How to convert Unix timestamp to Datetime in Vala

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    void main () {
        int64 unix_timestamp = 1299262391;
    
        // Convert Unix timestamp to GLib.DateTime
        GLib.DateTime date = GLib.DateTime.new_from_unix_local(unix_timestamp);
    
        // Format the date to a readable string
        string formatted_date = date.format("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S");
    
        print("Converted Date: %s\n", formatted_date);
    }

Output:

Converted Date: 2011-03-04 18:13:11

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

Code Explanation

To convert a Unix timestamp to a date in Vala we can use GLib.DateTime.new_from_unix_local(unix_timestamp) which converts the Unix timestamp (eg 1299262391) to a GLib.DateTime object, interpreting the timestamp in the local time zone. Then then format() method is used to convert the DateTime object into a human-readable string with date.format("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S").
The result, which in this illustration is 2011-03-04 18:13:11, is printed using print.

Convert Date to Unix timestamp in Vala

Other useful Vala date functions (GLib.DateTime)

Function	Description	Example
`GLib.DateTime.new_from_unix_local()`	Creates a `DateTime` object from a Unix timestamp, interpreted as local time.	`GLib.DateTime.new_from_unix_local(1514764800)` returns 2018-01-01 00:00:00
`GLib.DateTime.to_unix()`	Converts a `DateTime` object to a Unix timestamp.	`date.to_unix()` returns 1531656645
`GLib.DateTime.new_local()`	Creates a new `DateTime` object with the specified date and time in the local time zone.	`GLib.DateTime.new_local(2018, 7, 15, 12, 30, 45)` creates the 2018-07-15 12:30:45 date.
`GLib.DateTime.format()`	Formats a `DateTime` object as a string according to a specified format.	`date.format("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")` returns 2018-07-15 12:30:45
`GLib.DateTime.now_local()`	Returns the current date and time as a `DateTime` object in the local time zone.	`GLib.DateTime.now_local()` returns the current date and time.

Current Unix Timestamp SECONDS SINCE JAN 01 1970

Current UTC Time

2025-08-21