.log(summerDate.toLocaleString()); // e.g., EDT

Year 2038 Problem

The Year 2038 Problem (also called Y2038 or Unix Y2K) occurs on January 19, 2038, at 03:14:07 UTC when 32-bit signed integers overflow.

The Issue

Maximum 32-bit signed integer: 2,147,483,647
Corresponds to: 2038-01-19 03:14:07 UTC
After overflow: Will become negative or reset to 1901

Solutions

1. 64-bit Integers: Most modern systems use 64-bit integers
2. Language Support: Recent versions of programming languages handle this automatically
3. Database Updates: Upgrade to systems supporting 64-bit timestamps

// JavaScript uses 64-bit floating-point, no 2038 problem
const year2038 = new Date('2038-01-19T03:14:07Z');
console.log(year2038.getTime() / 1000); // 2147483647

const year2040 = new Date('2040-01-01T00:00:00Z');
console.log(year2040.getTime() / 1000); // Works fine

Best Practices

Do's

1. Always store in UTC: Store timestamps in UTC, convert to local time only for display
2. Use consistent format: Use either seconds or milliseconds consistently across your system
3. Validation: Validate timestamp ranges to prevent invalid dates
4. 64-bit integers: Use 64-bit integers for future-proofing

Don'ts

1. Don't store as strings: Timestamps as integers are more efficient for calculations
2. Don't forget timezone: Always be aware of timezone conversions
3. Don't use local time: Storing local time without timezone info leads to ambiguity
4. Don't rely on 32-bit: Avoid 32-bit systems for long-term applications

FAQ

Q1. What's the difference between seconds and milliseconds?

A:

• Seconds (10 digits): 1640995200 - Standard Unix timestamp
• Milliseconds (13 digits): 1640995200000 - Used in JavaScript and some APIs

Our tool automatically detects both formats.

Q2. Why use Unix timestamps?

A: Benefits:

• Timezone independent: Same value worldwide
• Easy calculations: Simple arithmetic for time differences
• Compact storage: Single integer value
• Universal support: All programming languages support it

Q3. How do I handle different timezones?

A: Always store timestamps in UTC. When displaying:

const timestamp = 1640995200;
const date = new Date(timestamp * 1000);

// Display in different timezones
console.log(date.toLocaleString('en-US', { timeZone: 'America/New_York' }));
console.log(date.toLocaleString('en-US', { timeZone: 'Europe/London' }));
console.log(date.toLocaleString('en-US', { timeZone: 'Asia/Tokyo' }));

Q4. Can negative timestamps be used?

A: Yes! Negative timestamps represent dates before January 1, 1970:

const beforeEpoch = new Date(-86400 * 1000); // 1 day before epoch
console.log(beforeEpoch.toISOString()); // 1969-12-31T00:00:00.000Z

Q5. Is Unix timestamp affected by leap seconds?

A: Unix timestamps ignore leap seconds. They represent a continuous count of seconds, while real time occasionally adds leap seconds to stay synchronized with Earth's rotation.

Q6. How accurate are timestamps?

A:

• Seconds: Accurate to 1 second (sufficient for most applications)
• Milliseconds: Accurate to 1/1000 second (for high-precision applications)
• Microseconds/Nanoseconds: Some systems support even higher precision

Related Tools

• UUID Generator: Generate unique identifiers
• Hash Generator: Generate hashes for timestamps
• JSON Formatter: Validate and format JSON data