---
id: zope-datetime
version: "6.0"
license: ZPL-2.1
license_treatment: unclear
maintenance: aging
---

# zope.datetime — Zope datetime

License: unclear · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 129.7K/mo

## What it is and what it does

zope.datetime is a utility library for parsing and formatting date/time strings in standard formats. It provides functions to work with ISO 8601, RFC 850, RFC 1123, and other common datetime representations, converting between string and Python datetime objects. The package has been stable since its initial release in 2007 and is maintained as part of the Zope Foundation ecosystem.

The library is minimal and focused: it depends only on setuptools and installs as a pure Python wheel. It supports current Python versions (3.9 through 3.13) and runs on both CPython and PyPy. The aging maintenance status reflects infrequent releases rather than abandonment—the repository remains active and the package is Production/Stable according to its classifiers.

Use it for:

- Parse RFC 1123 or RFC 850 date headers from HTTP responses or email messages.
- Convert ISO 8601 timestamp strings to Python datetime objects for data processing.
- Format Python datetime objects back to standard string representations for APIs or logs.
- Handle timezone-aware datetime parsing when working with web services or distributed systems.
- Normalize datetime strings from multiple sources into a consistent format.

## Worth the install?

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

Parses and formats date/time strings in common formats, providing functions to convert between various standard datetime representations.

Yes, if you need standard datetime string parsing and formatting. The package is stable, has no known vulnerabilities, and installs with minimal friction. The aging maintenance status is not a blocker—releases are infrequent but the repository is active. Verify that ZPL-2.1 licensing is compatible with your project before committing.

## Install

pip install zope-datetime
uv add zope-datetime
poetry add zope-datetime

## Installing zope.datetime

Before you install: Low install friction; pure Python wheel with only setuptools as a runtime dependency. Maintenance status is aging—last release was 336 days ago, though the repository remains active with a recent commit on 2026-01-30.

License in practice: Licensed under ZPL-2.1 (Zope Public License), marked as unclear in treatment. Developers should verify compatibility with their project's license requirements before use.

Quickstart:

pip install zope.datetime

from zope.datetime import iso8601_date, parse

# Parse a datetime string
result = parse('2025-09-12T10:30:00Z')

# Format as ISO 8601
formatted = iso8601_date(result)

Requires Python 3.9 or later.

Verify before relying:

- Specific parsing and formatting functions beyond iso8601_date, rfc850_date, and rfc1123_date are not detailed in the fact sheet.
- Whether timezone handling is automatic or requires explicit configuration.
- Performance characteristics for large-scale datetime parsing operations.

## Package facts

- License: ZPL-2.1 (unclear)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 129.7K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

parse date time strings, format datetime, iso8601 date parsing, rfc1123 date format, datetime string conversion, date format utilities, zope datetime functions, datetime-parsing, zope-ecosystem

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