Import pytz into AWS lambda function

Question

I'm writing a lambda function that works with datetimes and trying to import pytz so I can have timezone be accounted for when comparing.

import boto3
import pytz
from datetime import timedelta, date, datetime
from boto3.dynamodb.conditions import Key, Attr

causes this to display

{errorMessage=Unable to import module 'lambda_function'}

but when I remove import pytz the function fires (it just doesn't work properly without timezone info)

score 28 · Answer 1 · edited Oct 24 '18 at 18:55

28

If you don't have access to pytz in your environment, maybe you have access to python-dateutil. In that case you can do:

import datetime
import dateutil.tz

eastern = dateutil.tz.gettz('US/Eastern')
datetime.datetime.now(tz=eastern)

REF. How to get current time in Pacific Timezone when import pytz fails?

edited Oct 24 '18 at 18:55

assembler

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answered Oct 24 '18 at 17:23

yarick

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Perfect answer. Happy to use this functionality without having external library. – Vikramsinh Gaikwad Aug 21 '20 at 13:29

jimjkelly · Accepted Answer · 2016-05-17T16:03:02.440

14

You need to install the pytz package so it's available for your lambda. The way you do this is having pip install it into the directory you are going to zip and upload to AWS (i.e. peered with the file containing your lambda function).

pip install -t path/to/your/lambda pytz

Then when you zip it up and upload it, it will be available.

Editing to add that I created a tool to do a lot of this for you - you can find it here: https://github.com/jimjkelly/lambda-deploy

edited May 17 '16 at 16:03

answered Jan 20 '16 at 17:36

jimjkelly

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I was hoping to avoid this, but I have a feeling you're probably correct. I'm going to try and find another way to accomplish my end goal, but marking as correct answer for now. much thanks. – Scott Decker Jan 20 '16 at 17:42
I've actually been working on a tool to kind of do this automatically (as well as handle pushing it up to AWS for you), but I haven't pushed it up to github just yet. The big pain comes when you are working with libraries with compiled bits. :/ – jimjkelly Jan 20 '16 at 17:44

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 05 '21 at 19:31

To follow up on @cheframzi's answer to "Package a pytz zip file in the format python/pytz/..." as a Lambda Layer, here is one way to do that.

mkdir python
pip3 install -t python pytz=='2019.2'
zip -r pytz.zip python
rm -rf python

And then you can use aws lambda publish-layer-version --layer-name <layer_name> --zip-file fileb://./pytz.zip to deploy a new version of the layer.

As long as the library is installed at the python/pytz level of the zip file, AWS Lambda should be able to find it. You can also put it inside python/lib/python3.8/site-packages\pytz though for your specific python runtime version per here: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/configuration-layers.html

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 17 '20 at 23:57

2

I ran into this issue today. The way I solved is

Package a pytz zip file in the format python/pytz/... the library file
Created a Lambda Layer

In my lambda used the above layer

answered Dec 17 '20 at 23:57

cheframzi

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Ankush · Answer 5 · 2022-06-30T10:34:59.883

1

I've spent few hours for this pytz issue. With AWS you can try using the gettz method from 'dateutil.tz'. This way you can get the desired result that you were getting with pytz. In my case I required isoformat time (in utc with (+00:00) timezone).

from datetime import datetime
from dateutil.tz import gettz
datetime.now(gettz('UTC')).isoformat() # same result as datetime.now(pytz.utc).isoformat()

edited Jun 30 '22 at 10:34

answered Jun 30 '22 at 10:25

Ankush

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score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Jul 26 '22 at 22:21

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You can also add public ARNs as Lambda layers, I used this https://dev.to/vumdao/create-cron-jobs-on-aws-lambda-with-cloudwatch-event-3e07

answered Jul 26 '22 at 22:21

Sergio Lucero

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score -1 · Answer 7 · edited Nov 07 '22 at 09:22

-1

import datetime as dt
import dateutil.tz

aesttime = dateutil.tz.gettz('Australia/Brisbane')
print(dt.datetime.now(tz=aesttime).strftime(format="%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"))

edited Nov 07 '22 at 09:22

Adriaan

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answered Nov 07 '22 at 09:20

Shyam Gupta

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Please read [answer] and [edit] your answer to contain an explanation as to why this code would actually solve the problem at hand. Always remember that you're not only solving the problem, but are also educating the OP and any future readers of this post. Also, please include [code formatting](/help/formatting) in your posts to make them more readable. – Adriaan Nov 07 '22 at 09:23
1

Apparently most of your answers have severe formatting problems (lack of code formatting mainly) and lack an explanation. Please go through your answers and make sure they adhere to the Stack Overflow quality standards. Whilst it is great that you're willing to share your knowledge, it's hard to use when it's unreadable due to the lack of formatting, or difficult to understand due to the lack of explanation. Please edit your answers and make sure to include formatting and explanation in your future answers. – Adriaan Nov 07 '22 at 09:25

Import pytz into AWS lambda function

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