Frequently asked questions
What is epoch time?
The number of seconds since 00:00:00 UTC on 1 January 1970, the Unix epoch. It is also called Unix time or a Unix timestamp.
How do I convert epoch time to a readable date?
Paste the epoch value into the Timestamp box. You get the date in UTC, in ISO 8601, and in your own time zone.
How do I get the current epoch time?
It is shown live at the top of this page, in seconds and milliseconds. In code, use Date.now() in JavaScript or time.time() in Python.
Why is epoch time counted from 1970?
The early Unix developers chose 1 January 1970 as a convenient, recent round date when they designed the system clock, and it became the standard.