What is a Unix epoch timestamp?

A Unix timestamp counts the number of seconds elapsed since the Unix epoch: 00:00:00 UTC on January 1, 1970. It is widely used in programming because it is a simple integer with no timezone ambiguity.

How does the tool tell seconds from milliseconds apart?

Any number with 13 or more digits is treated as milliseconds; fewer digits is treated as seconds. This covers all practical timestamps until the year 2286.

Why does the same timestamp show different times in different timezones?

A Unix timestamp always represents a single point in UTC. Converting to a local time shifts the display by the UTC offset of the chosen timezone, but the underlying moment in time is identical.

What is the maximum timestamp this tool handles?

JavaScript's Date object handles timestamps accurately up to ±8,640,000,000,000,000 milliseconds from the epoch, which is well beyond any practical use case.

Can I convert a date back to an epoch timestamp?

Yes. Use the "Date to Epoch" section at the bottom. Pick a date, time, and timezone, and the tool outputs the corresponding Unix timestamp in both seconds and milliseconds.

Epoch To Date

Name: Epoch To Date
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Paste a Unix epoch timestamp (seconds or milliseconds) and instantly see the human-readable date and time in any timezone.

Epoch to Date

Unix Timestamp

Timezone

Enter a timestamp above or click "Now" to start.

Date to Epoch

Date Time (24h) Timezone

Fill in date and time above to get the timestamp.

Common Epoch Values

Unix epoch start

Y2K (Jan 1, 2000)

Y2K38 problem

Current time

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Summary

Paste a Unix epoch timestamp (seconds or milliseconds) and instantly see the human-readable date and time in any timezone.

How it works

Enter a Unix epoch timestamp in the input field (seconds or milliseconds are both accepted).
The tool auto-detects the unit based on the magnitude of the number.
Select your preferred timezone from the dropdown.
The human-readable date, ISO 8601 string, and RFC 2822 string are shown instantly.
Use the "Current Time" button to load the current epoch and see what it looks like.
Use the reverse converter to pick a date and get the corresponding Unix timestamp.

Use cases

Debug API responses that return Unix timestamps.
Verify that a scheduled event fires at the correct wall-clock time.
Convert database epoch fields to readable dates during data analysis.
Check expiry times in JWT tokens or session cookies.
Convert log file timestamps when investigating incidents.
Convert a specific date to an epoch timestamp for query parameters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-07-01 · Reviewed by Nham Vu