Unix Timestamp Converter
Paste a Unix timestamp and see the human-readable date and time instantly - or type a date and get the timestamp back. Auto-detects whether your number is in seconds, milliseconds, or microseconds.
That was
All formats
Timeline ?
Y2K38 ? — January 19, 2038, when 32-bit timestamps overflow.
Paste one timestamp or date per line. Accepts Unix seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, and ISO date strings.
Understanding Unix timestamps and time conversions
How Unix timestamps work and why they matter
A Unix timestamp (or epoch time) is the number of seconds elapsed since 00:00:00 UTC on January 1, 1970 - known as the Unix epoch. It is timezone-agnostic and language-agnostic, making it the universal way to store moments in time across databases, APIs, and log files. For example, the timestamp 1700000000 represents November 14, 2023 at 22:13:20 UTC. Unix timestamps are stored in different precisions: 10-digit numbers are seconds (current timestamp is ~1.7 billion), 13-digit numbers are milliseconds, and 16-digit numbers are microseconds. This calculator auto-detects the precision from the digit count.
Different epoch systems and Y2K38
While Unix epoch (1970) is the most common, other systems use different starting points: GPS epoch (January 6, 1980) is used by fitness devices and satellite systems; NTP epoch (January 1, 1900) is used by network time servers. The Y2K38 problem occurs on January 19, 2038, when 32-bit signed integers will overflow from 2,147,483,647 seconds to a negative value, potentially crashing legacy systems that still store timestamps as 32-bit integers. Systems using 64-bit timestamps (virtually all modern systems) will function correctly for billions of years.
FAQ
What is a Unix timestamp and what does it measure?
A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds that have elapsed since 00:00:00 UTC on 1 January 1970 (the Unix epoch). It is a timezone-agnostic way to record a moment in time and is used universally in databases, APIs, and log files. The current timestamp is approximately 1,700,000,000 seconds.
How do I tell if a timestamp is in seconds or milliseconds?
10-digit timestamps are seconds (e.g. 1703000000 = Dec 2023). 13-digit timestamps are milliseconds (e.g. 1703000000000). 16-digit are microseconds. This tool auto-detects the precision from the number of digits and the magnitude, so you can paste any format and get the correct conversion.
What is the Y2K38 problem?
On 19 January 2038 at 03:14:07 UTC, 32-bit signed Unix timestamps will overflow and wrap around to a negative value, potentially crashing software that uses them. Systems using 64-bit timestamps (which can represent dates billions of years in the future) are not affected.