Unix Timestamp Converter — Free Online Epoch Converter
This free tool converts Unix/Epoch timestamps to human-readable dates and back. All processing happens in your browser — no data leaves your device. Supports both seconds (10-digit) and milliseconds (13-digit) timestamps.
Current Unix Timestamp
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What is a Unix Timestamp?
A Unix timestamp (also called epoch time or POSIX time) is a way of representing a specific point in time as a single integer — the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. This reference point is called the Unix epoch.
The Unix epoch was chosen because Unix, the operating system that popularized this convention, was developed in the late 1960s on the PDP-7 minicomputer at Bell Labs. When the engineers needed a universal time reference, they chose January 1, 1970 — a round date that was recent enough to keep numbers small but far enough in the past to cover historical records. The convention was later standardized in the POSIX specification, which is why you will see the terms Unix time and POSIX time used interchangeably.
Timestamps come in two common variants: seconds (10 digits) and milliseconds (13 digits). Server-side languages like Python, Go, and PHP typically work in seconds (e.g. 1700000000), while JavaScript uses milliseconds by default via Date.now() (e.g. 1700000000000). Our converter detects the format automatically.
One important limitation of the Unix timestamp is the Year 2038 problem. When stored as a 32-bit signed integer — common in older C programs and embedded systems — the maximum representable value is 2,147,483,647, which corresponds to January 19, 2038, 03:14:07 UTC. After that moment, a 32-bit counter overflows and wraps back to a large negative number. Modern operating systems and databases have largely migrated to 64-bit integers, which can represent dates billions of years into the future.
Unix timestamps are used everywhere in software engineering: database records store created_at and updated_at as integers for fast indexing and sorting; REST APIs return timestamps in JSON payloads to avoid timezone ambiguity; log aggregation systems like Elasticsearch and Splunk use epoch values for efficient range queries; authentication tokens (JWT, OAuth) use the exp claim as a Unix timestamp to express expiration times; and HTTP headers like Last-Modified and Expires are ultimately derived from Unix time.
The biggest advantage of Unix timestamps is that they are timezone-neutral. Because the integer always represents the same moment in UTC, there is no ambiguity about daylight saving time transitions or local time offsets. Two servers in different countries will always agree on the same timestamp for the same event. Conversion to a human-readable local time is a display concern, not a storage concern — exactly what this tool handles for you.
Common Timestamp Conversions
| Timestamp | Date (UTC) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 UTC | Unix Epoch (start of time) |
| 1,000,000,000 | Sat, 09 Sep 2001 01:46:40 UTC | One billion seconds |
| 1,234,567,890 | Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:31:30 UTC | 1234567890 milestone |
| 1,700,000,000 | Wed, 15 Nov 2023 06:13:20 UTC | Recent reference |
| 2,000,000,000 | Wed, 18 May 2033 03:33:20 UTC | Two billion seconds |
| 2,147,483,647 | Tue, 19 Jan 2038 03:14:07 UTC | 32-bit max (Y2K38) |
How to Convert Epoch Time
- Paste your timestamp into the Unix Timestamp field or pick a date in the Date & Time field above.
- The tool detects whether your input is in seconds (10 digits) or milliseconds (13 digits) automatically.
- Results appear instantly in UTC, local time, ISO 8601, and relative format. Click the copy icon next to any value to copy it.
JavaScript
// Epoch seconds → Date
const date = new Date(timestamp * 1000);
console.log(date.toUTCString());
// Current timestamp (seconds)
const now = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000);Python
from datetime import datetime
# Epoch seconds → local datetime
dt = datetime.fromtimestamp(ts)
# Epoch seconds → UTC datetime
dt_utc = datetime.utcfromtimestamp(ts)Java
// Epoch seconds → Instant (Java 8+)
Instant instant = Instant.ofEpochSecond(timestamp);
// Epoch seconds → legacy Date
Date date = new Date(timestamp * 1000L);Timestamp Formats Explained
1700000000Most common in server-side code, databases, and APIs. Easy to compare and sort.
1700000000000Default in JavaScript (Date.now()). Required when sub-second precision matters.
2023-11-15T06:13:20.000ZInternational standard. Human-readable and machine-parseable. Widely used in JSON APIs.
Wed, 15 Nov 2023 06:13:20 +0000Used in email headers (Date:) and HTTP headers. Verbose but unambiguous.
11/15/2023, 6:13:20 AM UTCLocale-formatted string for display purposes. Not suitable for storage or calculation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is epoch time?
Epoch time is another name for Unix time — the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. It is also called POSIX time. This point in time is known as the Unix epoch and serves as a universal reference for timestamps in computing.
What is the current Unix timestamp?
The current Unix timestamp is shown in the live counter at the top of the tool above. Programmatically, you can get it in JavaScript with Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000), in Python with int(time.time()), and in Java with Instant.now().getEpochSecond().
How do I convert epoch to a readable date?
Paste your epoch timestamp into the Unix Timestamp field in the converter above and the tool will instantly show you the UTC time, local time, ISO 8601, and relative time. In JavaScript you can use new Date(timestamp * 1000) for second-based timestamps.
What is the Year 2038 problem?
The Year 2038 problem (Y2K38) occurs because many older systems store Unix timestamps as a 32-bit signed integer. The maximum value is 2,147,483,647, which corresponds to January 19, 2038, 03:14:07 UTC. After that moment the counter overflows. Modern 64-bit systems are not affected because they can store timestamps far into the future.
Seconds vs milliseconds — how do I tell the difference?
A 10-digit timestamp is in seconds (e.g. 1700000000), while a 13-digit timestamp is in milliseconds (e.g. 1700000000000). As a rule of thumb: if the value is around 1.7 billion it is seconds; if it is around 1.7 trillion it is milliseconds. JavaScript uses milliseconds by default (Date.now()), whereas most server-side languages use seconds.
How do I get the current timestamp in JavaScript?
Use Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) to get the current Unix timestamp in seconds. Date.now() returns milliseconds, so dividing by 1000 and flooring gives you seconds. Use Date.now() directly if you need milliseconds.
What timezone is Unix time in?
Unix time is always in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). It counts seconds from the Unix epoch (January 1, 1970 00:00:00 UTC) with no regard for local timezones or daylight saving time. This makes it timezone-neutral, which is why it is the preferred format for storing and transmitting times in distributed systems.
Is Unix time the same as epoch time?
Yes. Unix time, epoch time, and POSIX time all refer to the same thing: the number of seconds elapsed since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. The terms are used interchangeably in programming and documentation.
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