## Syntax
```mermaid
%%{init: {
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'themeVariables': {
'fontSize': '11px',
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flowchart LR
Start((START)) --> UNIX_TIMESTAMP[UNIX_TIMESTAMP]:::quoted
UNIX_TIMESTAMP --> End((END))
```
## Purpose
The `UNIX_TIMESTAMP` SQL functions get the UNIX epoch time of a date/time.
See also [[FROM_UNIXTIME]].
Parameters:
- Input (optional, `datetime`): a `datetime`. Defaults to the current date/time.
Returns: the UNIX epoch time.
## Examples
The following example retrieves the UNIX epoch time of January 1, 2026 00:00:00 UTC:
```sql
select unix_timestamp(to_date('20260101', 'YYYYMMDD'))
-------------------
1767225600
```
The following example retrieves the UNIX epoch time of the last second of the year 9999:
```sql
select unix_timestamp(to_date('99991231235959', 'YYYYMMDDHH24MISS'))
-------------------
253402300799
```