strptime does not understand difference betwen 12:30 AM and 12:30 PM

February 23, 2022

Below are 2 datetime strings with AM/PM. The AM containing string returns the exact same datetime object value as the PM containing string. What am I doing wrong?

from datetime import datetime
format   ='%d %b %y %H:%M %p'

date_str ='23 Feb 22 12:57 PM'
print(datetime.strptime(date_str, format))
# 2022-02-23 12:57:00

date_str ='23 Feb 22 12:57 AM'
print(datetime.strptime(date_str, format))
# 2022-02-23 12:57:00

>Solution :

Per https://docs.python.org/3/library/datetime.html#strftime-and-strptime-behavior

When used with the strptime() method, the %p directive only affects the output hour field if the %I directive is used to parse the hour.


>>> format   ='%d %b %y %I:%M %p'
>>> date_str ='23 Feb 22 12:57 AM'
>>> print(datetime.strptime(date_str, format))
2022-02-23 00:57:00

>>> date_str ='23 Feb 22 12:57 PM'
>>> print(datetime.strptime(date_str, format))
2022-02-23 12:57:00