JavaScript Timestamp

What is this tool?

This page gives JavaScript developers a practical timestamp reference with copy-ready snippets and unit conversion guidance.

How to use it

Use Date.now() for current milliseconds, convert to seconds for Unix APIs, and format UTC/ISO strings for logs and debugging.

Examples

// current timestamp in milliseconds
const ms = Date.now();

// seconds for APIs
const seconds = Math.floor(ms / 1000);

// readable UTC
const utc = new Date(ms).toUTCString();

Common use cases

• Client-side telemetry timestamps.
• Token expiry calculations.
• Formatting audit events in frontend dashboards.

FAQ

Should I use Date.now or new Date?

Use Date.now for numeric milliseconds and new Date for formatting or parsing date objects.

Why does JavaScript return milliseconds?

JavaScript Date APIs are millisecond-based for higher precision on the client side.