How to Use the Date to Unix Timestamp
- Choose a date and time using the picker (interpreted in your local timezone).
- The Unix timestamp appears instantly in both seconds and milliseconds.
- Copy whichever precision your system expects.
From calendar date to a single number
A Unix timestamp collapses a specific date, time, and timezone into a single number representing seconds (or milliseconds) since the Unix epoch (January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC). Once converted, the timezone the date was originally entered in no longer matters — the number itself is timezone-independent.
Why this conversion is useful
This is commonly needed when writing test data with a specific "created at" time, building a database query that filters by a timestamp range, debugging a system that logs Unix time, or scheduling something to run at an exact moment.
Example
January 1, 2024, 00:00:00 UTC
2024-01-01T00:00:00Z
1704067200 (seconds) · 1704067200000 (ms)
Tips
- Be explicit about whether you are entering local time or UTC — the resulting timestamp will differ.
- Most JavaScript APIs expect milliseconds; most Unix/Linux tools expect seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the timezone of my browser affect the result?
Yes, if you enter a date/time without specifying UTC explicitly, it is interpreted in your local timezone before being converted to the timezone-independent Unix timestamp.