`datetime`

The Python datetime module provides classes and tools for manipulating dates and times in an efficient way. It provides both date and time arithmetic and supports time zones.

Here’s a quick example:

Python
      
>>> from datetime import datetime

>>> datetime.now()
datetime.datetime(2025, 6, 20, 16, 31, 34, 273244)

Key Features

Represents dates and times with precision
Performs arithmetic on date and time objects
Supports time zones
Converts between different date and time formats

Frequently Used Classes and Functions

Object	Type	Description
`datetime.datetime`	Class	Combines date and time
`datetime.date`	Class	Represents a date (year, month, day)
`datetime.time`	Class	Represents a time independent of any date
`datetime.timedelta`	Class	Represents the difference between two dates/times
`datetime.timezone`	Class	Implements fixed-offset timezone
`datetime.datetime.now()`	Class method	Returns the current local date and time

Examples

Calculating a date 10 days from now:

Python
      
>>> from datetime import datetime, timedelta

>>> datetime.now() + timedelta(days=10)
datetime.datetime(2025, 6, 30, 16, 35, 18, 55997)

Formatting a date as a string:

Python
      
>>> now = datetime.now()
>>> now.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
'2025-06-20 16:36:01'

Common Use Cases

Calculating the difference between dates and times
Formatting dates and times
Scheduling events in specific time zones
Parsing date and time strings into datetime objects

Real-World Example

Suppose you need to schedule a meeting reminder 30 minutes before the meeting time. Here’s how you can do it using the datetime module:

Python
      
>>> from datetime import datetime, timedelta

>>> meeting_time = datetime(2025, 6, 19, 15, 0, 0)
>>> reminder_time = meeting_time - timedelta(minutes=30)
>>> reminder_time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
'2025-06-19 14:30:00'

In this example, you use the datetime module to calculate the reminder time, ensuring that the meeting notification is sent 30 minutes before.

Tutorial

Using Python datetime to Work With Dates and Times

Have you ever wondered about working with dates and times in Python? In this tutorial, you'll learn all about the built-in Python datetime library. You'll also learn about how to manage time zones and daylight saving time, and how to do accurate arithmetic on dates and times.

intermediate

For additional information on related topics, take a look at the following resources: