Of course! In Python, there are two primary ways to get the current time, depending on whether you need the date and time together or just the time.

Here’s a complete guide, starting with the most common and recommended method.

The Best Way: Using the datetime Module

The datetime module is the standard, most flexible, and recommended way to handle dates and times in Python. It provides a datetime class that represents both date and time.

Getting the Current Date and Time

To get the current local date and time, you use datetime.now().

from datetime import datetime
# Get the current date and time
now = datetime.now()
# Print the full object
print(now)
# Example Output: 2025-10-27 15:30:55.123456
# You can access individual components
print(f"Year: {now.year}")
print(f"Month: {now.month}")
print(f"Day: {now.day}")
print(f"Hour: {now.hour}")
print(f"Minute: {now.minute}")
print(f"Second: {now.second}")
print(f"Microsecond: {now.microsecond}")

Formatting the Output (Creating a String)

Often, you'll want to display the time in a specific format (e.g., MM/DD/YYYY or HH:MM:SS). You do this with the .strftime() method (string format time).

Examples:

from datetime import datetime
now = datetime.now()
# Common format: MM/DD/YYYY
format1 = now.strftime("%m/%d/%Y")
print(f"Format 1: {format1}")
# Example Output: Format 1: 10/27/2025
# ISO 8601 format (good for sorting)
format2 = now.strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S")
print(f"Format 2: {format2}")
# Example Output: Format 2: 2025-10-27T15:30:55
# Human-readable format
format3 = now.strftime("%B %d, %Y at %I:%M %p")
print(f"Format 3: {format3}")
# Example Output: Format 3: October 27, 2025 at 03:30 PM

Getting Only the Current Time

If you don't need the date, it's more efficient to use the time module. It provides a time class specifically for time of day.

from time import time
# Get the current time (without date)
current_time = time()
# This returns a floating-point number of seconds since the "epoch"
# (January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC). It's not very user-friendly on its own.
print(current_time)
# Example Output: 1698388255.123456
# To format it, you still use the .strftime() method, but you must create
# a time object first.
from time import localtime
# Get the time in a struct_time object
time_struct = localtime()
# Format the struct_time object
formatted_time = time_struct.strftime("%H:%M:%S")
print(f"Formatted Time: {formatted_time}")
# Example Output: Formatted Time: 15:30:55

Summary: Which One Should You Use?

Quick Reference Cheat Sheet

# Import the necessary modules
from datetime import datetime, date, time, timedelta
import time
# 1. Get current date and time (most common)
now = datetime.now()
print(f"Full Date & Time: {now}")
# 2. Get current date only
today = date.today()
print(f"Date Only: {today}")
# 3. Get current time only
current_time_obj = time(now.hour, now.minute, now.second)
print(f"Time Only: {current_time_obj}")
# 4. Format the current time
formatted_date = now.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
print(f"Formatted (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS): {formatted_date}")
# 5. Get time since epoch (useful for system-level timing)
timestamp = time.time()
print(f"Timestamp (seconds since epoch): {timestamp}")
# 6. Get current time in UTC
utc_now = datetime.utcnow()
print(f"UTC Time: {utc_now}")
# 7. Perform time calculations (e.g., add 10 days)
future_date = now + timedelta(days=10)
print(f"Date in 10 days: {future_date}")