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Python strftime function Formatting Cheat Sheet

A quick and easy reference to various formatting options using the strftime function in Python

2 min read
Python strftime function Formatting Cheat Sheet
Format Syntax Example Result Representation
%a Fri Weekday as locale’s abbreviated name.
%A Friday Weekday as a locale’s full name.
%w 5 Weekday as a decimal value, with 0 being Sunday and 6 being Saturday.
%d 07 Day of the month as a zero-padded decimal number.
%-d 7 Day of the month as a decimal number
%b Jan Month as locale’s abbreviated name.
%B January Month as locale’s full name.
%m 01 Month as a zero-padded decimal number.
%-m 1 Month as a decimal number. (Platform specific)
%y 22 Year without century as a zero-padded decimal number.
%Y 2022 Year with century as a decimal number.
%H 08 Hour (24-hour clock) as a zero-padded decimal number.
%-H 8 Hour (24-hour clock) as a decimal number. (Platform specific)
%I 07 Hour (12-hour clock) as a zero-padded decimal number.
%-I 7 Hour (12-hour clock) as a decimal number. (Platform specific)
%p AM Locale’s equivalent of either AM or PM.
%M 01 Minute as a zero-padded decimal number.
%-M 1 Minute as a decimal number. (Platform specific)
%S 01 Second as a zero-padded decimal number.
%-S 1 Second as a decimal number. (Platform specific)
%f 000000 Microsecond as a decimal number, zero-padded on the left.
%z +0000 UTC offset in the form ±HHMM[SS[.ffffff]] (empty string if the object is naive).
%Z UTC Time zone name (empty string if the object is naive).
%j 251 Day of the year as a zero-padded decimal number.
%-j 251 Day of the year as a decimal number. (Platform specific)
%U 36 Week number of the year (Sunday as the first day of the week) as a zero-padded decimal number. All days in a new year preceding the first Sunday are considered in week 0.
%W 35 Week number of the year (Monday as the first day of the week) as a decimal number. All days in a new year preceding the first Monday are considered to be in week 0.
%c Friday January 7 08:07:01 2022 Locale’s appropriate date and time representation.
%x 01/07/22 Locale’s appropriate date representation.
%X 08:07:01 Locale’s appropriate time representation.
%% % A literal '%' character.

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