askvity

What is the Format of Datetime Now in Python?

Published in Python Datetime 1 min read

The datetime.now() method in Python returns the current date and time as a datetime object, and its default string representation (when you print it) is in the format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.ffffff.

Here's a breakdown:

  • YYYY: Year (e.g., 2023)
  • MM: Month (e.g., 01 for January, 12 for December)
  • DD: Day (e.g., 01, 31)
  • HH: Hour (24-hour format, e.g., 00 for midnight, 12 for noon, 23 for 11 PM)
  • MM: Minute (e.g., 00, 59)
  • SS: Second (e.g., 00, 59)
  • ffffff: Microseconds (six digits, e.g., 000000, 999999)

Example:

import datetime

now = datetime.datetime.now()
print(now)

Output (will vary based on the current date and time):

2023-10-27 10:30:45.123456

You can customize the format using the strftime() method.

Example of Customized Formatting:

import datetime

now = datetime.datetime.now()
formatted_date = now.strftime("%m/%d/%Y, %H:%M:%S")
print(formatted_date)

Possible Output:

10/27/2023, 10:30:45

In summary, while the default format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.ffffff, you can adjust the output format to your specific needs using strftime().

Related Articles