# Time units | |
## Userspace exposed time units | |
*zx\_time\_t* is in nanoseconds. | |
Use [`zx_clock_get_monotonic()`] to get the current time as the number of nanoseconds since boot. | |
## Kernel-internal time units | |
*lk\_time\_t* is in nanoseconds. | |
When writing code that will run in the kernel, to read the current monotonic clock value, use: | |
``` | |
#include <platform.h> | |
lk_time_t current_time(void); | |
``` | |
[`zx_clock_get_monotonic()`]: /docs/reference/syscalls/clock_get_monotonic.md |