Discord Timestamp Format Codes Explained

The syntax, piece by piece

Every Discord timestamp has the same shape: <t:UNIXTIME:FORMAT>. The angle brackets tell Discord's client this is special markup, not literal text. UNIXTIME is a Unix timestamp — the number of whole seconds since January 1, 1970 UTC — which is why it looks like a plain 10-digit number such as 1735689600. FORMAT is a single letter from the table below that tells Discord how to render that moment. Get any piece wrong — curly quotes instead of angle brackets, milliseconds instead of seconds, or an unsupported letter — and Discord just shows the raw text instead of a formatted timestamp.

All seven format codes

The generator above shows all seven with a live, updating example for whatever date you pick — this table is just the static reference.

Choosing the right format

• F (Long Date/Time) for formal announcements — server events, meeting times, tournament starts — where the day of the week helps readers place it.
• R (Relative Time) for countdowns, giveaway timers, and "starts in" messages where how soon matters more than the exact clock time. See thecountdown timestamp generator.
• t / T (time only) when the date is already obvious from context, such as a recurring daily schedule. Seetime-only timestamps.
• d / D (date only) for deadlines or release dates where the specific time of day isn't relevant. Seefull date timestamps.
• f (Short Date/Time) as a sensible default — it's what Discord itself falls back to if you paste a timestamp with no letter at all.

Using these in bots and embeds

The exact same syntax works inside bot messages, embed fields, and webhook payloads — seeusing Discord timestamps in bots, embeds and webhooks. If a timestamp isn't rendering the way you expect, checkwhy a Discord timestamp might not be working, and for background on how the underlying mechanism works at all, seehow Discord timestamps work.