DevEquiv

    Go time.Format Layout to strftime Converter

    Paste a Go reference-time layout string to get the equivalent strftime() format code.

    Token-by-token mapping

    Shown one token at a time — some dialects combine two adjacent tokens (like a day number plus an ordinal suffix) into a single result above, which can differ slightly from this per-token view.

    Requires review

    Go time.Format layout
    2006-01-02T15:04:05
    strftime
    %Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S

    Main limitation: This converter scans the Go layout for the longest matching reference substring first (e.g. `2006` before `06`, `January` before `Jan`), exactly like the Go standard library itself does when parsing layouts.

    How it differs

    • This converter scans the Go layout for the longest matching reference substring first (e.g. 2006 before 06, January before Jan), exactly like the Go standard library itself does when parsing layouts.
    • Go's non-padded day token (a bare 2) has no strftime equivalent, since strftime's %d is always zero-padded — this is one of the most common lossy conversions in this direction.
    • Go's Z07:00/Z0700 (ISO-8601 offset using literal "Z" for UTC) has no strftime equivalent; use plain -07:00/-0700 (which map to %z-family output) if the "Z" special-case isn't required.

    Examples

    ISO-8601 timestamp

    Go time.Format layout 2006-01-02T15:04:05
    strftime %Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S

    Every Go reference substring here has a direct strftime directive.

    Non-padded day (partial conversion)

    Go time.Format layout Mon Jan 2 15:04:05 2006
    strftime %a %b %H:%M:%S %Y

    Go's bare `2` (day without leading zero) has no strftime equivalent and is dropped with a warning.

    Edge cases

    Edge case

    Mon Jan 2 15:04:05 2006 (Go's canonical reference layout) loses its day number when converted, because the bare 2 token has no strftime counterpart.

    Edge case

    Go has no built-in escape mechanism, so a source layout with stray literal text resembling reference substrings will already behave surprisingly in Go itself, independent of this converter.

    References

    • Go docs — package time (reference-time layout) — checked 2026-07-29
    • Python docs — strftime() and strptime() format codes (v3.x) — checked 2026-07-29

    Last verified 2026-07-29.