What Is a Unix Timestamp?

A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970 00:00:00 UTC (the "Unix epoch"). For example, 1000000000 = September 9, 2001 01:46:40 UTC.

Common Uses in Development

• Database fields storing creation/modification times
• JWT (JSON Web Token) expiration times (exp, iat claims)
• API responses from servers
• Log file timestamps
• Cache expiration times

Milliseconds vs Seconds

Be careful: JavaScript's Date.now() and many databases use milliseconds (1000× larger). Python's time.time() and Unix use seconds. A 13-digit timestamp (e.g., 1700000000000) is milliseconds; a 10-digit one (1700000000) is seconds.

Convert Timestamps Online

1. Open Timestamp Converter.
2. Paste your timestamp (seconds or milliseconds).
3. See the converted UTC and local time instantly.
4. Or enter a date to get the timestamp value.