Convert Epoch Time to datetime Object & Vice Versa in Python (Example)

On this page, you’ll learn how to convert an epoch time into a datetime object and vice versa in the Python programming language.

This article contains the sections below:

Let’s dive into the Python code!

Example 1: Convert Epoch Time to datetime Object

This example explains how to convert an epoch time into a datetime object.

Consider the following epoch time object:

my_epoch_time1 = 4538142
print(my_epoch_time1)
# 4538142

Next, we have to import the datetime module:

import datetime

To transform this epoch time to a datetime format, we have to specify the epoch time data object as a parameter within the fromtimestamp() function:

my_date_time1 = datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(my_epoch_time1)
print(my_date_time1)
# 1970-02-22 12:35:42

As you can see, we have created a new datetime object containing the date and time that corresponds to our epoch time.

Example 2: Convert datetime Object to Epoch Time

This example explains how to convert a datetime object into an epoch time.

For this example, we first have to create a datetime object:

my_datetime2 = datetime.datetime(1983, 2, 17, 11, 7)
print(my_datetime2)
# 1983-02-17 11:07:00

In the next step, we can apply the timestamp() function to transform our datetime object to an epoch time:

my_epoch_time2 = my_datetime2.timestamp()
print(my_epoch_time2)
# 414324420.0

Video, Further Resources & Summary

Do you need more explanations on how to set the seconds since an epoch time to a datetime object and the other way around in Python? Then you should have a look at the following video of Pretty Printed’s YouTube channel.

The video is about parsing and formatting dates using the strftime() and strptime() functions in Python.

Furthermore, you may have a look at the other Python and datetime tutorials on this website:

• Make Unaware datetime Time Zone Aware in Python
• Convert datetime to Unix Timestamp in Python
• Convert datetime to Different Time Zone
• Convert datetime Object to Local Time Zone
• Python Programming Tutorials

This post has shown how to change an epoch time into a datetime object and vice versa in Python programming. For further questions, you may leave a comment below.