dateformat
Parse and format dates quickly
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
No. The package is abandoned (last release April 2019, no commits since November 2022) and has not been updated for modern Python versions. Unless you are maintaining legacy code that already depends on it, use Python's built-in datetime module with strftime/strptime, or consider actively maintained alternatives. High install friction and zero security updates compound the maintenance risk.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- No runtime dependencies, but package is unmaintained since 2019 and may have compatibility issues with modern Python versions.
- High install friction with no runtime dependencies.
- Package is abandoned—last release April 2019, last commit November 2022, no activity since.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license is permissive; you may use, modify, and distribute this package freely with minimal restrictions.
last release 2019-04-04 (2689 days) · last repo commit 2022-11-17 · 11 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 138,779 downloads/mo, #11,318 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
from dateformat import DateFormat
date_format = DateFormat("YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss.SSSS+HH:MM")
date = date_format.parse("2017-06-03 15:32:00.2364-02:00")
print(date_format.format(date))- Whether the package works reliably on Python versions released after 2019
- Performance benchmarks mentioned in description but truncated—actual speed claims cannot be verified
- Whether pytz integration for named timezones is fully functional
What it is and what it does
dateformat wraps Python's datetime module to provide an alternative to strftime/strptime with a simpler, more readable format syntax. Instead of cryptic codes, you write YYYY-MM-DD. The package constructs a DateFormat object from a spec string, then uses its parse() and format() methods to convert between strings and datetime objects. It handles timezone offsets and named timezones (if pytz is available) more explicitly than the standard library.
The package was designed to address perceived gaps in existing solutions: better timezone handling, explicit format specification to avoid parsing ambiguity, and reusable format objects to avoid rebuilding parsers for each date. However, the project has been abandoned since 2019 and receives no maintenance.
Use it for
- Parse dates from external APIs or data sources with a known, fixed format and timezone offset
- Format datetime objects for output to systems expecting a specific date string layout
- Handle dates with timezone information more explicitly than strftime allows
- Replace strftime/strptime calls where the format spec is more readable than % codes
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
No.
The package is abandoned (last release April 2019, no commits since November 2022) and has not been updated for modern Python versions. Unless you are maintaining legacy code that already depends on it, use Python's built-in datetime module with strftime/strptime, or consider actively maintained alternatives. High install friction and zero security updates compound the maintenance risk.
Install
dateformat on PyPI
Before you install
High install friction with no runtime dependencies. Package is abandoned—last release April 2019, last commit November 2022, no activity since. Maintenance status makes this a legacy choice; consider only if existing code depends on it.
No runtime dependencies, but package is unmaintained since 2019 and may have compatibility issues with modern Python versions.
License in practice
MIT license is permissive; you may use, modify, and distribute this package freely with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
from dateformat import DateFormat
date_format = DateFormat("YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss.SSSS+HH:MM")
date = date_format.parse("2017-06-03 15:32:00.2364-02:00")
print(date_format.format(date))Verify before relying
- Whether the package works reliably on Python versions released after 2019
- Performance benchmarks mentioned in description but truncated—actual speed claims cannot be verified
- Whether pytz integration for named timezones is fully functional
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | High. Source build required |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Abandoned 2,689 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 138,779 / month, #11,318 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
Evidence: dateformat-0.9.7.tar.gz
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See also iso8601 · parse · DateTime · parsedatetime · times · DateTimeRange · metomi-isodatetime · prefixdate · dateparser · ctparse