Get epoch for a specific date using Javascript

Question

You can create a Date object, and call getTime on it:

new Date(2010, 6, 26).getTime() / 1000

new Date("2016-3-17").valueOf() 

will return a long epoch

Some answers does not explain the side effects of variations in the timezone for JavaScript Date object. So you should consider this answer if this is a concern for you.

Method 1: Machine's timezone dependent

By default, JavaScript returns a Date considering the machine's timezone, so getTime() result varies from computer to computer. You can check this behavior running:

new Date(1970, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0).getTime()
    // Since 1970-01-01 is Epoch, you may expect ZERO
    // but in fact the result varies based on computer's timezone

This is not a problem if you really want the time since Epoch considering your timezone. So if you want to get time since Epoch for the current Date or even a specified Date based on the computer's timezone, you're free to continue using this method.

// Seconds since Epoch (Unix timestamp format)

new Date().getTime() / 1000             // local Date/Time since Epoch in seconds
new Date(2020, 11, 1).getTime() / 1000  // time since Epoch to 2020-12-01 00:00 (local timezone) in seconds

// Milliseconds since Epoch (used by some systems, eg. JavaScript itself)

new Date().getTime()                    // local Date/Time since Epoch in milliseconds
new Date(2020,  0, 2).getTime()         // time since Epoch to 2020-01-02 00:00 (local timezone) in milliseconds

// **Warning**: notice that MONTHS in JavaScript Dates starts in zero (0 = January, 11 = December)

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Method 2: Machine's timezone independent

However, if you want to get ride of variations in timezone and get time since Epoch for a specified Date in UTC (that is, timezone independent), you need to use Date.UTC method or shift the date from your timezone to UTC:

Date.UTC(1970,  0, 1)
    // should be ZERO in any computer, since it is ZERO the difference from Epoch

    // Alternatively (if, for some reason, you do not want Date.UTC)
    const timezone_diff = new Date(1970, 0, 1).getTime()  // difference in milliseconds between your timezone and UTC
    (new Date(1970,  0, 1).getTime() - timezone_diff)
    // should be ZERO in any computer, since it is ZERO the difference from Epoch

So, using this method (or, alternatively, subtracting the difference), the result should be:

// Seconds since Epoch (Unix timestamp format)

Date.UTC(2020,  0, 1) / 1000  // time since Epoch to 2020-01-01 00:00 UTC in seconds

    // Alternatively (if, for some reason, you do not want Date.UTC)
    const timezone_diff = new Date(1970, 0, 1).getTime()
    (new Date(2020,  0, 1).getTime() - timezone_diff) / 1000  // time since Epoch to 2020-01-01 00:00 UTC in seconds
    (new Date(2020, 11, 1).getTime() - timezone_diff) / 1000  // time since Epoch to 2020-12-01 00:00 UTC in seconds

// Milliseconds since Epoch (used by some systems, eg. JavaScript itself)

Date.UTC(2020,  0, 2)   // time since Epoch to 2020-01-02 00:00 UTC in milliseconds

    // Alternatively (if, for some reason, you do not want Date.UTC)
    const timezone_diff = new Date(1970, 0, 1).getTime()
    (new Date(2020,  0, 2).getTime() - timezone_diff)         // time since Epoch to 2020-01-02 00:00 UTC in milliseconds

// **Warning**: notice that MONTHS in JavaScript Dates starts in zero (0 = January, 11 = December)

IMO, unless you know what you're doing (see note above), you should prefer Method 2, since it is machine independent.

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End note

Although the recomendations in this answer, and since Date.UTC does not work without a specified date/time, you may be inclined in using the alternative approach and doing something like this:

const timezone_diff = new Date(1970, 0, 1).getTime()
(new Date().getTime() - timezone_diff)  // <-- !!! new Date() without arguments
    // means "local Date/Time subtracted by timezone since Epoch" (?)

This does not make any sense and it is probably WRONG (you are modifying the date). Be aware of not doing this. If you want to get time since Epoch from the current date AND TIME, you are most probably OK using Method 1.

Take a look at http://www.w3schools.com/jsref/jsref_obj_date.asp

There is a function UTC() that returns the milliseconds from the unix epoch.

Date.parse() method parses a string representation of a date, and returns the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC.

const unixTimeZero = Date.parse('01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT');
const javaScriptRelease = Date.parse('04 Dec 1995 00:12:00 GMT');

console.log(unixTimeZero);
// expected output: 0

console.log(javaScriptRelease);
// expected output: 818035920000

Explore more at: Date.parse()

You can also use Date.now() function.