What is a Unix Timestamp?

A **Unix Timestamp** (also known as Epoch time or POSIX time) is a system for tracking time. It represents the number of seconds that have elapsed since **January 1, 1970 (00:00:00 UTC)**, not counting leap seconds.

It is widely used in operating systems, file formats, and databases because it is a simple integer. Unlike complex date strings (e.g., "Mon, 22 Dec 2025"), a timestamp like `1766438400` is unaffected by time zones, making it ideal for computers to store and calculate differences.

Why January 1, 1970?

This date is the "Unix Epoch." It was chosen arbitrarily by the original Unix developers in the early 1970s. Since then, it has become the standard reference point for modern computing. If you see a timestamp of `0`, it translates to this exact date.

The Year 2038 Problem

Just like the Y2K bug, the **Year 2038 problem** (Y2K38) is a looming issue for computing.

The Issue: Many older systems store time as a **signed 32-bit integer**.
The Limit: The maximum value a 32-bit integer can hold is `2,147,483,647`.
The Crash: On **January 19, 2038**, at 03:14:07 UTC, the timestamp will exceed this limit. Systems that haven't updated to 64-bit architectures may interpret the next second as `December 13, 1901`, causing crashes in databases, file systems, and critical infrastructure.

Developer Cheatsheet: Getting Current Time

Here is how to get the current Unix timestamp in various programming languages:

            PHP
            time(); // Returns seconds
        

            JavaScript
            Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000); // Date.now() returns ms
        

            Python
            import time
            time.time() // Returns float
        

            MySQL / SQL
            SELECT UNIX_TIMESTAMP();
        

            Java
            System.currentTimeMillis() / 1000L;
        

Common Time Conversions

1 Hour: 3,600 Seconds
1 Day: 86,400 Seconds
1 Year: 31,536,000 Seconds (Approx)

Unix Timestamp Converter

What is a Unix Timestamp?

Why January 1, 1970?

The Year 2038 Problem

Developer Cheatsheet: Getting Current Time

Common Time Conversions