About Timestamp Converter

Convert between Unix epoch, ISO 8601, and human-readable dates. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the Encoding collection.

Use Cases

• Debug API timestamps across timezones
• Convert log epoch values into human-readable dates
• Translate database timestamps for reports and audits
• Pick a specific Unix epoch when scheduling a one-off job

Tips

• Click 'Now' to set the current time instantly
• All fields sync bidirectionally — edit any one and the rest update
• Toggle between seconds and milliseconds mode

Fun Facts

• Unix time started on January 1, 1970 (the 'epoch'). The Year 2038 problem will occur when 32-bit timestamps overflow.
• The Unix epoch was chosen because it was a recent, round date when Unix was being developed — not for any astronomical or historical reason.
• GPS time started on January 6, 1980 and does not account for leap seconds, so it is currently 18 seconds ahead of UTC.

FAQ

What's Unix epoch?

Seconds (or milliseconds) since January 1, 1970 UTC. The universal timestamp format for distributed systems.

Seconds or milliseconds?

The tool auto-detects: ~10 digits is seconds, ~13 is milliseconds. Override if the detection is wrong.

Does it handle other epochs?

Toggle for Windows FILETIME (1601 epoch, 100-ns units), NTP (1900 epoch), and Apple Cocoa (2001 epoch). Rare but occasionally needed.

What's the Y2038 problem?

32-bit signed Unix timestamps overflow on January 19, 2038. Modern systems use 64-bit timestamps and avoid the problem. Legacy systems may need patching.