DevEquiv

    Python strftime() to PHP date() Converter

    Paste a Python strftime() format to get the equivalent PHP date() format string.

    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.

    Close equivalent

    Python strftime()
    %Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S
    PHP date()
    Y-m-d H:i:s

    Main limitation: PHP has a direct token for nearly every strftime directive this engine models, so conversions in this direction are exact far more often than the PHP-to-Python direction.

    How it differs

    • PHP has a direct token for nearly every strftime directive this engine models, so conversions in this direction are exact far more often than the PHP-to-Python direction.
    • Python's %z (UTC offset, no colon, e.g. +0000) maps to PHP's O; if you need a colon (+00:00), use PHP's P directly — strftime has no directive for the colon form.
    • Python's %f (microseconds) maps to PHP's u; there is no strftime directive for milliseconds only, matching PHP's own split between u (microseconds) and v (milliseconds).

    Examples

    Standard timestamp

    Python strftime() %Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S
    PHP date() Y-m-d H:i:s

    A direct, exact mapping — every strftime directive here has a PHP counterpart.

    Long-form date

    Python strftime() %A, %B %d, %Y
    PHP date() l, F d, Y

    Full weekday and month names convert exactly.

    ISO-8601 with UTC offset

    Python strftime() %Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%z
    PHP date() Y-m-d\TH:i:sO

    The literal `T` is escaped as `\T` in PHP because `T` is itself a PHP format character; `%z` maps to PHP's `O`.

    Edge cases

    Edge case

    Non-ISO week directives (%U, %W) have no PHP equivalent because PHP's W is always ISO-8601 (Monday-first, week containing the year's first Thursday) — do not substitute W for %U/%W, the week numbering can disagree near year boundaries.

    Edge case

    A literal T in the source format (common in ISO-8601-style strings) is escaped as \T in the PHP output, since T is itself a PHP format character (timezone abbreviation).

    References

    • Python docs — strftime() and strptime() format codes (v3.x) — checked 2026-07-29
    • PHP Manual — date() — checked 2026-07-29

    Last verified 2026-07-29.