DEV Community

Cover image for How to Create Discord Timestamps: Step-by-Step Guide (+ Free Tool)
Peter's Lab
Peter's Lab

Posted on • Edited on

How to Create Discord Timestamps: Step-by-Step Guide (+ Free Tool)

If you manage a Discord server, you've probably needed to schedule events, announcements, or reminders.

The problem is that Discord communities are often global. Writing a time like this:

Event starts at 6:00 PM

can confuse users in different time zones.

Discord solves this problem with timestamps, a feature that automatically converts time to each user's local timezone.

In this guide, you'll learn how to create Discord timestamps step by step.

Step 1 — Understand the Discord Timestamp Format

Discord timestamps follow a simple format:

Example:

When posted in Discord, this code will automatically display the correct date and time for every user.

The key part here is the Unix timestamp, which represents the number of seconds since January 1, 1970.

Step 2 — Convert Your Date toa Unix Timestamp

To create a Discord timestamp, you first need to convert your date and time into a Unix timestamp.

For example:

March 8, 2026 16:20

might convert to:

1700000000

Doing this manually can be inconvenient.

A faster option is to use a generator tool like this one:

https://discord-timestamp-generator.com/

discord-timestamp-generator

It lets you select a date and automatically generates the correct Discord timestamp code.

Step 3 — Choose the Timestamp Display Format

Discord supports several display styles.

Here are the most commonly used ones.

Short Time

Result:

16:20
Full Date and Time

Result:

Sunday, March 8, 2026 16:20
Relative Time

Result:

in 2 hours

Relative timestamps are especially useful for countdowns and upcoming events.

Step 4 — Send the Timestamp in Discord

Once you generate the timestamp code, simply paste it into a Discord message.

For example:

The event starts at

Discord will render it automatically.

Each user will see the correct local time based on their timezone.

Example Use Cases

Discord timestamps are commonly used for:

• server event announcements
• gaming tournaments
• community reminders
• bot notifications
• scheduled updates

This feature makes it much easier to coordinate activities across different regions.

Why use discord-timestamp-generator

Final Thoughts

Discord timestamps are one of the most useful formatting features available for servers with global members.

By using the format:

you can create dynamic timestamps that automatically adapt to each user's timezone.

If you need a quick way to generate timestamps, you can try this free tool:

https://discord-timestamp-generator.com/

discord-timestamp-generator other utilities

More tools from PetersLab

If you found this Discord timestamp guide useful, you might also like a few of my other tools:

TwitterWebViewer — view public Twitter/X profiles and content without login
IG Profile Viewer — browse public Instagram profiles and reels more easily
AI Manga Translator — translate manga pages with OCR and layout-aware rendering

I build simple, privacy-first tools that make public web content easier to access and work with.

Top comments (1)

Collapse
 
peterslab profile image
Peter's Lab

I built the Discord Timestamp Generator mentioned in this guide to save myself (and other community managers) from the constant headache of timezone math.

Feel free to drop a comment if you have any questions or if there's another Discord pain point you'd like to see solved!