Convert a Unix timestamp to time in JavaScript

This short out how to convert a Unix timestamp to a time format using JavaScript.

The UNIX time (also known as Epoch time or UNIX Epoch time) is a single signed number that increases every second. The timestamp of UNIX time is the total number of seconds that's been calculated since January 1, 1970 (midnight UTC/GMT).

The timestamp makes it easier for the computer to manipulate or store than the conventional date-time formats.

So to convert a UNIX timestamp to a time format in JavaScript, we can follow these steps:

1. Convert Unix timestamp from seconds to milliseconds by multiplying it by 1000.
2. Create a new date object using the new Date() constructor method.
3. Use toLocaleTimeString() method to extract the time.

Convert Unix timestamp to time using toLocaleTimeString()

let unix_timestamp = 1549312452
var date = new Date(unix_timestamp * 1000);

console.log(date.toLocaleTimeString())

Output:

8:34:12 PM

Code Explanation:

unix_timestamp 1000* : So that the argument is in milliseconds instead of seconds

date.toLocaleTimeString() : It returns us the time portion of the date as a string using locale conventions.

If you want to remove the seconds ( like this, 8:34 PM ) from to toLocaleTimeString() method, you can code like this.

console.log(date.toLocaleTimeString([], {timeStyle: 'short'}))

// Output : 8:34 PM

The timeStyle is the time formatting style that can be used as an optional argument. It gives us 4 options: full, long, medium, short.

Resources:

Date.prototype.toLocaleTimeString()

timeStyle property

Related Topics:

Get Current Date In Different Date Formats In JavaScript

Convert Date To Long Date Format Using Javascript