Glossary

Unix Time

Unix time (also called epoch time) is the number of seconds elapsed since midnight UTC on January 1, 1970, ignoring leap seconds. It represents a single absolute instant with no time zone attached, which is why most databases, APIs, and log files store timestamps this way internally rather than as formatted local dates.

Where This Term Is Used

Unix Timestamp Converter

Convert Unix timestamps to human-readable dates and back. Automatically detects seconds vs. milliseconds, with ISO 8601 and UTC output.

Related Terms

UTC

UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) is the primary time standard the world coordinates against — every time zone is defined as a fixed or seasonal offset from it. Unlike local time zones, UTC never observes daylight saving time, which is why servers, APIs, and scheduling systems typically store timestamps in UTC and convert to a local time zone only for display.