How to Convert String to Datetime in Python

To convert a string to a datetime object in Python, you can use the “datetime.strptime()” method from the datetime module. The strptime() method takes an argument where you may provide date_string and format and returns the string representation of the​ date/time to a datetime object.

Syntax

datetime.strptime(date_string, format)

Parameters

1. date_string: It is a date string.
2. format: It is an output format for datetime.

Example 1: Using the strptime() method

from datetime import datetime

dt_str = '27/10/20 05:23:20'

dt_obj = datetime.strptime(dt_str, '%d/%m/%y %H:%M:%S')

print("The type of the date is now", type(dt_obj))
print("The date is", dt_obj)

Output

The type of the date is now <class 'datetime.datetime'>
The date is 2020-10-27 05:23:20

The datetime.strptime() is a general method for parsing strings into datetimes. It can handle all sorts of formats, with the format defined by the format string you give.

Example 2: Converting string to datetime using dateutil

The dateutil library provides a parser that can be used to convert strings to datetime objects. The dateutil.parser.parse() function takes a string representing a date and time and returns a datetime object.

The dateutil can be installed from PyPI using the pip package manager.

Import the dateutil package and use the parser module to convert the string to datetime.

from dateutil import parser

dt_str = '27/10/20 05:23:20'

dt_obj = parser.parse(dt_str)

print("The type of the date is now", type(dt_obj))
print("The date is", dt_obj)

Output

The type of the date is now <class 'datetime.datetime'>
The date is 2020-10-27 05:23:20

Example 3: Converting a String to various datetime objects

Example 3.1: Converting a String to datetime.datetime() Object

Use the datetime.strptime() method to convert a string to datetime.datetime() object in Python.

from datetime import datetime

date_string = "2023-01-20 19:27:56"
datetime_object = datetime.strptime(date_string, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
print(datetime_object)

Output

2023-01-20 19:27:56

Example 3.2: Converting a String to datetime.date() Object

To convert a string to datetime.date() object, use the datetime.strptime() method and apply the .date() function on a result of the .strptime() function.

from datetime import datetime

date_string = "2023-01-20"
date_object = datetime.strptime(date_string, "%Y-%m-%d").date()
print(date_object)

Output

2023-01-20

Example 3.3: Converting a String to datetime.time() Object

To convert a string to datetime.time() object, use the datetime.strptime() method and apply the .time() function on a result of the .strptime() function.

from datetime import datetime

time_string = "19:39:50"
time_object = datetime.strptime(time_string, "%H:%M:%S").time()
print(time_object)

Output

19:39:50

Example 3.4: Converting String to datetime.datetime() Object with Locale

To set a locale in Python, import the locale package in your program and then use the locale.setlocale() method to set the locale.

import locale
from datetime import datetime

locale.setlocale(locale.LC_ALL, 'es_ES')
date_str_es = '27-Octubre-2020' # es_ES locale
datetime_object = datetime.strptime(date_str_es, '%d-%B-%Y')
print(datetime_object)

Output

2020-10-27 00:00:00

That’s it.

Related posts

Python datetime to string

Python Date Format

Krunal

Krunal Lathiya is a seasoned Computer Science expert with over eight years in the tech industry. He boasts deep knowledge in Data Science and Machine Learning. Versed in Python, JavaScript, PHP, R, and Golang. Skilled in frameworks like Angular and React and platforms such as Node.js. His expertise spans both front-end and back-end development. His proficiency in the Python language stands as a testament to his versatility and commitment to the craft.