Unix Timestamp Now

The current time in code and SQL

When a script needs the same value, get it where the code runs rather than copying it from a page. In a shell, date +%s prints Unix seconds and date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ an ISO time in UTC. PostgreSQL gives seconds with EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM now()) and MySQL with UNIX_TIMESTAMP(). To turn a timestamp you already have into a date, use the timestamp converter.

When your clock is wrong

These values come from your device's clock, which is normally corrected over the network but can drift when time sync is off. A clock that is a few minutes out causes real failures: freshly issued tokens look expired or not yet valid, and six-digit sign-in codes, which usually change every 30 seconds, are rejected. If the time here disagrees with another device, check the system's automatic time setting before debugging anything else.

Unix time skips leap seconds

Every Unix day is counted as exactly 86,400 seconds, so the leap seconds added to UTC since 1972 are not in the count. Subtracting two timestamps gives elapsed time that can be a few seconds short across decades, which matters only in astronomy, satellite navigation, and precise logging. For everyday durations and scheduling it is the right number.

How to use it

1. Choose Read current time.
2. Compare each representation of the same instant.
3. Copy or download the snapshot.

Privacy & limitations

The time calculation is local and depends on the accuracy of your device clock.