Python strftime directive %X
Locale’s appropriate time representation.
Example (from datetime(2026, 6, 18, 13, 45, 30))
1:45:30 PM
Output depends on the active locale; in Python it follows the process locale (
locale.setlocale). This page and the tester show the C/English value.In Python
from datetime import datetime
dt = datetime(2026, 6, 18, 13, 45, 30)
dt.strftime("%X")
# => "1:45:30 PM"Parsing with strptime
Parsing depends on the locale; brittle, avoid. See strptime.dev for the parsing side.