datetime.timedelta() function - Python

The datetime.timedelta() function in Python is used to represent a time difference. It allows you to add or subtract days, hours, minutes or seconds from a date or datetime object.

Example: This code gets the current date and time using datetime.now() and then uses timedelta(days=1) to calculate the date and time one day in the future.

2026-01-09 09:58:19.083495

Explanation:

• datetime.now() gives the current date and time
• timedelta(days=1) adds 1 day to the current time

Syntax

datetime.timedelta(days=0, seconds=0, minutes=0, hours=0, weeks=0)

Parameters:

• days: number of days
• seconds: number of seconds
• minutes: number of minutes
• hours: number of hours
• weeks: number of weeks

Examples

Example 1: This example shows how to add days to the current date using timedelta().

2026-01-13 10:02:23.079919

Explanation: timedelta(days=5) adds 5 days to d

Example 2: This example demonstrates how to go back in time by subtracting hours.

2026-01-08 08:03:36.816373

Explanation: timedelta(hours=2) subtracts 2 hours from t

Example 3: This example calculates the time difference between two datetime values.

3 days, 0:00:00

Explanation: d2 - d1 returns a timedelta showing the time gap