Python time strftime() Method

Description

The Python time strftime() function is used to format time, returning local time represented as a readable string, with the format determined by the format parameter.

Syntax

strftime() method syntax:

time.strftime(format[, t])

Parameters

  • format -- Format string.
  • t -- The optional parameter t is a struct_time object.

Return Value

Returns local time represented as a readable string.

Notes

Python time and date formatting symbols:

  • %y Two-digit year representation (00-99)
  • %Y Four-digit year representation (000-9999)
  • %m Month (01-12)
  • %d Day of the month (0-31)
  • %H 24-hour format hour (0-23)
  • %I 12-hour format hour (01-12)
  • %M Minutes (00=59)
  • %S Seconds (00-59)
  • %a Locale abbreviated weekday name
  • %A Locale full weekday name
  • %b Locale abbreviated month name
  • %B Locale full month name
  • %c Locale appropriate date and time representation
  • %j Day of the year (001-366)
  • %p Locale equivalent of A.M. or P.M.
  • %U Week number of the year (00-53) with Sunday as the first day of the week
  • %w Weekday (0-6), with Sunday as the first day of the week
  • %W Week number of the year (00-53) with Monday as the first day of the week
  • %x Locale appropriate date representation
  • %X Locale appropriate time representation
  • %Z Name of the current time zone
  • %% The % character itself

Example

The following example demonstrates the usage of the strftime() function:

Example

#!/usr/bin/python
# -*- coding: UTF-8 -*-

# Import the __future__ package to make print compatible with Python3.x
# If you are using Python3.x, you can remove this import line
from __future__ import print_function

from datetime import datetime


now = datetime.now() # current date and time

year = now.strftime("%Y")
print("year:", year)

month = now.strftime("%m")
print("month:", month)

day = now.strftime("%d")
print("day:", day)

time = now.strftime("%H:%M:%S")
print("time:", time)

date_time = now.strftime("%Y-%m-%d, %H:%M:%S")
print("date and time:",date_time)

The output of the above example is:

year: 2020
month: 09
day: 25
time: 10:24:28
date and time: 2020-09-25, 10:24:28
Other Extensions