How to add Seconds to Datetime in Python

# Add seconds to datetime in Python

Use the timedelta() class from the datetime module to add seconds to datetime.

The timedelta class can be passed a seconds argument and adds the specified number of seconds to the datetime object.

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from datetime import datetime, timedelta

# ✅ Add seconds to a datetime object
dt = datetime(2023, 9, 24, 9, 30, 35)
print(dt)  # 👉️ 2023-09-24 09:30:35

result = dt + timedelta(seconds=24)
print(result)  # 👉️ 2023-09-24 09:30:59

# ------------------------------

# ✅ Add seconds to the current time

now = datetime.today()
print(now)  # 👉️ 2023-07-20 17:40:43.310804

result = now + timedelta(seconds=15)
print(result)  # 👉️ 2023-07-20 17:40:58.310804

Make sure to import the datetime and timedelta classes from the datetime module.

The first example uses the datetime class to create a datetime object.

We passed values for the year, month, day, hour, minute and second arguments.

Once we have a datetime object, we can use the timedelta class to add seconds to it.

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from datetime import datetime, timedelta

# ✅ Add seconds to datetime
dt = datetime(2023, 9, 24, 9, 30, 35)
print(dt)  # 👉️ 2023-09-24 09:30:35

result = dt + timedelta(seconds=24)
print(result)  # 👉️ 2023-09-24 09:30:59

The code sample adds 24 seconds to the datetime object.

# Adding seconds to the current time

If you need to add seconds to the current time, use the datetime.today() method to get a datetime object that stores the current date and time.

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from datetime import datetime, timedelta


now = datetime.today()
print(now)  # 👉️ 2023-07-20 17:42:19.347301

result = now + timedelta(seconds=15)
print(result)  # 👉️ 2023-07-20 17:42:34.347301

The datetime.today() method returns the current local datetime.

This wouldn't be possible if we only had the time component. For example, 11:59:30PM + 50 seconds would raise an exception.

# Add seconds to a datetime object using datetime.combine

If you only have the time component, use the datetime.combine method to combine the time with the current (or some other) date and get a datetime object.

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from datetime import datetime, date, timedelta, time

t = time(9, 30, 13)
print(t)  # 👉️ 09:30:13

result = datetime.combine(date.today(), t) + timedelta(seconds=27)
print(result)  # 👉️ 2023-07-20 09:30:40

only_t = result.time()
print(only_t)  # 👉️ 09:30:40

The datetime.combine method takes a date and time as arguments and returns a new datetime object by combining them.

Once we get a datetime object, we can use the timedelta class to add seconds to it.

# Extracting the time after the operation

Use the time() method on the datetime object if you only need to extract the time after the operation.

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from datetime import datetime, date, timedelta, time

t = time(9, 30, 13)
print(t)  # 👉️ 09:30:13

result = datetime.combine(date.today(), t) + timedelta(seconds=27)
print(result)  # 👉️ 2023-07-20 09:30:40

# ✅ Only get the updated time
only_t = result.time()
print(only_t)  # 👉️ 09:30:40

The datetime.time() method returns a time object with the same hour, minute, second and millisecond.

# Formatting the time as HH:MM:SS

If you need to get the time formatted as HH:MM:SS, use a formatted string literal.

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from datetime import datetime, timedelta

now = datetime.now()
print(now)  # 👉️ 2023-07-20 17:47:28.100856

result = now + timedelta(seconds=10)
print(result)  # 👉️ 2023-07-20 17:47:38.100856

print(result.time())  # 👉️ 17:47:38.100856

print(f'{result:%H:%M:%S}')  # 👉️ 17:47:38

Formatted string literals (f-strings) let us include expressions inside of a string by prefixing the string with f.

Make sure to wrap expressions in curly braces - {expression}.

Formatted string literals also enable us to use the format specification mini-language in expression blocks.

# Additional Resources

You can learn more about the related topics by checking out the following tutorials:

• How to Add year(s) to a date in Python
• How to add Days or Weeks to a Date in Python
• How to add Hours to Datetime in Python
• How to add Milliseconds to Datetime in Python
• How to add Minutes to Datetime in Python
• How to add Months to a Date in Python
• How to format datetime or time as AM/PM in Python