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How to get current date/time in seconds in JavaScript?
To get the current time in seconds in JavaScript, you can extract hours, minutes, and seconds from a Date object and convert them to total seconds using the formula:
(hours * 3600) + (minutes * 60) + seconds
Method 1: Converting Current Time to Seconds
This approach gets individual time components and calculates total seconds since midnight:
<html>
<head>
<title>JavaScript Get Seconds</title>
</head>
<body>
<script>
var dt = new Date();
var sec = dt.getSeconds();
document.write("Seconds: " + sec);
var min = dt.getMinutes();
document.write("<br>Minutes: " + min);
var hrs = dt.getHours();
document.write("<br>Hours: " + hrs);
var total_seconds = (hrs*3600) + (min*60) + sec;
document.write("<br>Total seconds since midnight: " + total_seconds);
</script>
</body>
</html>
Seconds: 35 Minutes: 37 Hours: 9 Total seconds since midnight: 34655
Method 2: Using getTime() for Unix Timestamp
For getting seconds since January 1, 1970 (Unix timestamp), use getTime() and divide by 1000:
<html>
<head>
<title>Unix Timestamp in Seconds</title>
</head>
<body>
<script>
var now = new Date();
var unixTimestamp = Math.floor(now.getTime() / 1000);
document.write("Current Unix timestamp: " + unixTimestamp);
document.write("<br>Readable date: " + now.toString());
</script>
</body>
</html>
Current Unix timestamp: 1703847455 Readable date: Fri Dec 29 2023 09:37:35 GMT+0000 (UTC)
Method 3: Using Date.now() (Shorter Approach)
Date.now() returns milliseconds since Unix epoch. Divide by 1000 for seconds:
<html>
<head>
<title>Date.now() in Seconds</title>
</head>
<body>
<script>
var secondsSinceEpoch = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000);
document.write("Seconds since Jan 1, 1970: " + secondsSinceEpoch);
</script>
</body>
</html>
Seconds since Jan 1, 1970: 1703847455
Comparison
| Method | Returns | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Time components formula | Seconds since midnight | Daily time calculations |
| getTime() / 1000 | Unix timestamp | Database storage, APIs |
| Date.now() / 1000 | Unix timestamp | Quick timestamp generation |
Conclusion
Use the time components method for seconds since midnight, or Date.now() / 1000 for Unix timestamps. Choose based on whether you need daily time or absolute timestamp.
Updated on: 2026-03-15T23:18:59+05:30
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