Unix Timestamp Converter

What is a Unix timestamp?

A Unix timestamp (also called epoch time) is simply a count of seconds since 1 January 1970, 00:00 UTC. Instead of storing a messy string like “June 22, 2026, 6:08 PM CEST”, systems store a single number. It is compact, unambiguous and free of timezone confusion — which is exactly why you find timestamps in databases, log files, JWTs, API responses and cookies.

The catch is that a number like 1782151710 means nothing to a human. This converter turns it into a readable date, and turns a date back into a timestamp, both ways, instantly.

How to use it

Timestamp → date

1. Paste a Unix timestamp into the top field (or press Now for the current one).
2. Read it as local time and UTC below.
3. Copy whichever you need.

Date → timestamp

1. Pick a date and time in the lower field.
2. The matching Unix timestamp in seconds appears, ready to copy.

Seconds vs milliseconds

This is the single most common gotcha. Traditional Unix time is measured in seconds — a present-day value has 10 digits. But JavaScript’s Date.now() and many web APIs use milliseconds, which have 13 digits. Feed a milliseconds value into something expecting seconds and you land in the year 56000-something; do the reverse and you end up in 1970.

To keep things painless, this tool looks at the length of your input: long values are treated as milliseconds, shorter ones as seconds. When you convert a date back, it outputs seconds, which is the most widely expected format — multiply by 1000 if you need milliseconds.

Local time vs UTC

A timestamp points to one exact instant. How you display it depends on a timezone. The tool shows:

• Local time — formatted for your device’s timezone, handy for sanity-checking “is this the moment I expected?”.
• UTC — the universal reference. When you share a timestamp or write it into logs, UTC avoids the “whose timezone?” problem entirely.

Where you’ll use it

• Debugging logs — translate a raw timestamp in an error log into a real date.
• APIs and databases — convert created_at or exp fields into something you can read.
• JWTs — token iat/exp claims are Unix timestamps; paste them to see when a token was issued or expires.
• Scheduling — generate a timestamp for a specific future date, then turn a recurring schedule into a cron line with the Cron Expression Builder.

Tips

• Use UTC when in doubt. It removes ambiguity when a value will be read by other people or systems.
• Watch the digit count. 10 digits ≈ seconds, 13 digits ≈ milliseconds — a quick glance prevents the most common mistake.
• Press Now to anchor. The Now button is the fastest way to grab the current timestamp for testing.

Everything runs locally in your browser, so this converter is a quick, private companion whenever you’re reading logs, building APIs or wrangling dates. When you need to convert other kinds of values, the Unit Converter handles length, weight and data sizes in the same instant, private way.