What is time() in PHP?

• time() returns the current Unix timestamp.
• A Unix timestamp is the number of seconds that have passed since January 1, 1970 00:00:00 GMT (also called the Epoch time).

Syntax

time(): int

• It takes no parameters.
• It returns an integer value (the number of seconds).

Simple Example

<?php
echo time();
?>

Output:

1714203456

(Output will be a big number — it’s the seconds since 1970.)

Practical Usage Examples

1. Get the current date and time

<?php
echo date("Y-m-d H:i:s", time());
?>

Output:

2025-04-27 15:25:56

• date() formats the timestamp into a readable date and time.

2. Add 7 days to current time

<?php
$future = time() + (7 * 24 * 60 * 60); // 7 days * 24 hours * 60 minutes * 60 seconds
echo date("Y-m-d", $future);
?>

Output:

2025-05-04

• time() + seconds of 7 days = date 7 days later.

3. Check how many seconds have passed

Suppose you want to measure how long a script runs:

<?php
$start = time();

// some code that takes time
sleep(5); // sleep for 5 seconds

$end = time();
echo "Execution time: " . ($end - $start) . " seconds.";
?>

Output:

Execution time: 5 seconds.

Important Points

• time() always gives the server’s current time.
• If you need timezone adjustment, you should set it:

  date_default_timezone_set('Asia/Kolkata');
  echo date('Y-m-d H:i:s', time());
  

• For more accurate time (like microseconds), PHP has microtime().