EpochLab

Timestamp Validator

Is this timestamp plausible?

Checks a numeric timestamp for the mistakes that actually happen: the wrong unit, a 32-bit overflow, a sentinel value, or a date nowhere near where it should be.

Questions people ask

The things that come up about timestamp validators, answered plainly.

What is the most common timestamp bug?

A unit mismatch — milliseconds passed where seconds were expected, or the reverse. A millisecond value read as seconds lands around the year 45,000; a second value read as milliseconds lands in January 1970. Both are instantly recognisable once you know the shape.

What does a timestamp of 0 mean?

Midnight on 1 January 1970 — but in practice it usually means an uninitialised field. So does -1, and so does 2147483647, which is the 32-bit maximum and a common 'never expires' sentinel.

Related tools

Julian days, Excel serials, GPS time, cron expressions and format validators.

Unix Time ValidatorCheck a value before you trust it: which precision it plausibly is, what date it lands on, and whether it trips any of the usual overflow and sentinel traps.
Date ValidatorChecks that a date exists as well as parses — 31 February and 29 February in a common year both parse fine in most languages, and neither is a date.
Unix Timestamp ConverterPaste a timestamp and get the date; paste a date and get the timestamp. Seconds, milliseconds, microseconds and nanoseconds are detected from the digit count, and the guess is shown so you can override it.
Epoch Difference CalculatorSubtract one timestamp from another and get the answer in seconds and in human units — plus the same difference expressed in each of the four common precisions.

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