Check if a variable is a Datetime object in Python

# Check if a variable is a datetime object in Python

Use the isinstance built-in function to check if a variable is a datetime object in Python, e.g. if isinstance(today, datetime):.

The isinstance function returns True if the passed-in object is an instance or a subclass of the passed-in class.

main.py

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from datetime import datetime

today = datetime.today()

print(today)

if isinstance(today, datetime):
    # 👇️ this runs
    print('variable is datetime object')
else:
    print('variable is NOT datetime object')

check if variable is datetime object

The code for this article is available on GitHub

The isinstance function returns True if the passed-in object is an instance or a subclass of the passed-in class.

We imported the datetime class from the datetime module.

The datetime class is a subclass of the date class, so make sure you pass the correct second argument to isinstance.

# A `date` object is not an instance of `datetime`

If you create a date object and check if it's an instance of datetime, you would get False back.

main.py

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from datetime import datetime, date

d = date(2022, 9, 24)

if isinstance(d, datetime):
    print('variable is datetime object')
else:
    # 👇️ this runs
    print('variable is NOT datetime object')

date object is not an instance of datetime

The code for this article is available on GitHub

The else block runs because date objects are not an instance of datetime, they are an instance of the date class.

main.py

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from datetime import  date

d = date(2022, 9, 24)

# 👇️ Pass date as second arg to isinstance
if isinstance(d, date):
    # 👇️ this runs
    print('variable is datetime object')
else:
    print('variable is NOT datetime object')

# Using the `is` operator to check if an object is a `datetime` object

You can also use the is operator to check if an object is a datetime object.

main.py

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from datetime import datetime, date

d = date(2022, 9, 24)
print(type(d) is date)  # 👉️ True

today = datetime.today()
print(type(today) is datetime)  # 👉️ True

using is operator to check if object is datetime

The is and is not operators test for an object's identity: x is y is true only if x and y are the same object.

An object's identity is determined using the id function.

x is not y returns the inverse truth value.

The type class returns the type of an object.

main.py

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from datetime import datetime, date

d = date(2022, 9, 24)
print(type(d))  # 👉️ <class 'datetime.date'>

today = datetime.today()
print(type(today))  # 👉️ <class 'datetime.datetime'>

type class returns type of object

The code for this article is available on GitHub

Most commonly the return value is the same as accessing the __class__ attribute on the object.

# Additional Resources

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Check if a variable is a Datetime object in Python