Frequently Asked Questions
What is ISO 8601 date format? ▼
ISO 8601 is the international standard for date and time representations, using the format YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS. It's unambiguous across locales (unlike 01/02/03 which could be January 2, March 1, or February 3 depending on region).
What is a Unix timestamp? ▼
A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds (or milliseconds) that have elapsed since January 1, 1970 at 00:00:00 UTC (the Unix epoch). It's widely used in programming and databases because it's a simple integer unaffected by timezones.
What is the difference between US and UK date formats? ▼
US format puts the month first: MM/DD/YYYY (e.g., 04/09/2024 = April 9). UK format puts the day first: DD/MM/YYYY (e.g., 09/04/2024 = 9 April). This ambiguity is why ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) is preferred for international communication.
What is relative time format? ▼
Relative time expresses a date relative to now, like "3 days ago" or "in 2 weeks". This is commonly used in social media and apps for a more human-friendly display. This tool calculates it based on the current time when you load the page.
What custom format tokens are available? ▼
The custom formatter supports: YYYY (4-digit year), YY (2-digit year), MMMM (full month), MMM (short month), MM (2-digit month), M (month number), DD (2-digit day), D (day), dddd (full weekday), ddd (short weekday), HH (24h hour), H, hh/h (12h), mm (minute), ss (second), A (AM/PM). Use square brackets to escape literals: [at] → "at".