isodate
An ISO 8601 date/time/duration parser and formatter
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. isodate is a mature, well-maintained library with zero known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and broad Python version support (3.7–3.13). It is the standard choice for ISO 8601 parsing in Python. The dormant maintenance status is not a concern—the package is stable and feature-complete for its narrow, well-defined scope. Install it if you need to parse or format ISO 8601 strings.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python >= 3.7.
- Dates before 0001-01-01 are not supported due to Python's date/datetime class limits; fractional seconds are rounded down to microseconds.
- Low install friction with no runtime dependencies.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — BSD License (permissive). You may use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial and private projects, provided you retain the copyright notice and disclaimer.
last release 2024-10-08 (675 days) · last repo commit 2024-10-09 · 175 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 232,242,287 downloads/mo, #174 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install isodate
from isodate import parse_date, parse_datetime, parse_duration
date_obj = parse_date('2024-10-08')
datetime_obj = parse_datetime('2024-10-08T12:30:00Z')
duration_obj = parse_duration('P1Y2M3DT4H5M6S')- Whether the parser's known leniency (accepting mixed basic/extended format, short dates in datetime strings) is acceptable for your use case.
- Performance characteristics when parsing large volumes of ISO strings.
- Compatibility with non-standard ISO 8601 variants your data may contain.
What it is and what it does
isodate is a standards-focused ISO 8601 parser and formatter that converts ISO date, time, duration, and timezone strings into Python's built-in date, time, datetime, and timedelta objects. It implements the ISO8601:2004 standard strictly—if a representation isn't explicitly mentioned in the standard, it is not supported. The package also provides a custom Duration class to handle ISO durations that include years and months, which the standard timedelta cannot represent.
The parser offers five main methods: parse_date, parse_time, parse_datetime, parse_duration, and parse_tzinfo, each returning the corresponding Python type. Formatting works in reverse through methods like date_isoformat, time_isoformat, and duration_isoformat. A key limitation is that dates before 0001-01-01 and fractional seconds beyond microseconds cannot be represented, and the parser is intentionally lenient in accepting some formats the standard forbids (such as mixing basic and extended notation in a single datetime string).
Use it for
- Parse ISO 8601 timestamps from APIs, logs, or databases into Python datetime objects for manipulation and comparison.
- Convert Python date and datetime objects to ISO 8601 strings for API responses, file formats, or data interchange.
- Handle ISO 8601 durations (e.g., 'P1Y2M3DT4H5M6S') that include years and months, which timedelta alone cannot express.
- Extract and work with timezone information from ISO 8601 strings via parse_tzinfo.
- Validate and normalize ISO date/time input in web applications or data pipelines.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
isodate is a mature, well-maintained library with zero known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and broad Python version support (3.7–3.13). It is the standard choice for ISO 8601 parsing in Python. The dormant maintenance status is not a concern—the package is stable and feature-complete for its narrow, well-defined scope. Install it if you need to parse or format ISO 8601 strings.
Install
isodate on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Maintenance is dormant—last release was 675 days ago—but the repository remains active with 175 stars and no recent breaking changes.
Requires Python >= 3.7. Dates before 0001-01-01 are not supported due to Python's date/datetime class limits; fractional seconds are rounded down to microseconds.
License in practice
BSD License (permissive). You may use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial and private projects, provided you retain the copyright notice and disclaimer.
Quickstart
pip install isodate
from isodate import parse_date, parse_datetime, parse_duration
date_obj = parse_date('2024-10-08')
datetime_obj = parse_datetime('2024-10-08T12:30:00Z')
duration_obj = parse_duration('P1Y2M3DT4H5M6S')Verify before relying
- Whether the parser's known leniency (accepting mixed basic/extended format, short dates in datetime strings) is acceptable for your use case.
- Performance characteristics when parsing large volumes of ISO strings.
- Compatibility with non-standard ISO 8601 variants your data may contain.
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.7 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Dormant 675 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 232,242,287 / month, #174 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: BSD LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: InternetTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules |
Evidence: isodate-0.7.2-py3-none-any.whl
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See also iso8601 · isoduration · metomi-isodatetime · DateTime · ciso8601 · durationpy · iso-week-date · aniso8601 · backports-datetime-fromisoformat · prefixdate