How to Get Timestamp in Python: Simple Guide

In Python, you can get the current timestamp using time.time() which returns the time in seconds since January 1, 1970. Alternatively, use datetime.datetime.now().timestamp() for a datetime object’s timestamp.

Syntax

There are two common ways to get a timestamp in Python:

• time.time(): Returns the current time in seconds as a floating-point number since the Unix epoch (January 1, 1970).
• datetime.datetime.now().timestamp(): Returns the timestamp of the current local datetime as a float.

python

import time
import datetime

# Using time module
current_time = time.time()

# Using datetime module
current_datetime = datetime.datetime.now()
timestamp = current_datetime.timestamp()

Example

This example shows how to get the current timestamp using both time and datetime modules and prints them.

python

import time
import datetime

# Get timestamp using time module
timestamp_time = time.time()
print(f"Timestamp using time.time(): {timestamp_time}")

# Get timestamp using datetime module
timestamp_datetime = datetime.datetime.now().timestamp()
print(f"Timestamp using datetime.datetime.now().timestamp(): {timestamp_datetime}")

Output

Timestamp using time.time(): 1700864987.123456
Timestamp using datetime.datetime.now().timestamp(): 1700864987.123456

Common Pitfalls

One common mistake is to expect time.time() or datetime.timestamp() to return an integer. They return a float including fractions of a second.

Also, datetime.timestamp() returns the timestamp in local time, so beware of timezone differences if you compare it with UTC timestamps.

python

import datetime

# Wrong: expecting integer timestamp
timestamp = int(datetime.datetime.now().timestamp())
print(f"Integer timestamp (seconds only): {timestamp}")

# Right: keep float for precision
timestamp_precise = datetime.datetime.now().timestamp()
print(f"Precise timestamp (float): {timestamp_precise}")

Output

Integer timestamp (seconds only): 1700864987
Precise timestamp (float): 1700864987.123456

Quick Reference

Method	Description	Returns
time.time()	Current time in seconds since Unix epoch	float (seconds)
datetime.datetime.now().timestamp()	Timestamp of current local datetime	float (seconds)

Key Takeaways

Use time.time() to get the current timestamp as seconds since 1970-01-01 UTC.

datetime.datetime.now().timestamp() gives the timestamp of the current local time.

Timestamps are floats including fractions of a second for precision.

Be careful with timezones when using datetime timestamps.

Keep timestamps as floats unless you specifically need whole seconds.