How to convert Unix timestamp to Datetime in MATLAB

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    % Convert Unix timestamp to Date
    unixTimestamp = 1231919995; % Unix timestamp (seconds since 1970)
    date = datetime(unixTimestamp, 'ConvertFrom', 'posixtime');
    
    disp(['Converted Date: ', datestr(date)])

Output:

Converted Date: 2009-01-14 07:59:55

Example only. There may be multiple ways to perform this operation.

Code Explanation

To convert Unix timestamp to date in MATLAB, the Unix timestamp 1231919995 is converted to a datetime object using datetime(unixTimestamp, 'ConvertFrom', 'posixtime').
The posixtime option tells MATLAB to interpret the number as seconds since January 1, 1970. The result is then converted to a readable string using datestr() and displayed, in this case 2009-01-14 07:59:55

Convert Date to Unix timestamp in Matlab

Other useful MATLAB date functions

Function	Description	Example
`datetime()`	Creates a `datetime` object for the specified date and time.	`datetime(2020, 5, 15, 8, 30, 45)` returns a datetime object for 2020-05-15 08:10:45
`posixtime()`	Converts a `datetime` object to Unix timestamp (seconds since 1970).	`posixtime(datetime(2020, 5, 15, 8, 30, 45))` returns 1589530245
`datestr()`	Converts a `datetime` object to a human-readable string.	`datestr(datetime('now'))` returns a formatted string of the current date and time.
`now()`	Returns the current date and time as a serial date number.	`now()` returns the current date and time in serial number format.
`datenum()`	Converts a date string or `datetime` object to a serial date number.	`datenum('2020-05-15 08:10:45')` returns a serial date number.
`datevec()`	Converts a serial date number or date string to a date vector [year, month, day, hour, minute, second].	`datevec(now())` returns the current date as a vector.
`year()`	Extracts the year from a `datetime` object or serial date number.	`year(datetime('now'))` returns the current year.
`month()`	Extracts the month from a `datetime` object or serial date number.	`month(datetime('now'))` returns the current month.
`day()`	Extracts the day of the month from a `datetime` object or serial date number.	`day(datetime('now'))` returns the current day of the month.
`hour()`	Extracts the hour from a `datetime` object or serial date number.	`hour(datetime('now'))` returns the current hour.
`minute()`	Extracts the minute from a `datetime` object or serial date number.	`minute(datetime('now'))` returns the current minute.
`second()`	Extracts the second from a `datetime` object or serial date number.	`second(datetime('now'))` returns the current second.

Current Unix Timestamp SECONDS SINCE JAN 01 1970

Current UTC Time

2025-08-20