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.

Copied!
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.

Copied!
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.

Copied!
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.

Copied!
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.

Copied!
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 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.

Copied!
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