Unix Epoch Timestamp Converter

epochop — browser-side, nothing sent to a server
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epoch → date
date → epoch
quick offsets

What is a Unix epoch timestamp?

A Unix epoch timestamp is the number of seconds (or milliseconds) elapsed since January 1, 1970 00:00:00 UTC — also called the Unix epoch or POSIX time. It is the universal language of time in computing: a single integer that represents any moment unambiguously, with no timezone confusion and no locale formatting.

Epoch timestamps appear everywhere in software development. JWT tokens encode the expiry (exp), issued-at (iat), and not-before (nbf) claims as epoch seconds. Server logs, API responses, database timestamps, Stripe webhook events, GitHub event payloads, and nearly all Unix system calls return epoch integers. When you see a number like 1741730648 in a log or a JSON body, you are looking at an epoch timestamp.

epochop converts these integers to human-readable dates instantly — and back. All conversion logic runs in your browser via the JavaScript Date API. Nothing is sent to a server. The live ticker at the top shows the current epoch, updating every second. Quick-offset buttons let you jump to common reference points: now, an hour ago, yesterday, a week ago, a month ago, a year ago.

epochop auto-detects whether a timestamp is in seconds or milliseconds. Values over 1 trillion are treated as milliseconds (representing dates after 2001); smaller values are treated as seconds. Both formats are common — Unix system time is in seconds, JavaScript's Date.now() is in milliseconds, and APIs vary.

Frequently asked questions

How does epochop detect seconds vs milliseconds?

Any value greater than 1012 is treated as milliseconds. Values at or below that threshold are treated as seconds. This threshold corresponds to September 2001 in milliseconds, so all modern ms timestamps are safely above it.

What is the current Unix timestamp?

The live ticker at the top of this page shows the current Unix timestamp, updated every second. Click it to copy the current value to your clipboard.

What is the Year 2038 problem?

32-bit signed integers can represent a maximum Unix timestamp of 2,147,483,647, which is January 19, 2038 03:14:07 UTC. Systems that store timestamps in 32-bit signed integers will overflow on that date. Modern systems use 64-bit integers and are not affected.

Why do JWT tokens use epoch timestamps?

JWT (JSON Web Token) claims like exp (expiry), iat (issued at), and nbf (not before) are specified in the RFC as epoch seconds. This avoids timezone and locale ambiguity — the same integer means the same moment everywhere. If you are debugging a JWT and need to read these claims, paste the value here or use jwtchop to decode the full token.

Does epochop work offline?

Yes. Once the page loads, all conversion logic runs client-side. The page will continue to work with no internet connection. There is nothing to fetch from a server.

How do I convert a date to an epoch timestamp?

Use the date → epoch panel on the right. Pick a date and time using the date picker — the epoch timestamp in both seconds and milliseconds is shown instantly below the input.

What is the Unix epoch timestamp for midnight Jan 1 2000 UTC?

946,684,800 seconds. You can verify this by entering 946684800 in the epoch input above.
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