Arrow: better dates and times for Python

What?

Arrow is a Python library that offers a sensible, human-friendly approach to creating, manipulating, formatting and converting dates, times, and timestamps. It implements and updates the datetime type, plugging gaps in functionality, and provides an intelligent module API that supports many common creation scenarios. Simply put, it helps you work with dates and times with fewer imports and a lot less code.

Arrow is heavily inspired by moment.js and requests.

Why?

Python’s standard library and some other low-level modules have near-complete date, time and time zone functionality but don’t work very well from a usability perspective:

• Too many modules: datetime, time, calendar, dateutil, pytz and more
• Too many types: date, time, datetime, tzinfo, timedelta, relativedelta, etc.
• Time zones and timestamp conversions are verbose and unpleasant
• Time zone naivety is the norm
• Gaps in functionality: ISO-8601 parsing, time spans, humanization

Features

• Fully implemented, drop-in replacement for datetime
• Supports Python 2.6, 2.7 and 3.3
• Time zone-aware & UTC by default
• Provides super-simple creation options for many common input scenarios
• Updated .replace method with support for relative offsets, including weeks
• Formats and parses strings, including ISO-8601-formatted strings automatically
• Timezone conversion
• Timestamp available as a property
• Generates time spans, ranges, floors and ceilings in time frames from year to microsecond
• Humanizes and supports a growing list of contributed locales
• Extensible for your own Arrow-derived types

Quickstart

$ pip install arrow

>>> import arrow
>>> utc = arrow.utcnow()
>>> utc
<Arrow [2013-05-11T21:23:58.970460+00:00]>

>>> utc = utc.replace(hours=-1)
>>> utc
<Arrow [2013-05-11T20:23:58.970460+00:00]>

>>> local = utc.to('US/Pacific')
>>> local
<Arrow [2013-05-11T13:23:58.970460-07:00]>

>>> arrow.get('2013-05-11T21:23:58.970460+00:00')
<Arrow [2013-05-11T21:23:58.970460+00:00]>

>>> local.timestamp
1368303838

>>> local.format()
'2013-05-11 13:23:58 -07:00'

>>> local.format('YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss ZZ')
'2013-05-11 13:23:58 -07:00'

>>> local.humanize()
'an hour ago'

>>> local.humanize(locale='ko_kr')
'1시간 전'

User’s Guide

Creation

Get ‘now’ easily:

>>> arrow.utcnow()
<Arrow [2013-05-07T04:20:39.369271+00:00]>

>>> arrow.now()
<Arrow [2013-05-06T21:20:40.841085-07:00]>

>>> arrow.now('US/Pacific')
<Arrow [2013-05-06T21:20:44.761511-07:00]>

Create from timestamps (ints or floats, or strings that convert to a float):

>>> arrow.get(1367900664)
<Arrow [2013-05-07T04:24:24+00:00]>

>>> arrow.get('1367900664')
<Arrow [2013-05-07T04:24:24+00:00]>

>>> arrow.get(1367900664.152325)
<Arrow [2013-05-07T04:24:24.152325+00:00]>

>>> arrow.get('1367900664.152325')
<Arrow [2013-05-07T04:24:24.152325+00:00]>

Use a naive or timezone-aware datetime, or flexibly specify a time zone:

>>> arrow.get(datetime.utcnow())
<Arrow [2013-05-07T04:24:24.152325+00:00]>

>>> arrow.get(datetime.now(), 'US/Pacific')
<Arrow [2013-05-06T21:24:32.736373-07:00]>

>>> from dateutil import tz
>>> arrow.get(datetime.now(), tz.gettz('US/Pacific'))
<Arrow [2013-05-06T21:24:41.129262-07:00]>

>>> arrow.get(datetime.now(tz.gettz('US/Pacific')))
<Arrow [2013-05-06T21:24:49.552236-07:00]>

Parse from a string:

>>> arrow.get('2013-05-05 12:30:45', 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss')
<Arrow [2013-05-05T12:30:45+00:00]>

Many ISO-8601 compliant strings are recognized and parsed without a format string:

>>> arrow.get('2013-09-30T15:34:00.000-07:00')
<Arrow [2013-09-30T15:34:00-07:00]>

Arrow objects can be instantiated directly too, with the same arguments as a datetime:

>>> arrow.get(2013, 5, 5)
<Arrow [2013-05-05T00:00:00+00:00]>

>>> arrow.Arrow(2013, 5, 5)
<Arrow [2013-05-05T00:00:00+00:00]>

Properties

Get a datetime or timestamp representation:

>>> a = arrow.utcnow()
>>> a.datetime
datetime.datetime(2013, 5, 7, 4, 38, 15, 447644, tzinfo=tzutc())

>>> a.timestamp
1367901495

Get a naive datetime, and tzinfo:

>>> a.naive
datetime.datetime(2013, 5, 7, 4, 38, 15, 447644)

>>> a.tzinfo
tzutc()

Get any datetime value:

>>> a.year
2013

Call datetime functions that return properties:

>>> a.date()
datetime.date(2013, 5, 7)

>>> a.time()
datetime.time(4, 38, 15, 447644)

Replace & shift

Get a new Arrow object, with altered attributes, just as you would with a datetime:

>>> arw = arrow.utcnow()
>>> arw
<Arrow [2013-05-12T03:29:35.334214+00:00]>

>>> arw.replace(hour=4, minute=40)
<Arrow [2013-05-12T04:40:35.334214+00:00]>

Or, get one with attributes shifted forward or backward:

>>> arw.replace(weeks=+3)
<Arrow [2013-06-02T03:29:35.334214+00:00]>

Format

>>> arrow.utcnow().format('YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss ZZ')
'2013-05-07 05:23:16 -00:00'

Convert

Convert to timezones by name or tzinfo:

>>> utc = arrow.utcnow()
>>> utc
<Arrow [2013-05-07T05:24:11.823627+00:00]>

>>> utc.to('US/Pacific')
<Arrow [2013-05-06T22:24:11.823627-07:00]>

>>> utc.to(tz.gettz('US/Pacific'))
<Arrow [2013-05-06T22:24:11.823627-07:00]>

Or using shorthand:

>>> utc.to('local')
<Arrow [2013-05-06T22:24:11.823627-07:00]>

>>> utc.to('local').to('utc')
<Arrow [2013-05-07T05:24:11.823627+00:00]>

Humanize

Humanize relative to now:

>>> past = arrow.utcnow().replace(hours=-1)
>>> past.humanize()
'an hour ago'

Or another Arrow, or datetime:

>>> present = arrow.utcnow()
>>> future = present.replace(hours=2)
>>> future.humanize(present)
'in 2 hours'

Support for a growing number of locales (see locales.py for supported languages):

>>> future = arrow.utcnow().replace(hours=1)
>>> future.humanize(a, locale='ru')
'через 2 час(а,ов)'

Ranges & spans

Get the time span of any unit:

>>> arrow.utcnow().span('hour')
(<Arrow [2013-05-07T05:00:00+00:00]>, <Arrow [2013-05-07T05:59:59.999999+00:00]>)

Or just get the floor and ceiling:

>>> arrow.utcnow().floor('hour')
<Arrow [2013-05-07T05:00:00+00:00]>

>>> arrow.utcnow().ceil('hour')
<Arrow [2013-05-07T05:59:59.999999+00:00]>

You can also get a range of time spans:

>>> start = datetime(2013, 5, 5, 12, 30)
>>> end = datetime(2013, 5, 5, 17, 15)
>>> for r in arrow.Arrow.span_range('hour', start, end):
...     print r
...
(<Arrow [2013-05-05T12:00:00+00:00]>, <Arrow [2013-05-05T12:59:59.999999+00:00]>)
(<Arrow [2013-05-05T13:00:00+00:00]>, <Arrow [2013-05-05T13:59:59.999999+00:00]>)
(<Arrow [2013-05-05T14:00:00+00:00]>, <Arrow [2013-05-05T14:59:59.999999+00:00]>)
(<Arrow [2013-05-05T15:00:00+00:00]>, <Arrow [2013-05-05T15:59:59.999999+00:00]>)
(<Arrow [2013-05-05T16:00:00+00:00]>, <Arrow [2013-05-05T16:59:59.999999+00:00]>)

Or just iterate over a range of time:

>>> start = datetime(2013, 5, 5, 12, 30)
>>> end = datetime(2013, 5, 5, 17, 15)
>>> for r in arrow.Arrow.range('hour', start, end):
...     print repr(r)
...
<Arrow [2013-05-05T12:30:00+00:00]>
<Arrow [2013-05-05T13:30:00+00:00]>
<Arrow [2013-05-05T14:30:00+00:00]>
<Arrow [2013-05-05T15:30:00+00:00]>
<Arrow [2013-05-05T16:30:00+00:00]>

Factories

Use factories to harness Arrow’s module API for a custom Arrow-derived type. First, derive your type:

>>> class CustomArrow(arrow.Arrow):
...
...     def days_till_xmas(self):
...
...         xmas = arrow.Arrow(self.year, 12, 25)
...
...         if self > xmas:
...             xmas = xmas.replace(years=1)
...
...         return (xmas - self).days

Then get and use a factory for it:

>>> factory = arrow.Factory(CustomArrow)
>>> custom = factory.utcnow()
>>> custom
>>> <CustomArrow [2013-05-27T23:35:35.533160+00:00]>

>>> custom.days_till_xmas()
>>> 211

Tokens

Use the following tokens in parsing and formatting:

	Token	Output
Year	YYYY	2000, 2001, 2002 ... 2012, 2013
	YY	00, 01, 02 ... 12, 13
Month	MMMM	January, February, March ...
	MMM	Jan, Feb, Mar ...
	MM	01, 02, 03 ... 11, 12
	M	1, 2, 3 ... 11, 12
Day of Year	DDDD	001, 002, 003 ... 364, 365
	DDD	1, 2, 3 ... 4, 5
Day of Month	DD	01, 02, 03 ... 30, 31
	D	1, 2, 3 ... 30, 31
Day of Week	dddd	Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday ...
	ddd	Mon, Tue, Wed ...
	d	1, 2, 3 ... 6, 7
Hour	HH	00, 01, 02 ... 23, 24
	H	0, 1, 2 ... 23, 24
	hh	01, 02, 03 ... 11, 12
	h	1, 2, 3 ... 11, 12
AM / PM	A	AM, PM
	a	am, pm
Minute	mm	00, 01, 02 ... 58, 59
	m	0, 1, 2 ... 58, 59
Second	ss	00, 01, 02 ... 58, 59
	s	0, 1, 2 ... 58, 59
Sub-second	SSS	000, 001, 002 ... 998, 999
	SS	00, 01, 02 ... 98, 99
	S	0, 1, 2 ... 8, 9
Timezone	ZZ	-07:00, -06:00 ... +06:00, +07:00
	Z	-0700, -0600 ... +0600, +0700
Timestamp	X	1381685817

API Guide

arrow.arrow

Provides the Arrow class, an enhanced datetime replacement.

class arrow.arrow.Arrow(year, month, day, hour=0, minute=0, second=0, microsecond=0, tzinfo=None)

An Arrow object.

Implements the datetime interface, behaving as an aware datetime while implementing additional functionality.

Parameters:

• year – the calendar year.
• month – the calendar month.
• day – the calendar day.
• hour – (optional) the hour. Defaults to 0.
• minute – (optional) the minute, Defaults to 0.
• second – (optional) the second, Defaults to 0.
• microsecond – (optional) the microsecond. Defaults 0.
• tzinfo – (optional) the tzinfo object. Defaults to None.

If tzinfo is None, it is assumed to be UTC on creation.

Usage:

>>> import arrow
>>> arrow.Arrow(2013, 5, 5, 12, 30, 45)
<Arrow [2013-05-05T12:30:45+00:00]>

classmethod now(tzinfo=None)

Constructs an Arrow object, representing “now”.

Parameters:tzinfo – (optional) a tzinfo object. Defaults to local time.

classmethod utcnow()

Constructs an Arrow object, representing “now” in UTC time.

classmethod fromtimestamp(timestamp, tzinfo=None)

Constructs an Arrow object from a timestamp.

Parameters:

• timestamp – an int or float timestamp, or a str that converts to either.
• tzinfo – (optional) a tzinfo object. Defaults to local time.

classmethod utcfromtimestamp(timestamp)

Constructs an Arrow object from a timestamp, in UTC time.

Parameters:timestamp – an int or float timestamp, or a str that converts to either.

classmethod fromdatetime(dt, tzinfo=None)

Constructs an Arrow object from a datetime and optional tzinfo object.

Parameters:

• dt – the datetime
• tzinfo – (optional) a tzinfo object. Defaults to UTC.

classmethod fromdate(date, tzinfo=None)

Constructs an Arrow object from a date and optional tzinfo object. Time values are set to 0.

Parameters:

• date – the date
• tzinfo – (optional) a tzinfo object. Defaults to UTC.

classmethod strptime(date_str, fmt, tzinfo=None)

Constructs an Arrow object from a date string and format, in the style of datetime.strptime.

Parameters:

• date_str – the date string.
• fmt – the format string.
• tzinfo – (optional) an optional tzinfo

classmethod range(frame, start, end=None, tz=None, limit=None)

Returns an array of Arrow objects, representing an iteration of time between two inputs.

Parameters:

• frame – the timeframe. Can be any datetime property (day, hour, minute...).
• start – A datetime expression, the start of the range.
• end – (optional) A datetime expression, the end of the range.
• tz – (optional) A timezone expression. Defaults to UTC.
• limit – (optional) A maximum number of tuples to return.

NOTE: the end or limit must be provided. Call with end alone to return the entire range, with limit alone to return a maximum # of results from the start, and with both to cap a range at a maximum # of results.

Recognized datetime expressions:

• An Arrow object.
• A datetime object.

Recognized timezone expressions:

• A tzinfo object.
• A str describing a timezone, similar to ‘US/Pacific’, or ‘Europe/Berlin’.
• A str in ISO-8601 style, as in ‘+07:00’.
• A str, one of the following: ‘local’, ‘utc’, ‘UTC’.

Usage:

>>> start = datetime(2013, 5, 5, 12, 30)
>>> end = datetime(2013, 5, 5, 17, 15)
>>> for r in arrow.Arrow.range('hour', start, end):
...     print repr(r)
...
<Arrow [2013-05-05T12:30:00+00:00]>
<Arrow [2013-05-05T13:30:00+00:00]>
<Arrow [2013-05-05T14:30:00+00:00]>
<Arrow [2013-05-05T15:30:00+00:00]>
<Arrow [2013-05-05T16:30:00+00:00]>

classmethod span_range(frame, start, end, tz=None, limit=None)

Returns an array of tuples, each Arrow objects, representing a series of timespans between two inputs.

Parameters:

• frame – the timeframe. Can be any datetime property (day, hour, minute...).
• start – A datetime expression, the start of the range.
• end – (optional) A datetime expression, the end of the range.
• tz – (optional) A timezone expression. Defaults to UTC.
• limit – (optional) A maximum number of tuples to return.

NOTE: the end or limit must be provided. Call with end alone to return the entire range, with limit alone to return a maximum # of results from the start, and with both to cap a range at a maximum # of results.

Recognized datetime expressions:

• An Arrow object.
• A datetime object.

Recognized timezone expressions:

• A tzinfo object.
• A str describing a timezone, similar to ‘US/Pacific’, or ‘Europe/Berlin’.
• A str in ISO-8601 style, as in ‘+07:00’.
• A str, one of the following: ‘local’, ‘utc’, ‘UTC’.

Usage:

>>> start = datetime(2013, 5, 5, 12, 30)
>>> end = datetime(2013, 5, 5, 17, 15)
>>> for r in arrow.Arrow.span_range('hour', start, end):
...     print r
...
(<Arrow [2013-05-05T12:00:00+00:00]>, <Arrow [2013-05-05T12:59:59.999999+00:00]>)
(<Arrow [2013-05-05T13:00:00+00:00]>, <Arrow [2013-05-05T13:59:59.999999+00:00]>)
(<Arrow [2013-05-05T14:00:00+00:00]>, <Arrow [2013-05-05T14:59:59.999999+00:00]>)
(<Arrow [2013-05-05T15:00:00+00:00]>, <Arrow [2013-05-05T15:59:59.999999+00:00]>)
(<Arrow [2013-05-05T16:00:00+00:00]>, <Arrow [2013-05-05T16:59:59.999999+00:00]>)

tzinfo

Gets the tzinfo of the Arrow object.

datetime

Returns a datetime representation of the Arrow object.

naive

Returns a naive datetime representation of the Arrow object.

timestamp

Returns a timestamp representation of the Arrow object.

float_timestamp

Returns a floating-point representation of the Arrow object.

clone()

Returns a new Arrow object, cloned from the current one.

Usage:

>>> arw = arrow.utcnow()
>>> cloned = arw.clone()

replace(**kwargs)

Returns a new Arrow object with attributes updated according to inputs.

Use single property names to set their value absolutely:

>>> import arrow
>>> arw = arrow.utcnow()
>>> arw
<Arrow [2013-05-11T22:27:34.787885+00:00]>
>>> arw.replace(year=2014, month=6)
<Arrow [2014-06-11T22:27:34.787885+00:00]>

Use plural property names to shift their current value relatively:

>>> arw.replace(years=1, months=-1)
<Arrow [2014-04-11T22:27:34.787885+00:00]>

You can also provide a tzimezone expression can also be replaced:

>>> arw.replace(tzinfo=tz.tzlocal())
<Arrow [2013-05-11T22:27:34.787885-07:00]>

Recognized timezone expressions:

• A tzinfo object.
• A str describing a timezone, similar to ‘US/Pacific’, or ‘Europe/Berlin’.
• A str in ISO-8601 style, as in ‘+07:00’.
• A str, one of the following: ‘local’, ‘utc’, ‘UTC’.

to(tz)

Returns a new Arrow object, converted to the target timezone.

Parameters:tz – an expression representing a timezone.

Recognized timezone expressions:

• A tzinfo object.
• A str describing a timezone, similar to ‘US/Pacific’, or ‘Europe/Berlin’.
• A str in ISO-8601 style, as in ‘+07:00’.
• A str, one of the following: ‘local’, ‘utc’, ‘UTC’.

Usage:

>>> utc = arrow.utcnow()
>>> utc
<Arrow [2013-05-09T03:49:12.311072+00:00]>

>>> utc.to('US/Pacific')
<Arrow [2013-05-08T20:49:12.311072-07:00]>

>>> utc.to(tz.tzlocal())
<Arrow [2013-05-08T20:49:12.311072-07:00]>

>>> utc.to('-07:00')
<Arrow [2013-05-08T20:49:12.311072-07:00]>

>>> utc.to('local')
<Arrow [2013-05-08T20:49:12.311072-07:00]>

>>> utc.to('local').to('utc')
<Arrow [2013-05-09T03:49:12.311072+00:00]>

span(frame)

Returns two new Arrow objects, representing the timespan of the Arrow object in a given timeframe.

Parameters:frame – the timeframe. Can be any datetime property (day, hour, minute...).

Usage:

>>> arrow.utcnow()
<Arrow [2013-05-09T03:32:36.186203+00:00]>

>>> arrow.utcnow().span('hour')
(<Arrow [2013-05-09T03:00:00+00:00]>, <Arrow [2013-05-09T03:59:59.999999+00:00]>)

>>> arrow.utcnow().span('day')
(<Arrow [2013-05-09T00:00:00+00:00]>, <Arrow [2013-05-09T23:59:59.999999+00:00]>)

floor(frame)

Returns a new Arrow object, representing the “floor” of the timespan of the Arrow object in a given timeframe. Equivalent to the first element in the 2-tuple returned by span.

Parameters:frame – the timeframe. Can be any datetime property (day, hour, minute...).

Usage:

>>> arrow.utcnow().ceil('hour')
<Arrow [2013-05-09T03:00:00+00:00]>

ceil(frame)

Returns a new Arrow object, representing the “ceiling” of the timespan of the Arrow object in a given timeframe. Equivalent to the second element in the 2-tuple returned by span.

Parameters:frame – the timeframe. Can be any datetime property (day, hour, minute...).

Usage:

>>> arrow.utcnow().ceil('hour')
<Arrow [2013-05-09T03:59:59.999999+00:00]>

format(fmt='YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ssZZ', locale='en_us')

Returns a string representation of the Arrow object, formatted according to a format string.

Parameters:fmt – the format string.

Usage:

>>> arrow.utcnow().format('YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss ZZ')
'2013-05-09 03:56:47 -00:00'

>>> arrow.utcnow().format('X')
'1368071882'

>>> arrow.utcnow().format('MMMM DD, YYYY')
'May 09, 2013'

>>> arrow.utcnow().format()
'2013-05-09 03:56:47 -00:00'

humanize(other=None, locale='en_us')

Returns a localized, humanized representation of a relative difference in time.

Parameters:

• other – (optional) an Arrow or datetime object. Defaults to now in the current Arrow object’s timezone.
• locale – (optional) a str specifying a locale. Defaults to ‘en_us’.

Usage:

>>> earlier = arrow.utcnow().replace(hours=-2)
>>> earlier.humanize()
'2 hours ago'

>>> later = later = earlier.replace(hours=4)
>>> later.humanize(earlier)
'in 4 hours'

date()

Returns a date object with the same year, month and day.

time()

Returns a time object with the same hour, minute, second, microsecond.

timetz()

Returns a time object with the same hour, minute, second, microsecond and tzinfo.

astimezone(tz)

Returns a datetime object, adjusted to the specified tzinfo.

Parameters:tz – a tzinfo object.

utcoffset()

Returns a timedelta object representing the whole number of minutes difference from UTC time.

dst()

Returns the daylight savings time adjustment.

timetuple()

Returns a time.struct_time, in the current timezone.

utctimetuple()

Returns a time.struct_time, in UTC time.

toordinal()

Returns the proleptic Gregorian ordinal of the date.

weekday()

Returns the day of the week as an integer (0-6).

isoweekday()

Returns the ISO day of the week as an integer (1-7).

isocalendar()

Returns a 3-tuple, (ISO year, ISO week number, ISO weekday).

isoformat(sep='T')

Returns an ISO 8601 formatted representation of the date and time.

ctime()

Returns a ctime formatted representation of the date and time.

strftime(format)

Formats in the style of datetime.strptime.

Parameters:format – the format string.

for_json()

Serializes for the for_json protocol of simplejson.

arrow.factory

Implements the ArrowFactory class, providing factory methods for common Arrow construction scenarios.

class arrow.factory.ArrowFactory(type=<class 'arrow.arrow.Arrow'>)

A factory for generating Arrow objects.

Parameters:type – (optional) the Arrow-based class to construct from. Defaults to Arrow.

get(*args, **kwargs)

Returns an Arrow object based on flexible inputs.

Usage:

>>> import arrow

No inputs to get current UTC time:

>>> arrow.get()
<Arrow [2013-05-08T05:51:43.316458+00:00]>

None to also get current UTC time:

>>> arrow.get(None)
<Arrow [2013-05-08T05:51:43.316458+00:00]>

One Arrow object, to get a copy.

>>> arw = arrow.utcnow()
>>> arrow.get(arw)
<Arrow [2013-10-23T15:21:54.354846+00:00]>

One str, float, or int, convertible to a floating-point timestamp, to get that timestamp in UTC:

>>> arrow.get(1367992474.293378)
<Arrow [2013-05-08T05:54:34.293378+00:00]>

>>> arrow.get(1367992474)
<Arrow [2013-05-08T05:54:34+00:00]>

>>> arrow.get('1367992474.293378')
<Arrow [2013-05-08T05:54:34.293378+00:00]>

>>> arrow.get('1367992474')
<Arrow [2013-05-08T05:54:34+0struct_time0:00]>

One ISO-8601-formatted str, to parse it:

>>> arrow.get('2013-09-29T01:26:43.830580')
<Arrow [2013-09-29T01:26:43.830580+00:00]>

One tzinfo, to get the current time in that timezone:

>>> arrow.get(tz.tzlocal())
<Arrow [2013-05-07T22:57:28.484717-07:00]>

One naive datetime, to get that datetime in UTC:

>>> arrow.get(datetime(2013, 5, 5))
<Arrow [2013-05-05T00:00:00+00:00]>

One aware datetime, to get that datetime:

>>> arrow.get(datetime(2013, 5, 5, tzinfo=tz.tzlocal()))
<Arrow [2013-05-05T00:00:00-07:00]>

One naive date, to get that date in UTC:

>>> arrow.get(date(2013, 5, 5))
<Arrow [2013-05-05T00:00:00+00:00]>

Two arguments, a naive or aware datetime, and a timezone expression (as above):

>>> arrow.get(datetime(2013, 5, 5), 'US/Pacific')
<Arrow [2013-05-05T00:00:00-07:00]>

Two arguments, a naive date, and a timezone expression (as above):

>>> arrow.get(date(2013, 5, 5), 'US/Pacific')
<Arrow [2013-05-05T00:00:00-07:00]>

Two arguments, both str, to parse the first according to the format of the second:

>>> arrow.get('2013-05-05 12:30:45', 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss')
<Arrow [2013-05-05T12:30:45+00:00]>

Two arguments, first a str to parse and second a list of formats to try:

>>> arrow.get('2013-05-05 12:30:45', ['MM/DD/YYYY', 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss'])
<Arrow [2013-05-05T12:30:45+00:00]>

Three or more arguments, as for the constructor of a datetime:

>>> arrow.get(2013, 5, 5, 12, 30, 45)
<Arrow [2013-05-05T12:30:45+00:00]>

One time.struct time::

>>> arrow.get(gmtime(0))
<Arrow [1970-01-01T00:00:00+00:00]>

utcnow()

Returns an Arrow object, representing “now” in UTC time.

Usage:

>>> import arrow
>>> arrow.utcnow()
<Arrow [2013-05-08T05:19:07.018993+00:00]>

now(tz=None)

Returns an Arrow object, representing “now”.

Parameters:tz – (optional) An expression representing a timezone. Defaults to local time.

Recognized timezone expressions:

• A tzinfo object.
• A str describing a timezone, similar to ‘US/Pacific’, or ‘Europe/Berlin’.
• A str in ISO-8601 style, as in ‘+07:00’.
• A str, one of the following: ‘local’, ‘utc’, ‘UTC’.

Usage:

>>> import arrow
>>> arrow.now()
<Arrow [2013-05-07T22:19:11.363410-07:00]>

>>> arrow.now('US/Pacific')
<Arrow [2013-05-07T22:19:15.251821-07:00]>

>>> arrow.now('+02:00')
<Arrow [2013-05-08T07:19:25.618646+02:00]>

>>> arrow.now('local')
<Arrow [2013-05-07T22:19:39.130059-07:00]>

arrow.api

Provides the default implementation of ArrowFactory methods for use as a module API.

arrow.api.get(*args, **kwargs)

Implements the default ArrowFactory get method.

arrow.api.utcnow()

Implements the default ArrowFactory utcnow method.

arrow.api.now(tz=None)

Implements the default ArrowFactory now method.

arrow.api.factory(type)

Returns an ArrowFactory for the specified Arrow or derived type.

Parameters:type – the type, Arrow or derived.

arrow.locale

arrow.locales.get_locale(name)

Returns an appropriate Locale corresponding to an inpute locale name.

Parameters:name – the name of the locale.

class arrow.locales.Locale

Represents locale-specific data and functionality.

describe(timeframe, delta=0)

Describes a delta within a timeframe in plain language.

Parameters:

• timeframe – a string representing a timeframe.
• delta – a quantity representing a delta in a timeframe.

day_name(day)

Returns the day name for a specified day of the week.

Parameters:day – the int day of the week (1-7).

day_abbreviation(day)

Returns the day abbreviation for a specified day of the week.

Parameters:day – the int day of the week (1-7).

month_name(month)

Returns the month name for a specified month of the year.

Parameters:month – the int month of the year (1-12).

month_abbreviation(month)

Returns the month abbreviation for a specified month of the year.

Parameters:month – the int month of the year (1-12).

month_number(name)

Returns the month number for a month specified by name or abbreviation.

Parameters:name – the month name or abbreviation.

meridian(hour, token)

Returns the meridian indicator for a specified hour and format token.

Parameters:

• hour – the int hour of the day.
• token – the format token.