Tool
Unix timestamp converter
Turn epoch seconds into a readable date and back — in UTC and your own time zone.
Current Unix timestamp
1785657594
Timestamp → date
- UTC
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- Your local time
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Date → timestamp
- Unix (seconds)
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- Unix (milliseconds)
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How Unix time works
Computers keep time as a single number: the count of seconds since midnight UTC on 1 January 1970, the "Unix epoch". Because it is just an integer with no time zone attached, it is the cleanest way to store and compare instants — two servers on opposite sides of the world agree on the value exactly. A human-readable date only appears when you pick a time zone to display it in, which is why the converter above shows both UTC and your local time for the same timestamp. Timestamps come in two common scales: seconds (ten digits today) and milliseconds (thirteen), and this tool detects which you pasted. To read the live current epoch on its own, see UTC time now.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a Unix timestamp?
- A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds that have elapsed since 00:00:00 UTC on 1 January 1970, known as the Unix epoch. It is a single integer that represents an exact instant, independent of time zone, which is why software stores time this way.
- Is a Unix timestamp in UTC or local time?
- Always UTC. The timestamp itself has no time zone — it is a count of seconds since the epoch. You choose a time zone only when you convert it into a human-readable date, which is what the tool above does for both UTC and your local time.
- What is the difference between seconds and milliseconds?
- Classic Unix timestamps are in seconds (10 digits for current dates). JavaScript and many APIs use milliseconds (13 digits). This converter accepts both — a 13-digit number is treated as milliseconds automatically.
- What is the year 2038 problem?
- Systems that store the timestamp in a signed 32-bit integer overflow on 19 January 2038, when the value exceeds about 2.1 billion. Modern 64-bit systems store it in a wider integer and are unaffected for billions of years.