Timestamp Converter
Convert Unix timestamps to human-readable dates. Live current timestamp shown.
Timestamp → Date
Date → Timestamp
Unix Timestamps: The Universal Time Format for Computers
Unix timestamps measure time as seconds (or milliseconds) elapsed since the Unix Epoch — 00:00:00 UTC on 1 January 1970. Every programming language, database and API uses them because they are timezone-agnostic, easy to compare and sort, and require no string parsing. Converting between Unix timestamps and human-readable dates is a daily task for developers debugging logs, working with APIs and writing database queries.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Unix timestamp? ▼
A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds (or milliseconds) since 00:00:00 UTC on 1 January 1970 (the Unix Epoch). For example, 1700000000 = November 14, 2023 22:13:20 UTC. All major programming languages have built-in timestamp support: Date.now() in JavaScript, time.time() in Python, System.currentTimeMillis()/1000 in Java.
How to convert Unix timestamp to date in Python? ▼
import datetime; datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(1700000000) returns local time. For UTC: datetime.datetime.utcfromtimestamp(1700000000). For a readable string: datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(ts).strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S").
How to get the current Unix timestamp in JavaScript? ▼
Date.now() returns milliseconds since epoch. Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) gives seconds. Use new Date().toISOString() to convert to ISO 8601 format. To convert a timestamp: new Date(timestamp * 1000) for second-based, new Date(timestamp) for millisecond-based.
What is the year 2038 problem? ▼
The Year 2038 problem (similar to Y2K) affects 32-bit systems that store Unix timestamps as signed 32-bit integers, which overflow at 2,147,483,647 (19 January 2038 03:14:07 UTC). Modern 64-bit systems can store timestamps until the year 292 billion — not a concern for any current software.
What is the difference between UTC, GMT and IST? ▼
UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) is the world time standard — all timezones are expressed as UTC offsets. GMT is essentially equal to UTC but technically a timezone. IST (Indian Standard Time) = UTC+5:30. All timestamps should be stored in UTC and converted to local timezone only for display. Our converter shows IST automatically for Indian users.