Convert between Unix timestamps and human-readable dates.
Converted locally in your browser.
How do you convert a Unix timestamp to a date?
A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds (or milliseconds) since 1 January 1970 UTC, and a converter turns it into a human-readable date and back, showing both UTC and your local time. For example, the timestamp 0 corresponds to 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC. Watch the unit: many systems use seconds, while JavaScript uses milliseconds.
Understanding your result
Watch the unit: many systems use seconds, while JavaScript uses milliseconds.
Formula and method
A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds (or milliseconds) since 1 January 1970 UTC. The tool shows both UTC and your local time.
Assumptions and limitations
A Unix timestamp counts seconds from 1970 UTC and carries no time-zone of its own; the tool shows both UTC and your local time for clarity. Be aware many systems use milliseconds rather than seconds, so you must supply the right unit or the result will be off by a thousandfold.
Worked example
The timestamp 0 corresponds to 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC.
How to use this tool
- Choose the conversion direction.
- Enter the timestamp or the date.
- Read the converted values.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Mixing up seconds and milliseconds, which shifts the date by a factor of 1000.
About the Unix Timestamp Converter
Convert Unix epoch timestamps to human-readable dates and turn dates back into timestamps.
Who should use this tool
Developers reading epoch values from logs, databases, or JSON APIs, and engineers debugging why a stored date renders wrongly. Anyone who needs to turn a raw number like 1700000000 into a human-readable date, or convert a date back into a timestamp for a query.
Benefits
- Converts both seconds and milliseconds epoch values
- Shows UTC and your local time side by side
- Turns a readable date back into a timestamp
- Runs locally, so log data stays on your machine
Practical use cases
- Decoding an epoch value pulled from a log line
- Checking what UTC time a database timestamp represents
- Converting a date into a timestamp for a query filter
- Confirming an API's created_at field renders correctly
Explore all Developer Tools tools
Frequently asked questions
Seconds or milliseconds?
Choose the unit that matches your data. Classic Unix time is in seconds.
How do I know if my timestamp is in seconds or milliseconds?
Count the digits. A seconds-based Unix timestamp for a recent date has about 10 digits, while a milliseconds value has around 13. If converting a 13-digit number gives a date far in the future, it is milliseconds — divide by 1000 to get seconds.
What time zone does a Unix timestamp use?
A Unix timestamp has no time zone; it is simply the number of seconds since 1 January 1970 at 00:00 UTC. It represents one exact moment worldwide. Any local time you see is calculated by applying a time-zone offset to that single UTC instant.