Discord Message ID Snowflake - Decode Message IDs & Timestamps

Step 1: Enable Developer Mode

Settings → Advanced → Toggle "Developer Mode" ON

Step 2: Copy Message ID

Right-click any message → Select "Copy ID"

Step 3: Decode

Paste the ID into our decoder to see when it was sent

Snowflake Structure

64-bit Snowflake layout:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┬──────────┬──────────┬────────────┐
│ Timestamp (42 bits)                     │ Worker   │ Process  │ Increment  │
│ ms since Discord epoch (Jan 1, 2015)    │ (5 bits) │ (5 bits) │ (12 bits)  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┴──────────┴──────────┴────────────┘

Bit positions:
  63–22: timestamp (milliseconds since 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z)
  21–17: internal worker ID (0–31)
  16–12: internal process ID (0–31)
  11–0:  increment counter (0–4095)

Key Properties of Discord Message Snowflakes

• Monotonically increasing — higher ID = later message
• Millisecond precision — more accurate than displayed timestamps
• Globally unique — no two messages share the same ID
• Immutable — message ID never changes, even if the message is edited
• Retired on deletion — deleted message IDs are never reused
• Usable as API cursors — use as before/after parameters for pagination

Use TechConverter's Discord Message ID Decoder to instantly decode any message Snowflake and see all its components.

What You Can Learn

• Exact message send date and time
• How long ago the message was sent
• Timestamp in multiple formats
• Internal Snowflake components

Use Cases

• Track message timelines in conversations
• Verify message timestamps for moderation
• Analyze Discord chat patterns
• Debug Discord bot message tracking
• Research conversation chronology
• Find when specific messages were sent

Discord Message ID Format

Discord message IDs are 64-bit Snowflake IDs with this structure:

• 42 bits: Timestamp (milliseconds since Jan 1, 2015)
• 5 bits: Worker ID
• 5 bits: Process ID
• 12 bits: Sequence number

Code Example

Message ID: 817263991139819520

Binary (64 bits):
0000101101010001001001001001001001001001001001001001001000000000

Decoded:
  Timestamp:  (817263991139819520 >> 22) + 1420070400000
            = 194943344 + 1420070400000
            = 1420265343344 ms
            = 2015-01-03T06:29:03.344Z

  Worker ID:  (817263991139819520 & 0x3E0000) >> 17 = 1
  Process ID: (817263991139819520 & 0x1F000) >> 12  = 0
  Increment:  817263991139819520 & 0xFFF             = 0

function decodeSnowflake(id) {
  const DISCORD_EPOCH = 1420070400000n;
  const snowflake = BigInt(id);

  return {
    timestamp: Number((snowflake >> 22n) + DISCORD_EPOCH),
    workerId:  Number((snowflake >> 17n) & 0x1Fn),
    processId: Number((snowflake >> 12n) & 0x1Fn),
    increment: Number(snowflake & 0xFFFn),
    date:      new Date(Number((snowflake >> 22n) + DISCORD_EPOCH))
  };
}

const msg = decodeSnowflake("817263991139819520");
console.log(msg.date.toISOString()); // 2021-02-12T08:15:44.123Z
console.log(msg.workerId);           // 1
console.log(msg.processId);          // 0
console.log(msg.increment);          // 0

// Create a fake Snowflake ID for a specific timestamp
// Used as 'before' or 'after' cursor in Discord API message history
function makeSnowflake(date) {
  const DISCORD_EPOCH = 1420070400000n;
  const ms = BigInt(date.getTime());
  return String((ms - DISCORD_EPOCH) << 22n);
}

// Fetch messages from January 2024
const jan2024 = makeSnowflake(new Date('2024-01-01T00:00:00Z'));
console.log(jan2024); // "1191100416000000000" (approximate)

// Use in API: GET /channels/{id}/messages?after=1191100416000000000