Demystifying UNIX Timestamps: A Developer's Guide to Time

The Beginning of Time (According to Computers)

For most computers, time began on January 1, 1970 (UTC). This is the "UNIX Epoch". A UNIX timestamp is simply the number of seconds that have ticked by since that moment.

Why use this? Because it's a single integer. It eliminates time zones, daylight savings, and leap years from the storage format. It is the universal language of time for databases and logs.

The Human Readability Problem

The problem is, humans don't think in seconds. If you see 1735689600 in a server log, you have no idea if that was yesterday or next year. You need to convert it.

Debugging with Timestamp Tools

Our UNIX Timestamp Converter is a bidirectional tool used by backend engineers daily:

• Timestamp to Human: Paste a code like 1735689600 and see "Wed, Jan 01 2025".
• Human to Timestamp: Select a date relative to your local time and get the code to query your database.

Planning Dates

Need to calculate a date 30 days from now? Use our Date Calculator implies adding time intervals easily.

Decode the matrix of time. Use the UNIX Timestamp Converter.