Unix Timestamp Converter

A Unix timestamp (also called epoch time) is the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970, at 00:00:00 UTC — a moment known as the Unix epoch. It's the most universal way to represent a point in time in computing. Why 1970? Unix operating systems were developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. January 1, 1970 was chosen as a convenient reference point — a recent date at the time that would provide a long usable range. Milliseconds vs. seconds: JavaScript uses milliseconds (multiply seconds by 1000), while Unix/Linux commands and most databases use seconds. When dealing with timestamps, always confirm which unit is expected — a common source of bugs. The Year 2038 problem: 32-bit systems store Unix timestamps as a signed integer, which maxes out on January 19, 2038, at 03:14:07 UTC. Modern 64-bit systems don't have this problem and can represent dates billions of years into the future. Common uses: API responses, database records, log files, file modification times, authentication tokens (JWT expiry), caching headers, and anywhere a language-neutral time format is needed.