NameError: name 'datetime' is not defined

Question

I'm teaching myself Python and was just "exploring". Google says that datetime is a global variable but when I try to find todays date in the terminal I receive the NameError in the question title?

mynames-MacBook:pythonhard myname$ python
Enthought Canopy Python 2.7.3 | 64-bit | (default, Aug  8 2013, 05:37:06) 
[GCC 4.2.1 (Apple Inc. build 5666) (dot 3)] on darwin
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> date = datetime.date.today()
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
NameError: name 'datetime' is not defined
>>>

Where does it say that datetime is a global variable, exactly? — Martijn Pieters
– Martijn Pieters, Commented Nov 12, 2013 at 16:15

Simeon Visser · Accepted Answer · 2013-11-12 16:14:32Z

142

You need to import the module datetime first:

>>> import datetime

After that it works:

>>> import datetime
>>> date = datetime.date.today()
>>> date
datetime.date(2013, 11, 12)

answered Nov 12, 2013 at 16:14

Simeon Visser

123k19 gold badges192 silver badges185 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

Simeon Visser Over a year ago

This is not about common variables, this is about importing modules from the Python Standard Library: docs.python.org/2/library/index.html . You generally only import what you need, not everything.

Sardar Faisal · Accepted Answer · 2020-09-30 08:36:33Z

7

It can also be used as below:

from datetime import datetime
start_date = datetime(2016,3,1)
end_date = datetime(2016,3,10)

answered Sep 30, 2020 at 8:36

Sardar Faisal

7218 silver badges21 bronze badges

Comments

Paul Munyao · Accepted Answer · 2025-03-16 04:43:27Z

0

I encountered the same issue while working on my Django project, and the solution was very simple. I did an import, as shown below. This is usually done on top of the file. For future reference, I hope this helps.

from datetime import datetime

answered Mar 16 at 4:43

Paul Munyao

3352 silver badges12 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

NameError: name 'datetime' is not defined

3 Answers 3

1 Comment

Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

3 Answers 3

1 Comment

Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related