Evolution SDK
Time

POSIX Time

Unix timestamp handling for Cardano transactions

POSIX Time

Evolution SDK uses Unix timestamps in milliseconds (bigint) for all time-related operations. The UnixTime type represents milliseconds since the Unix epoch (January 1, 1970).

Getting Current Time

// Current time as bigint milliseconds
const  = (.())

// From a specific date
const  = (new ("2025-12-31T23:59:59Z").())

Common Conversions

// ADA amounts in time
const  = 5n * 60n * 1000n       // 300,000ms
const  = 60n * 60n * 1000n           // 3,600,000ms
const  = 24n * 60n * 60n * 1000n      // 86,400,000ms

// Future deadline
const  = (.())
const  =  + 
const  =  + 

Usage in Transactions

Time values are passed to .setValidity() as Unix milliseconds. The builder converts them to slots automatically:

import {  } from "@evolution-sdk/evolution"

const  = ({
  : "preprod",
  : { : "blockfrost", : "https://cardano-preprod.blockfrost.io/api/v0", : ..! },
  : { : "seed", : ..!, : 0 }
})

const  = (.())

// Transaction valid for the next 10 minutes
// const tx = await client.newTx()
//   .setValidity({ from: now, to: now + 600_000n })
//   ...

Next Steps

  • Slots — How Unix time maps to slots
  • Validity Ranges — Setting time constraints on transactions