SystemTime and chrono

Get the current Unix timestamp in Rust

The standard library exposes epoch seconds through `SystemTime::now().duration_since(UNIX_EPOCH)`. For ergonomic formatting most projects reach for the `chrono` crate.

`chrono::DateTime::<Utc>::from_timestamp(secs, 0)` builds a UTC instant directly from epoch seconds.

Current Unix timestamp (seconds)

use std::time::{SystemTime, UNIX_EPOCH};

let secs = SystemTime::now()
    .duration_since(UNIX_EPOCH)
    .unwrap()
    .as_secs();
println!("{}", secs); // 1,754,136,000

Convert epoch seconds → ISO 8601 (UTC)

use chrono::{DateTime, Utc};
let dt = DateTime::<Utc>::from_timestamp(1754136000, 0).unwrap();
println!("{}", dt.to_rfc3339()); // 2025-08-02T12:00:00+00:00

Real-world use cases for Rust

Tagging observability metrics with the current epoch second in a Rust service.
Deserializing JSON API timestamps into DateTime<Utc> for timezone-safe processing.
Comparing expiry timestamps on cached tokens without pulling in a heavyweight date library.

Unix timestamp (seconds)	ISO 8601 (UTC)
0	1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z
946,684,800	2000-01-01T00:00:00.000Z
1,754,136,000	2025-08-02T12:00:00.000Z
2,147,483,647	2038-01-19T03:14:07.000Z
2,524,608,000	2050-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

These are the same fixed timestamps used in the Rust examples above — every conversion returns one of these values.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get the current Unix timestamp in Rust?

Use SystemTime::now().duration_since(UNIX_EPOCH) then .as_secs() for seconds. It returns a Result because of the theoretical pre-1970 clock case; in practice unwrap() is safe.

How do I convert an epoch timestamp to a date in Rust?

With the chrono crate, DateTime::<Utc>::from_timestamp(1754136000, 0) builds a UTC datetime. Call .to_rfc3339() for an ISO 8601 string or .with_timezone(&tz) for a specific timezone.

Should I use the standard library or chrono for timestamps in Rust?

The standard library covers reading the current time via SystemTime. For formatting, timezone conversion and parsing you almost always want chrono or time — they are the de-facto standards in the Rust ecosystem.

Epoch to human date in Rust

Try it live — convert any timestamp in Rust-friendly format.

Enter Unix Timestamp

Seconds or milliseconds — the unit is auto-detected. Example: 1735689600

Waiting for input…

Timezone

UTC ISO 8601

–

Local — auto

–

RFC 2822 / GMT

–

Seconds value

–

Relative time

–

Other programming languages

Copy-paste epoch conversion snippets in your favorite stack

View all code snippets →

More timestamp guides

Example values used above: epoch seconds = 1,754,136,000 · ISO 8601 = 2025-08-02T12:00:00.000Z. Curious how the numbers work? See the Unix epoch time FAQ, or view the current epoch time in any timezone.