Converting unix timestamp (length 13) string to readable date in Python

Question

i am tring to convert this unix timestamp 1491613677888 to readable date. found here (stackoverflow) that python script:

import datetime
print(
    datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(
    int("1284101485")
    ).strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
)

but when i put my timestamp there, i got that error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
OSError: [Errno 22] Invalid argument

now i see that the timestamp that i am using is 3 chars longer. i checked it on this link: http://www.unixtimestamp.com/index.php

and saw that its get the time out of it. how can i do it using python? (i am using python 3.4)

Where did you get the final 888 in your timestamp? The first part 1491613677 is 2017-04-08T01:07:57+00:00, which is probably what you wanted. With it, your code works perfectly. — Thierry Lathuille
– Thierry Lathuille, Commented Apr 10, 2017 at 8:47
Did you get it from some function that outputs it in milliseconds? — Thierry Lathuille
– Thierry Lathuille, Commented Apr 10, 2017 at 8:48
When I use int("1284101485888") on Python 2 I get ValueError: year is out of range, on Python 3.6 I get 42661-07-22 17:11:28. — cdarke
– cdarke, Commented Apr 10, 2017 at 8:49
regarding to @ThierryLathuille comment. yes, i need the milliseconds. how can i use it in python 3.4? — Gil Hadad
– Gil Hadad, Commented Apr 10, 2017 at 13:30

Thierry Lathuille · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-10 14:43:29Z

Your timestamp is not the 'classical' Unix timestamp (number of seconds since Jan 1st, 1970), as it is expressed in milliseconds.

You can translate it like this:

import datetime

timestamp_with_ms = 1491613677888

# We separate the 'ordinary' timestamp and the milliseconds
timestamp, ms = divmod(timestamp_with_ms, 1000)
#1491613677 888

# We create the datetime from the timestamp, we must add the 
# milliseconds separately
dt = datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(timestamp) + datetime.timedelta(milliseconds=ms)


formatted_time = dt.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%f')[:-3]
# With Python 3.6, you could use:
# formatted_time = dt.isoformat(sep=' ', timespec='milliseconds')

print(formatted_time)
# 2017-04-08 03:07:57.888

Edit: I hadn't noticed that fromtimestamp accepts a float. So, we can simply do:

import datetime
timestamp_with_ms = 1491613677888

dt = datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(timestamp_with_ms / 1000)

formatted_time = dt.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%f')[:-3]
# With Python 3.6, you could use:
# formatted_time = dt.isoformat(sep=' ', timespec='milliseconds')

print(formatted_time)
# 2017-04-08 03:07:57.888

smassey · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-10 14:07:12Z

2

Your timestamp is 3 characters longer AND is a standard unix timestamp? That would mean your timestamp is at least 40,000 years into the future from today. Otherwise, the last 3 characters may represent something else, like milliseconds but that doesn't explain the error you're seeing.

If they are the milliseconds, and seeing how you're not using them in the format string, I see no harm in simply stripping them.

standard_unix_ts = int("1284101485000"[:-3])

EDIT Taking into account the comment of @cdarke, I'd suggest this instead:

standard_unix_ts = int("1284101485000"[:10])

EDIT 2 Following Gils comment

import datetime

not_unix_ts = "1284101485088"
unix_ts, milliseconds = not_unix_ts[:10], not_unix_ts[10:]
dt = datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(float(unix_ts))
FORMAT_STRING = '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'
print("%s and %s milliseconds" % (dt.strftime(FORMAT_STRING), milliseconds))

edited Apr 10, 2017 at 14:07

answered Apr 10, 2017 at 8:48

smassey

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4 Comments

cdarke Over a year ago

Just a thought, it might be safer to take the first 10 characters rather than stripping the last 3, in case there is a timestamp of the correct length.

smassey Over a year ago

Very valid comment, I entirely agree.

Gil Hadad Over a year ago

in the link that I added, I saw milliseconds - and i need them. that timestamp is part of a key. I need all of it. so how can i get the milliseconds too in python 3.4?

smassey Over a year ago

simply strip them from the string, giving you a real time stamp and the last 3 characters represent your milliseconds. to re-iterate: unix timestamps do not include milliseconds so it's understandable that libraries have problems parsing them. I've my answer to better demonstrate this.

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