Module dates 

Apple date conversion utilities.

The iMessage database (chat.db) stores dates as Apple timestamps:

• Epoch: January 1, 2001 00:00:00 UTC
• Unit: nanoseconds (on High Sierra+, multiplier = 10^9) stored as i64
• MULTIPLIER = 10^6 is used for the conversion, treating the raw value as microseconds.

The formula: unix_ms = APPLE_EPOCH_MS + (raw_value / MULTIPLIER)

Where: APPLE_EPOCH_MS = 978307200000 (Jan 1, 2001 in Unix ms) MULTIPLIER = 1_000_000

Constants

APPLE_EPOCH_MS

Unix timestamp (ms) of January 1, 2001 00:00:00 UTC.

MULTIPLIER

The multiplier used in the iMessage database (High Sierra+). Raw DB value / MULTIPLIER = milliseconds offset from Apple epoch.

Functions

apple_to_unix_ms

Convert a raw Apple timestamp from chat.db to Unix epoch milliseconds.

unix_ms_to_apple

Convert Unix epoch milliseconds to a raw Apple timestamp for chat.db queries.