Timestamp Converter
This free converter turns a Unix timestamp into a readable date in your local time, UTC and any timezone, and turns a date back into a timestamp, in local time or UTC. It reads seconds, milliseconds, microseconds and nanoseconds, even with decimals, converts whole lists at once and writes the code in ten languages.
—Read as seconds ·
Tue, 14 Nov 2023 22:13:20 GMT2023-11-14T22:13:20.000ZHow do you convert a Unix timestamp to a date?
Paste the number. The date appears at once in your local time, in UTC and in ISO 8601, with how long ago it was, and Also show in adds any timezone, daylight saving included. The unit is read from the number of digits:
| Digits | Unit | Where you meet it |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | seconds | C, Python, PHP, Ruby, Go, most database columns |
| 13 | milliseconds | JavaScript Date.now(), Java, most web APIs |
| 16 | microseconds | PostgreSQL, tracing and observability systems |
| 19 | nanoseconds | Go UnixNano(), Java Instant precision |
The page says which unit it assumed, and Unit forces another when a value sits near a boundary. Decimals work too: 1700000000.123456, the way Python's time.time() and many logs write it, is read as seconds with the fraction kept.
What we tested
| You type | What the converter shows |
|---|---|
1700000000 | 14 November 2023, 22:13:20 UTC, read as seconds |
1700000000.123456 | the same moment plus 123 ms, and .456 beyond the millisecond |
1700000000123456789 | nanoseconds, exact to the last digit; a plain JavaScript number would store it as 1700000000123456800 |
-86400 | 31 December 1969: negative values are dates before 1970 |
2147483647 | 19 January 2038, 03:14:07 UTC, the last second a signed 32-bit counter can hold |
2026-09-29 in a list | marked "not a timestamp" instead of being guessed |
How do you convert a date to a Unix timestamp?
Pick the date and time in Date to timestamp and read it in seconds, milliseconds and microseconds. Choose whether the date you typed is Local time or UTC first, because the answer changes: 19 October 2026 at 12:00 UTC is 1792411200, and the same clock time in another timezone is a different number. Servers and logs almost always mean UTC.
Why do local time and UTC both matter?
A timestamp marks one instant, but that instant reads as a different wall clock in every timezone. A log line written at 23:30 UTC belongs to the next day in Tokyo and the previous evening in New York, so a report grouped "by day" silently disagrees with itself depending on where it ran. Reading the same timestamp in your time, in UTC and in the affected user's timezone side by side is how those bugs get found.
How do I convert a timestamp in code?
Open Convert it in code and pick one of ten languages: the snippet comes with your timestamp already in it. The one thing worth memorising: JavaScript's new Date() expects milliseconds, while Python's fromtimestamp and Go's time.Unix expect seconds. Passing seconds to JavaScript gives a date in January 1970; passing milliseconds to Python lands thousands of years in the future.
Can I convert a whole log at once?
Yes. Switch to A list (batch) and paste up to 500 values from a log, a query result or a spreadsheet, separated by line breaks, commas or spaces. Each value gets its unit on its own, so a mixed list still works, and anything that is not a timestamp is marked rather than guessed. Copy the table or download it as CSV. Everything runs in your browser.
What a Unix timestamp is, why it counts from 1970 and what happens in 2038 are explained in the Unix timestamp guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Unix timestamp?
A Unix timestamp, also called epoch time, is the number of seconds that have passed since midnight UTC on January 1, 1970. It is a compact, timezone-free way to store a moment in time, which is why databases, logs, and APIs use it constantly. Some systems use milliseconds instead of seconds.
Seconds, milliseconds, microseconds or nanoseconds?
The tool reads the unit from the digits before any decimal point: ten means seconds, thirteen milliseconds, sixteen microseconds and nineteen nanoseconds. It shows which one it assumed, and the Unit buttons force another. Decimal values such as 1700000000.123456, the way Python time.time() writes them, are read as seconds with the fraction kept.
Which languages use which unit?
Seconds are the Unix convention, used by C, Python, PHP, Ruby, Go and most database columns. JavaScript and Java work in milliseconds. Go returns nanoseconds from UnixNano, Java exposes nanosecond precision on Instant, and PostgreSQL plus many tracing systems emit microseconds.
Can I convert a timestamp to a specific timezone?
Yes. Beyond your local time and UTC, you can pick any of the hundreds of IANA timezones, such as America/New_York or Asia/Tokyo, and see the same instant rendered there. It is the quickest way to work out what a server log line actually means for a user in another region.
What is the year 2038 problem?
Systems that store Unix time in a signed 32-bit integer cannot go past 2147483647 seconds, which falls on 19 January 2038 at 03:14:07 UTC. One second later the value overflows and wraps to 1901. Modern systems use 64-bit integers, but old embedded devices and legacy databases remain at risk.
Why does the epoch start in 1970?
It was a practical choice, not a meaningful one. Early Unix engineers needed a recent, round starting point that a small counter could cover, and 1 January 1970 was convenient when the convention was set in the early seventies. It stuck, and is now baked into almost every operating system.
Can I convert a whole list of timestamps at once?
Yes. Switch to Batch and paste a column straight out of a log or a spreadsheet, separated by line breaks, commas or spaces. Each value gets its unit detected on its own, so a mixed list still works, and you can copy the table or export it as a CSV file.
Do timestamps work before 1970?
Yes, as negative numbers. A value of -86400 is one day before the epoch, 31 December 1969. Not every system accepts negative epoch values, and some databases reject them outright, so treat historical dates carefully and prefer a proper date type when storing anything before 1970.
Does a Unix timestamp include leap seconds?
No. Unix time deliberately pretends every day has exactly 86,400 seconds, so a leap second is absorbed by repeating or stretching a value rather than adding one. This keeps arithmetic simple, at the cost of being a few seconds away from true astronomical time.
How do I convert a date to a Unix timestamp?
Pick the date and time under Date to timestamp, then choose whether it is local time or UTC, because the same clock time is a different moment in each. The page gives the timestamp in seconds, milliseconds and microseconds, plus ISO 8601. It is free, needs no signup and runs entirely in your browser.
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Built and tested by the ÆON Toolhub team. Last updated: October 19, 2026. How we test our tools