What Is a Unix Timestamp? Why Does It Start from 1970?
A Unix timestamp (also called Epoch time) is an integer representing the number of seconds — or milliseconds — elapsed since January 1, 1970 00:00:00 UTC. It is the universal standard for storing and exchanging time in computer systems. You'll encounter it everywhere: database fields, REST API responses, log files, JWT token claims (iat, exp), Redis TTLs, and more.
1970 was chosen because Unix was developed around 1969–1970, and its creators designated that date as the computing epoch. The key advantage of Unix timestamps is that they are timezone-agnostic absolute time: any two systems anywhere on Earth will compute the same timestamp for the same moment, and timestamps are unaffected by daylight saving time changes. The current timestamp in 2026 is around 1780000000 seconds — a number that is meaningless at a glance, which is exactly why a converter is so useful.
Seconds vs. Milliseconds — How to Tell Instantly
Unix timestamps come in two precisions. The digit count tells you everything:
- Seconds (10 digits): e.g.
1780713509. Go, Python, and PHP return seconds by default. - Milliseconds (13 digits): e.g.
1780713509000. JavaScript'sDate.now()and Java'sSystem.currentTimeMillis()return milliseconds.
MeTool auto-detects the precision — just paste and convert. Quick language reference for getting the current timestamp:
- JavaScript:
Date.now()(ms) ·Math.floor(Date.now()/1000)(s) - Python:
int(time.time())(s) - Java:
System.currentTimeMillis()(ms) - Go:
time.Now().Unix()(s) ·time.Now().UnixMilli()(ms) - PHP:
time()(s) - Swift:
NSDate().timeIntervalSince1970(s, float)
5 Real-World Use Cases for Timestamp Conversion
① Debugging API responses
Backend returns {"created_at": 1780713509, "expires_at": 1780799909} — what times are those? Paste them in and see readable dates instantly, confirming your logic without mental arithmetic.
② Decoding JWT token expiry
JWT Payload fields iat (issued-at) and exp (expiration) are Unix seconds. Convert exp to a date and you'll know exactly when the token expires — no guesswork.
③ Building time-range database queries
Need all records between yesterday midnight and today midnight? Convert your dates to timestamps and write: WHERE created_at BETWEEN 1780627200 AND 1780713600.
④ Analyzing server logs
Nginx access logs, monitoring alerts, and error logs often include Unix timestamps. Paste a block of them into the Batch Conversion panel and get all readable times at once.
⑤ Cross-timezone scheduling
A meeting at 18:00 Beijing time — what time is that in New York? Convert the Beijing datetime to a timestamp, then switch the timezone selector to America/New_York for the exact local time.
Timestamps and Timezones — Why the Same Timestamp Shows Different Dates
A Unix timestamp is an absolute UTC moment. Converting it to a "local date/time" applies the target timezone's offset. The same timestamp 0 looks like this across timezones:
- UTC (UTC+0): 1970-01-01 00:00:00
- Beijing / Shanghai (UTC+8): 1970-01-01 08:00:00
- New York (UTC−5): 1969-12-31 19:00:00 (different date!)
- Tokyo (UTC+9): 1970-01-01 09:00:00
The timestamp value itself is always the same — only the display changes. MeTool includes 40+ timezones. Type a city name (e.g. tokyo, london) or a UTC offset (e.g. +8, -5) in the timezone picker's search box to find any zone instantly. The conversion result updates in real time.