Python datetime Module Overview

The datetime module helps you work with dates, times, and time differences in Python.

It is part of the Python standard library, so you do not need to install anything extra. Beginners often use it to get the current date, create a specific date, format a date as text, or add a number of days to a date.

Quick example

from datetime import datetime, date, time, timedelta

now = datetime.now()
today = date.today()
meeting = time(14, 30)
one_week = timedelta(days=7)

print(now)
print(today)
print(meeting)
print(now + one_week)

What this code does:

datetime.now() gets the current date and time
date.today() gets today's date
time(14, 30) creates a time value for 2:30 PM
timedelta(days=7) represents 7 days
now + one_week gives the date and time one week from now

Example output:

2026-04-22 10:15:30.123456
2026-04-22
14:30:00
2026-04-29 10:15:30.123456

Use this as a quick example of the most common datetime module objects.

What the datetime module is for

You use the datetime module when your program needs to work with:

Dates
Times
Dates and times together
Time differences
Converting between date objects and strings

Common uses include:

Getting the current date and time
Creating a birthday or deadline
Adding 7 days to a date
Showing a date in a readable format
Reading a date from user input

Main objects in the datetime module

The datetime module contains several useful classes.

`date`

A date stores:

Year
Month
Day

Example:

from datetime import date

d = date(2026, 4, 22)
print(d)

Output:

2026-04-22

Use date when you only care about the calendar date.

`time`

A time stores:

Hour
Minute
Second
Smaller units like microseconds if needed

Example:

from datetime import time

t = time(14, 30)
print(t)

Output:

14:30:00

Use time when you only need a clock time.

`datetime`

A datetime stores both:

Date
Time

Example:

from datetime import datetime

dt = datetime(2026, 4, 22, 14, 30)
print(dt)

Output:

2026-04-22 14:30:00

Use datetime when you need the full date and time together.

If you want the current date and time, see datetime.now() explained.

`timedelta`

A timedelta stores a length of time.

You can use it to add or subtract:

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds

Example:

from datetime import datetime, timedelta

now = datetime.now()
later = now + timedelta(days=3)

print(now)
print(later)

Use timedelta when you want to move forward or backward in time.

`timezone`

A timezone object helps represent time zone information.

For beginners, it is enough to know that time zones exist and can matter when you work with users in different places.

This page does not go deep into time zone handling.

When to use each object

Here is a simple guide:

Use date when you only need a calendar date
Use time when you only need a clock time
Use datetime when you need both date and time
Use timedelta to add or subtract days, hours, or seconds
Leave deeper time zone handling for dedicated pages

Examples:

from datetime import date, time, datetime, timedelta

birthday = date(2026, 9, 10)
alarm_time = time(7, 0)
appointment = datetime(2026, 9, 10, 15, 45)
next_week = appointment + timedelta(days=7)

print(birthday)
print(alarm_time)
print(appointment)
print(next_week)

Common beginner tasks

These are some of the most common things beginners do with datetime.

Get the current date with `date.today()`

from datetime import date

today = date.today()
print(today)

Get the current date and time with `datetime.now()`

from datetime import datetime

now = datetime.now()
print(now)

For a focused explanation, see datetime.now() explained.

Format a datetime as text with `strftime()`

strftime() turns a date or datetime object into a string.

from datetime import datetime

now = datetime.now()
formatted = now.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M")

print(formatted)

Possible output:

2026-04-22 10:15

If you want to learn format codes step by step, see datetime.strftime() explained.

Parse text into a datetime with `strptime()`

strptime() turns a string into a datetime object.

from datetime import datetime

text = "2026-04-22 14:30"
dt = datetime.strptime(text, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M")

print(dt)

Output:

2026-04-22 14:30:00

For more examples, see datetime.strptime() explained.

Add days with `timedelta(days=...)`

from datetime import date, timedelta

today = date.today()
future_date = today + timedelta(days=10)

print(today)
print(future_date)

How importing works

This is one of the biggest beginner confusion points.

`import datetime`

This imports the whole module.

import datetime

print(datetime.date.today())
print(datetime.datetime.now())

Here, you must use the module name first:

datetime.date
datetime.datetime
datetime.timedelta

`from datetime import datetime`

This imports only the datetime class.

from datetime import datetime

print(datetime.now())

Now datetime refers to the class, not the module.

Why this confuses beginners

The module is named datetime, and one class inside it is also named datetime.

That means these two lines do different things:

import datetime

from datetime import datetime

If you mix them up, you may get an error such as an AttributeError. If that happens, see how to fix "module has no attribute".

A quick way to remember it:

import datetime → use datetime.datetime.now()
from datetime import datetime → use datetime.now()

What this page does not cover in depth

This overview does not go deep into:

Detailed formatting codes
Advanced time zone handling
Date arithmetic edge cases
Third-party libraries like pandas or dateutil

This page is meant to help you understand the main pieces of the module first.

Common mistakes

These are some common beginner problems when using datetime.

Confusing the `datetime` module with the `datetime` class

This is very common:

import datetime

print(datetime.now())

This causes a problem because now() belongs to the datetime class, not directly to the module.

Correct versions:

import datetime

print(datetime.datetime.now())

or:

from datetime import datetime

print(datetime.now())

Using `strptime()` with the wrong format string

If the text and the format do not match, Python raises an error.

from datetime import datetime

text = "22/04/2026"
dt = datetime.strptime(text, "%Y-%m-%d")

This fails because the string uses / and day-first order, but the format expects year-month-day.

Correct version:

from datetime import datetime

text = "22/04/2026"
dt = datetime.strptime(text, "%d/%m/%Y")
print(dt)

Trying to add a string directly to a `datetime` object

This does not work:

from datetime import datetime

now = datetime.now()
# print(now + "7 days")

You must use timedelta instead:

from datetime import datetime, timedelta

now = datetime.now()
result = now + timedelta(days=7)
print(result)

Expecting `date` objects to have time values

A date only stores:

Year
Month
Day

It does not store hours or minutes.

from datetime import date

today = date.today()
print(today)

If you need the time too, use datetime.

Forgetting that months and days must be valid numbers

This will fail:

from datetime import date

# bad_date = date(2026, 13, 40)

Month must be from 1 to 12, and day must be valid for that month.

If you see value conversion problems in other code, you may also need to check your input first. A related beginner error is invalid literal for int() with base 10.

FAQ

What is the difference between date and datetime in Python?

date stores only year, month, and day. datetime stores both the date and the time.

Why does Python have both datetime the module and datetime the class?

The module contains several classes. One of those classes is also named datetime.

How do I get the current date and time?

Use datetime.now() after importing the datetime class from the datetime module.

from datetime import datetime

print(datetime.now())

How do I turn a datetime into a string?

Use strftime() to format it as text.

from datetime import datetime

now = datetime.now()
print(now.strftime("%Y-%m-%d"))

How do I turn a string into a datetime?

Use strptime() with a matching format pattern.

from datetime import datetime

text = "2026-04-22"
dt = datetime.strptime(text, "%Y-%m-%d")
print(dt)