How to Convert a Unix Timestamp to a Date

Step-by-step

1. Copy the timestamp from your log, API response or database.
2. Paste it into the Unix Timestamp Converter.
3. Check the unit. Ten digits are usually seconds and thirteen are usually milliseconds. The tool reads 13 or more digits as milliseconds.
4. Read the UTC time, ISO 8601 time and your local time.
5. To go the other way, pick a date and time and copy the timestamp in seconds or milliseconds.

A worked example

The timestamp 1700000000 is 14 November 2023 at 22:13:20 UTC. The same moment in milliseconds is 1700000000000. Entering either value in the converter gives the same date.

Time zones

A Unix timestamp has no time zone. It identifies one moment. The date and time you see depends on the zone used to display it, so UTC is the safest way to compare times between systems. Local time uses your browser's zone.

The year 2038 problem

Systems that store a timestamp as a signed 32-bit integer can only count up to 19 January 2038 at 03:14:07 UTC. After that, the value overflows. Modern systems use 64-bit values, but older embedded software and databases can still be affected.

Quick conversions in code

In JavaScript, new Date(seconds * 1000) converts seconds to a date, and Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) gives the current time in seconds. In Python, datetime.fromtimestamp(seconds, tz=timezone.utc) gives a UTC date.