What is a Unix Timestamp?
A Unix timestamp (also known as Epoch time or POSIX time) is the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. It is a widely used standard for representing points in time in computing, databases, APIs, and log files.
Common Use Cases
Unix timestamps are used in database records, API responses, JWT tokens (exp and iat claims), log files, cron jobs, and anywhere a timezone-independent time representation is needed. They are especially useful for comparing dates and calculating durations.