Python epoch to Datetime

In the following tutorial, we will understand the conversion of epoch to DateTime in the Python programming language using some examples. We will use Python epoch in order to convert epoch to date and time, respectively. We will also cover the following topics:

1. Converting DateTime into epoch time
2. Converting epoch into DateTime string
3. Converting epoch into DateTime milliseconds
4. Converting epoch into DateTime timezone
5. Converting Unix epoch into DateTime
6. Converting DateTime into epoch time in milliseconds
7. Converting epoch timestamp to DateTime
8. Python epoch DateTime year is out of range

But before we get started, let us understand epoch time in Python in brief.

What is epoch time in Python?

The epoch time, also known as POSIX time, Unix time, and Unix timestamp, indicates the number of seconds passed since 1st January 1970, excluding the leap seconds. The Unix time contains ten digits and can represent the all-time zone at once.

Converting epoch time into DateTime using Python

We can use the Python datetime.fromtimestamp() function in order to convert the epoch time into DateTime. Let us consider the following example demonstrating the conversion of the Python epoch into DateTime.

Example:

Output:

Given epoch time: 40246871
Converted Datetime: 1971-04-12 01:11:11

Explanation:

In the above example, we have imported the datetime library. We have then defined a variable storing the value of epoch time in terms of seconds. We have then used the datetime.fromtimestamp() function in order to convert the epoch time into DateTime; and later printed the output for the users. As a result, the provided variable is successfully converted into DateTime.

Converting DateTime into epoch time using Python

In order to convert DateTime into epoch time, we will use the timestamp() function. First, let us consider the following example illustrating the conversion of DateTime into epoch time.

Example:

Output:

Converted epoch time: 1623184200.0

Explanation:

In the above example, we have again imported the datetime package. We have then defined a variable that stores the value of epoch time, which is calculated using the timestamp() function for a given datetime and printed the calculated value for the users. As a result, the given datetime has been converted into epoch time successfully.

Converting epoch time into DateTime string using Python

In order to convert the epoch time into datetime string, we need to convert the epoch time into datetime and then pass the resultant datetime variable to the strftime() function to convert it into datetime string successfully.

Example:

Output:

Given epoch time: 700024
Converted datetime string: 1970 - 01 - 09  07 : 57 : 04

Explanation:

In the above example, we have again imported the datetime library. We have then used the datetime.fromtimestamp() function in order to convert a given epoch time into datetime and then pass it to the strftime() function to convert the datetime object into a datetime string. The strftime() function parameters are the format codes in which we wanted to customize the string.

1. %Y designates the year
2. %m designates the month
3. %d designates the day
4. %H designates an hour
5. %M designates the minute
6. %S designates seconds

Converting the epoch time into DateTime milliseconds using Python

We can get the DateTime along with milliseconds from the epoch time using the method we did for the conversion of epoch time into DateTime. Let us consider the following example demonstrating the same.

Example:

Output:

Given epoch time: 402471.238201
Converted Datetime: 1970-01-05 21:17:51.238201

Explanation:

In the above example, we have imported the datetime package and defined a variable storing the value of epoch time in decimals. We have then used the datetime.fromtimestamp() function in order to convert this decimal value into the datetime millisecond format.

Converting epoch time into DateTime time zone using Python

We can use the timezone() function of the pytz package in order to convert epoch time into the DateTime time zone. Let us consider the following example demonstrating the conversion of same.

Example:

Output:

DateTime Time zone: 2021-06-10 09:34:32-05:00

Explanation:

In the above example, we have imported the datetime module from the datetime package in addition to the pytz library. We have then used the timezone() function of the pytz library specifying the parameter as “CST6CDT”. This function returns the current date for the specified time zone. We have then used the localize() function in order to localize the result.

Converting Unix epoch time into DateTime using Python

This process of converting the Unix epoch time into DateTime is similar to what we did earlier. This process involves the datetime.fromtimestamp() function to convert the Unix epoch time into DateTime object and uses the strftime() function to transform the object into the suitable DateTime format.

Let us consider the following example demonstrating the same.

Example:

Output:

Unix epoch time: 252384207
DateTime: 1977 - 12 - 31  08 : 13 : 27

Explanation:

In the above example, we have again imported the datetime library and defined a variable containing the value of Unix epoch time. We have then used the datetime.fromtimestamp() function to convert the Unix epoch time into a DateTime object. We have then used the strftime() function to convert the object into a suitable format string and printed it for the users.

Converting DateTime into epoch time in milliseconds using Python

In order to convert the epoch DateTime into milliseconds, we can use the strptime() function to return the datetime object from the specified string and use the timestamp() function to convert the object into seconds. Moreover, we need to multiply the resultant value by a thousand in order to produce the epoch DateTime in milliseconds.

Let us consider an example demonstrating the same.

Example:

Output:

epoch time in milliseconds: 1623301415720.0

Explanation:

In the above example, we have imported the datetime module from the datetime library. We have then used the strptime() function to convert the DateTime string into the DateTime object. We have then used the timestamp() function to convert the object into the epoch time format. Finally, we have also multiplied the epoch time by a thousand in order to convert it into milliseconds.

Converting epoch timestamp into DateTime using Python

We can use the datetime.fromtimestamp() function to convert the epoch timestamp into DateTime. Here is an example shown below:

Example:

Output:

epoch timestamp: 33456871
DateTime: 1971-01-23 11:04:31

Explanation:

In the above example, we have imported the datetime library and defined a variable storing the value of epoch timestamp. We have then used the datetime.fromtimestamp() function to convert the epoch timestamp into datetime and printed it for the users.

Understanding errors related to epoch datetime in Python

While working with the epoch datetime in the Python programming language, we might encounter an error saying Python epoch datetime year is out of range or Python Invalid Argument.

Let us consider an example in order to understand the problem.

Example:

Output:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "D:/Python/epochpython.py", line 5, in 
    epoch_time = datetime.datetime(1960, 6, 10, 0, 0).timestamp()
OSError: [Errno 22] Invalid argument

Explanation:

In the above example, we have provided the datetime with the year 1960, which is before the year 1970 and out of the timestamp range. Thus, as a result, the program will return an error as an Invalid Argument.

We can fix this Invalid Argument error by replacing the date from 1950 with anything after 1970.