What is a Unix timestamp?
It is the number of seconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. Databases and logs use it because it is compact and free of time zones.
How do I convert a timestamp to date?
Enter the epoch in the Timestamp box and click Convert to Date. The tool shows UTC, your local time, and the ISO 8601 string.
Is the current timestamp shown live?
Yes. The live clock at the top updates every second with the current Unix epoch.
What is the difference between UTC and local time?
UTC is the universal reference; local time applies your browser's zone offset. The same epoch maps to different wall-clock times in each.
Are timestamps in seconds or milliseconds?
This tool expects seconds, the common standard, but it also displays the millisecond value so you can tell them apart.
Is this free?
Yes. It is free with no signup, and all conversion runs locally in your browser.
Can I convert a date back to a timestamp?
Yes. Type a date in the Date box and click Convert to Timestamp to get the epoch and milliseconds.
What is ISO 8601?
It is the standard text format for a moment, such as 2024-04-03T12:00:00Z, which APIs expect and which is unambiguous across zones.
Is my data private?
Yes. The Date math happens in your browser and is never uploaded to a server.
Why does my timestamp look wrong?
Usually a seconds-vs-milliseconds mix-up, a forgotten UTC offset, or a 2038 overflow in old 32-bit systems. The tool shows both units to help you spot it.
A Unix timestamp (or epoch time) is the number of seconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. It is a compact, timezone-free way to store moments in time, used everywhere from databases to log files. Our Unix timestamp converter turns a timestamp into a human date and back, and shows a live clock of the current epoch.
Developers debug logs by turning a stored epoch into a readable time. Database admins write queries using UNIX_TIMESTAMP() and verify the output here. API builders parse tokens whose expiry is an epoch. Anyone reading a created_at field in JSON can paste it and understand when something happened. For related time and format work, the cron expression parser schedules jobs and the URL encoder cleans parameters that carry timestamps.
The same epoch means different wall-clock times depending on your zone, which is exactly why timestamps exist. The tool shows UTC (the source of truth), your local time (for intuition), and ISO 8601 (the standard string format APIs expect, e.g. 2024-04-03T12:00:00Z). When you share a time, send the ISO or the raw epoch — never just "12:00", which is ambiguous across zones. The unit converter handles the non-time units in the same toolkit.
A quick date -d @1712150400 in a terminal works, but only if you are at one. Heavy sites add time zones, countdowns, and history you may not need. A lightweight online converter is fastest for a single lookup and keeps the value private. It also shows milliseconds and relative time, which bare commands omit. The JSON formatter pairs well when the timestamp sits inside a data blob.
Know your unit: most systems use seconds, but JavaScript Date.now() returns milliseconds, a frequent bug source. The tool shows both so you can tell them apart. Remember epochs are UTC; do not add your offset by hand. For dates far past 2038, confirm your language uses 64-bit integers to avoid the Year 2038 overflow. When logging, store epochs and format only at display time. The HTTP status codes reference helps when a timestamp accompanies an error response.
All math runs in your browser using the standard Date object. Nothing is uploaded, so the times you convert stay on your device.
Timestamps are easiest to trust when you verify both directions. Convert an epoch to a date, confirm it looks right, then convert that date back and check you get the same epoch. Always store epochs in UTC at write time and format to local time only when displaying, so logs from servers in different zones line up in the right order. In distributed systems, attach the epoch to every event so you can rebuild a timeline later without guessing. When a timestamp arrives inside an API response, the JWT decoder helps you read the issued-at and expiry claims, and the URL encoder makes sure the parameter survives a round trip inside a link. A quick two-way check turns a mysterious number into a fact you can defend. Make it a habit to log the epoch next to any manually noted time, so a future reader never has to reconstruct the moment from a vague label. A single stored number outlives every local clock change, including the daylight saving shifts that quietly move wall-clock times by an hour.
