> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cyberwave.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Telemetry event time

> What the timestamp field means on a telemetry row, and how it differs from the timestamp on the wire

Telemetry, driver-log and metrics responses carry **`timestamp`**: when the
sample was *acquired*, in wall clock, never later than the moment Cyberwave
received it. It is the field to order, window and plot on.

```json theme={null}
{
  "uuid": "…",
  "timestamp": "2026-07-31T12:00:00+00:00",
  "event_type": "twin_position_update",
  "metadata": { "x": 1.0 }
}
```

Endpoints that return it:

| Endpoint                                      | Field               |
| --------------------------------------------- | ------------------- |
| `GET /api/v1/twins/{uuid}/telemetry`          | `items[].timestamp` |
| `GET /api/v1/twins/{uuid}/logs`               | `items[].timestamp` |
| `GET /api/v1/environments/{uuid}/driver-logs` | `items[].timestamp` |
| `GET /api/v1/twins/{uuid}/connection-events`  | `timestamp`         |
| `GET /api/v1/twins/{uuid}/metrics`            | `timestamp`         |
| `GET /api/v1/twins/{uuid}/latest-track`       | `timestamp`         |

## Not the same as the `timestamp` on MQTT

A message you read straight off the broker carries its own `timestamp` — the
publishing host's wall clock at the moment it published, which includes read,
serialization and queueing delay. For a camera it also includes exposure and
transfer.

Publish time and acquisition time differ by that latency, so a live view fed
from MQTT and a replay fed from the API can disagree by it for the same sample.
If you need acquisition time on a live subscription, read the source-time fields
on the payload rather than the wire `timestamp` — once your publisher sends them.
No publisher emits them yet; until yours does, the API is the only place
acquisition time is available.

<Note>
  The field name is unchanged, and so is the value for publishers that send no
  source-time envelope: the publisher's own stamp, bounded by receipt. Publishers
  that do send one get their acquisition stamp carried across clock domains
  instead, which is closer to the truth by whatever their publish latency was.
</Note>