---
id: pytimeparse2
version: "1.7.1"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: dormant
---

# pytimeparse2 — Time expression parser.

License: permissive · Maintenance: dormant · Downloads: 3.5M/mo

## What it is and what it does

pytimeparse2 is a lightweight parser that converts time expressions written in natural language into numeric seconds or Python timedelta objects. It handles a wide variety of formats: shorthand notation (32m, 2h32m, 3d2h32m), colon-separated time (4:13:02), English prose (5 hours, 34 minutes, 56 seconds), and uptime-style output (2 days, 4:13:02). The library also supports months and years using fixed assumptions (30 days per month, 365 days per year).

The package has no runtime dependencies and installs as a pure Python wheel, making it simple to add to any project. It is marked Production/Stable and supports Python 3.6 through 3.11. Maintenance is dormant (last update in 2023), but the codebase carries no known vulnerabilities and the API is straightforward: call parse() with a time string and optionally request a timedelta object instead of raw seconds.

Use it for:

- Parse user-supplied timeout or delay values in configuration files or CLI arguments.
- Convert uptime or system log timestamps into standardized seconds for calculations.
- Accept human-friendly duration input in web forms or APIs and normalize to timedelta.
- Build retry logic or rate-limiting that reads duration strings from environment variables.
- Parse scheduling expressions that use natural time notation.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Parses human-readable time expressions (like '2h32m', '1.2 minutes', '2 days, 4:13:02') into seconds or timedelta objects.

Yes. pytimeparse2 solves a specific, well-defined problem with zero dependencies, permissive licensing, and no security issues. It is stable and dormant rather than actively maintained, but that is appropriate for a mature parsing utility. Install it if you need to accept time expressions from users or configuration; skip it if you only work with numeric seconds or strict time formats.

## Install

pip install pytimeparse2
uv add pytimeparse2
poetry add pytimeparse2

## Installing pytimeparse2

Before you install: Low friction: pure Python wheel with no runtime dependencies. Maintenance is dormant (last commit 2023-09-29, 1191 days ago), but the package is marked Production/Stable and carries no known vulnerabilities.

License in practice: MIT license (permissive) — you may use, modify, and distribute freely with minimal restrictions; include the license text.

Quickstart:

pip install pytimeparse2

from pytimeparse2 import parse

result = parse('2h32m')
print(result)  # seconds as integer or float

Verify before relying:

- Whether dateutil is automatically installed or optional; the description mentions conditional relativedelta support but does not clarify the dependency status.
- Performance characteristics and parsing speed for large batches of expressions.
- Exact behavior and edge cases for month/year calculations (the description notes assumptions but does not detail all corner cases).

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: dormant
- Downloads: 3.5M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

parse time expressions, convert time string to seconds, human readable duration parsing, timedelta from string, uptime format parser, time duration parser, parse duration strings, parsing, time-utilities

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