https://blog.epoch-tools.com/tags/developer-tools/ Recent content in Developer-Tools on Epoch Tools Blog Hugo en-us Sat, 06 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://blog.epoch-tools.com/posts/timestamp-to-pacific-time/ Sat, 06 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://blog.epoch-tools.com/posts/timestamp-to-pacific-time/ <p>Use this page to <strong>convert timestamp to Pacific Time with DST</strong> — enter any Unix or epoch timestamp below and get an instant, daylight-saving-aware result in PST or PDT.</p> <div class="epoch-converter not-prose" id="pacific-converter"> <div class="epoch-converter__panel"> <label class="epoch-converter__label" for="pacific-ts-input">Unix timestamp</label> <div class="epoch-converter__input-row"> <input type="text" id="pacific-ts-input" class="epoch-converter__input" inputmode="numeric" placeholder="e.g. 1711324800" autocomplete="off" spellcheck="false" /> <button type="button" class="epoch-converter__btn" id="pacific-ts-now">Use now</button> </div> <p class="epoch-converter__hint">Seconds since Jan 1, 1970 UTC. Millisecond values are detected automatically.</p> </div> <div class="epoch-converter__results" id="pacific-ts-results" aria-live="polite"> <div class="epoch-converter__result-main" id="pacific-ts-formatted">—</div> <dl class="epoch-converter__meta"> <div class="epoch-converter__meta-item"> <dt>UTC offset</dt> <dd id="pacific-ts-offset">—</dd> </div> <div class="epoch-converter__meta-item"> <dt>DST active</dt> <dd id="pacific-ts-dst">—</dd> </div> <div class="epoch-converter__meta-item"> <dt>Timezone</dt> <dd>America/Los_Angeles</dd> </div> </dl> </div> </div> <script> (function () { var TZ = "America/Los_Angeles"; var input = document.getElementById("pacific-ts-input"); var formatted = document.getElementById("pacific-ts-formatted"); var offsetEl = document.getElementById("pacific-ts-offset"); var dstEl = document.getElementById("pacific-ts-dst"); var nowBtn = document.getElementById("pacific-ts-now"); function parseTimestamp(raw) { var trimmed = String(raw || "").trim().replace(/,/g, ""); if (!trimmed) return null; var num = Number(trimmed); if (!Number.isFinite(num)) return null; if (Math.abs(num) >= 1e12) num = Math.floor(num / 1000); return num; } function getOffsetMinutes(date) { var parts = new Intl.DateTimeFormat("en-US", { timeZone: TZ, timeZoneName: "longOffset" }).formatToParts(date); var offsetPart = parts.find(function (p) { return p.type === "timeZoneName"; }); if (!offsetPart) return null; var match = offsetPart.value.match(/GMT([+-])(\d{1,2})(?::(\d{2}))?/); if (!match) return null; var sign = match[1] === "-" ? -1 : 1; var hours = parseInt(match[2], 10); var mins = match[3] ? parseInt(match[3], 10) : 0; return sign * (hours * 60 + mins); } function isDstActive(date) { var jan = new Date(date.getFullYear(), 0, 15); var jul = new Date(date.getFullYear(), 6, 15); var winter = getOffsetMinutes(jan); var summer = getOffsetMinutes(jul); var current = getOffsetMinutes(date); if (winter === null || summer === null || current === null) return null; return current !== winter; } function formatPacific(date) { return new Intl.DateTimeFormat("en-US", { timeZone: TZ, weekday: "long", year: "numeric", month: "long", day: "numeric", hour: "numeric", minute: "2-digit", second: "2-digit", timeZoneName: "short" }).format(date); } function formatOffset(minutes) { if (minutes === null) return "—"; var sign = minutes >= 0 ? "+" : "-"; var abs = Math.abs(minutes); var h = Math.floor(abs / 60); var m = abs % 60; return "UTC" + sign + h + (m ? ":" + String(m).padStart(2, "0") : ""); } function showError(msg) { formatted.textContent = msg; offsetEl.textContent = "—"; dstEl.textContent = "—"; } function convert() { var ts = parseTimestamp(input.value); if (ts === null) { showError("Enter a valid Unix timestamp."); return; } if (ts < -62135596800 || ts > 4102444800) { showError("Timestamp out of supported range."); return; } var date = new Date(ts * 1000); if (isNaN(date.getTime())) { showError("Invalid timestamp."); return; } formatted.textContent = formatPacific(date); var offsetMin = getOffsetMinutes(date); offsetEl.textContent = formatOffset(offsetMin); var dst = isDstActive(date); dstEl.textContent = dst === null ? "—" : (dst ? "Yes (PDT)" : "No (PST)"); } input.addEventListener("input", convert); input.addEventListener("change", convert); nowBtn.addEventListener("click", function () { input.value = String(Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)); convert(); }); input.value = "1711324800"; convert(); })(); </script> <h2 id="what-is-pacific-time-pst-vs-pdt">What Is Pacific Time? (PST vs PDT)</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th></th> <th>PST</th> <th>PDT</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Full name</td> <td>Pacific Standard Time</td> <td>Pacific Daylight Time</td> </tr> <tr> <td>UTC offset</td> <td>UTC−8</td> <td>UTC−7</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Active period</td> <td>Nov – Mar</td> <td>Mar – Nov</td> </tr> <tr> <td>DST active?</td> <td>No</td> <td>Yes</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>&ldquo;Pacific Time&rdquo; is not a fixed UTC offset. The US Pacific timezone switches between <strong>PST (UTC−8)</strong> in winter and <strong>PDT (UTC−7)</strong> in summer when Daylight Saving Time is in effect. That is why hardcoding <code>-8</code> in your code is one of the most common timestamp conversion bugs — your summer timestamps will be off by a full hour.</p>