What happens on January 19, 2038?

On January 19, 2038, 32-bit systems storing Unix timestamps will experience an overflow (known as the Y2K38 problem). Modern 64-bit systems have resolved this issue and can handle timestamps for billions of years.

Unix Timestamp Converter - Epoch Time Converter Online

The Current Epoch Unix Timestamp

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SECONDS SINCE JAN 01 1970 (UTC)

Timestamp to Date

Date & Time to Timestamp

Select Input Timezone

The date and time below will be interpreted as being in this timezone.

Year

Month

Day

Hour (24h)

Minutes

Seconds

The current epoch translates to

Date	Loading...	Local Time
UTC	Loading...	RFC 1123
ISO 8601	Loading...	Standard Interchange Format
RFC 2822	Loading...	Internet Message Format
Unix Timestamp	Loading...	Seconds

Human Readable Time	Seconds
1 Hour	3600 Seconds
1 Day	86400 Seconds
1 Week	604800 Seconds
1 Month (30.44 days)	2629743 Seconds
1 Year (365.24 days)	31556926 Seconds

What is Unix Timestamp (Epoch Time)?

A Unix timestamp (also known as Epoch time, POSIX time, or Unix time) is a system for tracking time as a running total of seconds. This count starts at the Unix Epoch on January 1st, 1970 at 00:00:00 UTC. Therefore, the Unix timestamp is merely the number of seconds that have elapsed between a particular date and the Unix Epoch.

This point in time is consistent globally regardless of your timezone. This makes Unix timestamps extremely useful for computer systems to track and sort dated information in dynamic and distributed applications, APIs, databases, and log files.

Why Use Unix Timestamps?

Easy mathematical operations on dates
No timezone confusion during storage
Universal format across all systems
Efficient for database sorting
Language-agnostic representation

The Year 2038 Problem (Y2K38)

On January 19, 2038 at 03:14:07 UTC, 32-bit systems storing Unix timestamps as signed integers will overflow. Most modern systems now use 64-bit integers to handle timestamps for billions of years into the future.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert Unix timestamp to date?

To convert a Unix timestamp to a human-readable date, enter your timestamp in the "Timestamp to Date" converter above and click "Convert". Our tool automatically detects whether your timestamp is in seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, or nanoseconds and converts it accordingly. The result shows the date in UTC, your local timezone, and allows you to convert to any timezone worldwide.

How do I convert date to Unix timestamp?

Use the "Date & Time to Timestamp" section above. Select your timezone, enter the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second, then click "Convert". The tool will output the corresponding Unix timestamp in seconds since January 1, 1970 (UTC).

What is the current Unix timestamp?

The current Unix timestamp is displayed at the top of this page and updates in real-time every second. You can click on it to copy the value to your clipboard. The timestamp represents the exact number of seconds that have elapsed since the Unix Epoch (January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC).

What is the difference between Unix timestamp and Epoch time?

Unix timestamp and Epoch time refer to the same concept - they are interchangeable terms. Both represent the number of seconds since January 1, 1970 (the Unix Epoch). Other equivalent terms include POSIX time, Unix time, and seconds since epoch.

Does this converter support milliseconds and microseconds?

Yes! Our Unix timestamp converter automatically detects and supports timestamps in multiple precisions: seconds (10 digits), milliseconds (13 digits), microseconds (16 digits), and nanoseconds (19 digits). Simply paste your timestamp and the converter will handle the conversion automatically.

Get Current Timestamp in Programming Languages

JavaScript

Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)

Python

import time; int(time.time())

PHP

time()

Java

System.currentTimeMillis() / 1000

Ruby

Time.now.to_i

Go

time.Now().Unix()

Bash

date +%s

SQL (MySQL)

SELECT UNIX_TIMESTAMP()