To get the current time in Python:
- Import datetime from datetime module.
- Call datetime.now to get the current date.
- Format the date to only show hours, minutes, and seconds.
For example, here is a simple piece of code to get the current time:
from datetime import datetime now = datetime.now().strftime("%H:%M:%S") print(f"The time is {now}")
This displays the current time in HH:MM:SS format:
The time is 14:42:24
In this guide, you will learn how to get the current time in different formats and contexts in Python.
Current Time in Python
Milliseconds
Milliseconds means one-thousandth (1/1000) of a second.
To get the current time in milliseconds in Python:
- Import time module.
- Get the current epoch time.
- Multiply the current epoch time by 1000.
For instance:
import time t = time.time() t_ms = int(t * 1000) print(f"The current time in milliseconds: {t_ms}")
Output:
The current time in milliseconds: 1635249073607
Seconds
To get the current time in seconds in Python:
- Import time module.
- Get the current epoch time.
- Convert the epoch time to an integer.
For example:
import time t = time.time() t_s = int(t) print(f"The current time in seconds: {t_s}")
Output:
The current time in seconds: 1635249118
Local Date and Time
To get the current local date and time in Python:
- Import the datetime class from the datetime module.
- Ask for the current time by datetime.now().
For instance:
from datetime import datetime now = datetime.now() print(f"The timestamp is {now}")
Output:
The timestamp is 2021-10-26 14:53:37.807390
Current Timezone
To get the current local timezone in Python:
- Import the datetime class from the datetime module.
- Get the current time.
- Convert the current time to time that stores timezone information.
- Get your local timezone from the timezone information.
For example:
from datetime import datetime now = datetime.now() now_with_tz = now.astimezone() my_timezone = now_with_tz.tzinfo print(my_timezone)
I am at the Eastern European Summer Time, so I get:
EEST
Or as a shorthand:
from datetime import datetime print(datetime.now().astimezone().tzinfo)
Output:
EEST
Current Epoch/Unix Timestamp
The epoch time / UNIX time refers to how many seconds have passed since Jan 1st, 1970.
To get the current epoch/UNIX timestamp in Python:
- Import the time module.
- Call the time.time() function.
For example:
import time t_epoch = time.time() print(f"The epoch time is now: {t_epoch}")
Output:
The epoch time is now: 1635251715.9572039
UTC Time
To get the current time in UTC time format in Python:
- Import datetime and timezone from the datetime module.
- Get the current time in UTC timezone.
For example:
from datetime import datetime, timezone now = datetime.now(timezone.utc) print(f"Current UTC Time: {now}")
Output:
Current UTC Time: 2021-10-26 12:01:54.888681+00:00
ISO Time
The ISO 8601 (International Organization for Standardization) is a standard way to express time.
The ISO 8601 follows the format T[hh]:[mm]:[ss].
To get the current time in ISO format in Python:
- Import the datetime class from the datetime module.
- Convert current time to ISO format.
For example:
from datetime import datetime ISO_time = datetime.now().isoformat() print(f"Current DateTime in ISO: {ISO_time}")
Output:
Current DateTime in ISO: 2021-10-26T15:02:36.635934
GMT Time
The GMT or Greenwich Mean Time is the solar time observed in Greenwich, London.
To get the current GMT time in Python:
- Import gmttime, strftime and the time modules.
- Get the GMT time with time.gmttime() function.
- Format the time.
For instance:
from time import gmtime, strftime import time now_GMT = time.strftime("%a, %d %b %Y %I:%M:%S %p %Z", time.gmtime()) print("GMT time is now: " + now_GMT)
Output:
GMT time is now: Tue, 26 Oct 2021 12:10:09 PM UTC
Years, Months, Days, Hours, Minutes, and Seconds
To extract years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds in Python:
- Import the datetime class from the datetime module.
- Get the current date object.
- Pull the time components from the current date object.
For instance:
from datetime import datetime now = datetime.now() print(f"Year: {now.year}") print(f"Month: {now.month}") print(f"Day: {now.day}") print(f"Hour: {now.hour}") print(f"Minute: {now.minute}") print(f"Second: {now.second}")
Output:
Year: 2021 Month: 10 Day: 26 Hour: 15 Minute: 13 Second: 48
Conclusion
Today you learned how to get the current time in Python in different situations, timezones, and formats.
Thanks for reading. I hope you found what you were looking for.
Happy coding!