discordjs/discord.js · error · RangeError

timestamps.start must fit into a unix timestamp

Error message

timestamps.start must fit into a unix timestamp

What it means

setActivity() validates rich-presence timestamps and throws this RangeError when activity.timestamps.start is not a valid unix timestamp (per isValidTimestamp — outside the safe numeric range, e.g. milliseconds or NaN).

Source

Thrown at packages/rpc/src/client.ts:550

	/**
	 * Sets the presence for the logged in user.
	 *
	 * @param activity - The rich presence to pass.
	 * @param pid - The application's process ID. Defaults to the executing process' PID.
	 * @remarks
	 * Clients may only update their activity 5 times per 20 seconds.
	 */
	public async setActivity(
		activity: RPCSetActivityArgs['activity'] = {},
		pid: number | null = getPid(),
		options?: RequestOptions,
	): Promise<unknown> {
		activity.instance = Boolean(activity.instance);

		if (activity.timestamps) {
			if ('start' in activity.timestamps && isValidTimestamp(activity.timestamps.start)) {
				throw new RangeError('timestamps.start must fit into a unix timestamp');
			}

			if ('end' in activity.timestamps && isValidTimestamp(activity.timestamps.end)) {
				throw new RangeError('timestamps.end must fit into a unix timestamp');
			}
		}

		return this.request(
			RPCCommands.SetActivity,
			{
				pid: pid ?? 0,
				activity,
			},
			options,
		);
	}

	/**

View on GitHub (pinned to a81ed8a306)

Solutions

1. Convert to seconds: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
2. Ensure the value is a finite number, not a string or Date object
3. Only set timestamps.start when you actually have a valid epoch-seconds value

Example fix

// before
client.setActivity({ timestamps: { start: Date.now() } });
// after
client.setActivity({ timestamps: { start: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) } });

const startSec = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000);
if (!Number.isFinite(startSec) || startSec > 2 ** 53 - 1) throw new Error('start out of unix range');

function isValidEpochSeconds(v: unknown): v is number {
  return typeof v === 'number' && Number.isFinite(v) && v > 0 && v < 2 ** 53 - 1;
}

try {
  await client.setActivity(activity);
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof RangeError && err.message.includes('timestamps.start')) {
    // fix timestamp units and retry
  }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling client.setActivity({ timestamps: { start: Date.now() } }) — passing milliseconds instead of seconds — or a string/NaN that fails the timestamp check.

Common situations: Using JavaScript's Date.now() (ms) directly, passing an ISO date string, or computing timestamps with Math.round missing.

Related errors

• timestamps.end must fit into a unix timestamp
• ShardingShardMiscalculation
• CommandInteractionOptionInvalidChannelType
• InvalidType
• Invalid extension provided: ${extension} Must be one of: ${a

AI-assisted analysis of discordjs/discord.js@a81ed8a306 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4946dc41cde8afda. Report an issue: GitHub.