Unix Timestamp Converter
Convert a Unix timestamp into a readable date, or a date into a timestamp, in either direction. The tool works out for itself whether a number is in seconds or milliseconds, which removes the most common source of confusion when reading times out of logs and databases.
How to convert a Unix timestamp
- Paste a timestamp to see its date — or tap "Now" for the current one.
- Or pick a date and time to get its timestamp.
- Both UTC and your local time are shown.
When you'd use this
- Reading logs — Log files and databases routinely store times as bare numbers.
- Debugging APIs — Responses that report creation or expiry times as timestamps.
- Database work — Checking what a stored epoch value actually represents.
- Token expiry — Working out when a session or JWT actually runs out.
Good to know
- Seconds and milliseconds are detected — Numbers of twelve or more digits are treated as milliseconds, shorter ones as seconds. Getting this wrong is what lands a date in 1970 or tens of thousands of years from now.
- Dates show in your own time zone — Conversions use your device's local time, which is normally what you want when reading a log from your own machine.
- Unix time counts from 1970 — The epoch is midnight on 1 January 1970 UTC. Negative timestamps are dates before that.
- Leap seconds are ignored — Unix time skips them by design, so it counts ordinary seconds rather than serving as an exact physical measure.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Unix timestamp?
The number of seconds that have passed since 1 January 1970, 00:00:00 UTC (the "Unix epoch"). It's a compact, timezone-free way computers store a point in time.
How does this tell seconds and milliseconds apart?
By length: a timestamp in seconds is 10 digits until the year 2286, while milliseconds is 13 digits today. This tool treats anything with 12 or more digits as milliseconds and anything shorter as seconds.
Does the converted date account for my timezone?
Both are shown: the UTC time (timezone-independent, what's actually stored) and your browser's local time, calculated from your device's own timezone setting.
Is my timestamp in seconds or milliseconds?
Ten digits is seconds, thirteen is milliseconds. The tool detects this automatically, and the giveaway is the answer — a date in 1970 means milliseconds were fed to something expecting seconds.
What time zone are the results in?
Your device's local zone. A timestamp itself carries no time zone — it is an absolute instant — so the same number displays differently for people in different places.
What is the Unix epoch?
Midnight on 1 January 1970 UTC, the zero point that Unix timestamps count from. It was simply a convenient recent date when the convention was established.