Introduction:

Unix timestamps are widely used to represent dates and times as a single numeric value. While they are efficient for storage and manipulation, they can be challenging to interpret for human users. Converting these Unix timestamps into human-readable dates is a common requirement in database applications. In this blog, we will explore multiple methods to achieve this conversion using MySQL.

Method 1: Using MySQL's FROM_UNIXTIME() Function

MySQL provides a built-in function called FROM_UNIXTIME() to convert Unix timestamps to human-readable dates. The FROM_UNIXTIME() function takes a Unix timestamp as input and returns a date formatted in the specified format.

SELECT FROM_UNIXTIME(unix_timestamp) AS human_readable_date
FROM your_table;

Output:

The FROM_UNIXTIME() function conveniently converts Unix timestamps to their equivalent human-readable date and time representation. It eliminates the need for complex calculations and formatting, making it a straightforward solution.

Method 2: Using DATE_FORMAT() Function

The DATE_FORMAT() function is another powerful tool provided by MySQL to format dates in various ways, including Unix timestamps.

SELECT DATE_FORMAT(FROM_UNIXTIME(unix_timestamp), '%Y-%m-%d %H:%i:%s') AS human_readable_date
FROM your_table;

Output:

In this method, we first use FROM_UNIXTIME() to convert the Unix timestamp to a datetime, and then DATE_FORMAT() helps us to customize the output format according to our preference.

Method 3: Using DATE_ADD() and UNIX_TIMESTAMP()

For scenarios where you need to manipulate the date before conversion, you can use DATE_ADD() along with UNIX_TIMESTAMP().

SELECT DATE_ADD('1970-01-01', INTERVAL unix_timestamp SECOND) AS human_readable_date
FROM your_table;

Output:

This method involves adding the Unix timestamp as seconds to the Unix epoch (1970-01-01), effectively converting it into a datetime value. The advantage here is that you can use DATE_ADD() to perform additional date manipulation if necessary.

Method 4: Using STR_TO_DATE() Function

If your Unix timestamps are stored as strings, you can use the STR_TO_DATE() function to convert them to datetime and then format them as required.

SELECT STR_TO_DATE(unix_timestamp_string, '%Y-%m-%d %H:%i:%s') AS human_readable_date
FROM your_table;

Output:

The STR_TO_DATE() function converts the Unix timestamp string into a datetime using the specified format. It is particularly useful when your Unix timestamps are stored as character strings.

Conclusion:

In this blog, we explored multiple methods to convert Unix timestamps to human-readable dates in MySQL. If simplicity is crucial, using FROM_UNIXTIME() is the most straightforward option. For customization needs, DATE_FORMAT() provides more flexibility. DATE_ADD() and UNIX_TIMESTAMP() are useful for additional date manipulation, while STR_TO_DATE() works best when dealing with Unix timestamps stored as strings.