Python | time.localtime() method

Time module in Python provides handy tools to work with time-related tasks. One of its most useful functions is time.localtime(), which converts time expressed in seconds since the epoch (January 1, 1970) into a local time representation. It returns a time.struct_time object, which is a tuple-like structure containing detailed components like year, month, day, hour, etc. If no time is passed, time.localtime() returns the current local time.

Here's what the returned object contains:

Syntax

time.localtime([secs]) 

Parameter: 

• secs (optional): Number of seconds since the epoch. If omitted or None, the current time is used.

Return type: object of class 'time.struct_time'. 

Examples of time.localtime() Mehod

Example 1: Get current local time

time.struct_time(tm_year=2025, tm_mon=4, tm_mday=12, tm_hour=11, tm_min=38, tm_sec=10, tm_wday=5, tm_yday=102, tm_isdst=0)
Sat Apr 12 11:38:10 2025

Explanation:

• time.localtime() gives you the current time broken down into its parts.
• time.asctime() converts the struct_time into a readable string like "Thu Apr 10 16:35:12 2025".

Example 2: Convert specific time (in seconds) to local time

Local time for seconds = 950000000
time.struct_time(tm_year=2000, tm_mon=2, tm_mday=8, tm_hour=8, tm_min=53, tm_sec=20, tm_wday=1, tm_yday=39, tm_isdst=0)

Explanation:

• Here, 950000000 represents a specific point in time.
• time.localtime(secs) converts it to a full struct_time format based on your local timezone.

Example 3: What happens with fractional seconds?

Local time for seconds = 950000000.81956
time.struct_time(tm_year=2000, tm_mon=2, tm_mday=8, tm_hour=8, tm_min=53, tm_sec=20, tm_wday=1, tm_yday=39, tm_isdst=0)

Explanation:

• Although we passed a float (950000000.81956), the fractional part is ignored.
• We'll get the same result as if you passed 950000000 as an integer.

Reference:https://docs.python.org/3/library/time.html#time.localtime