pytimeparse is unmaintained

[bkmgit]

pytimeparse was introduced to resolve #221 It is currently unmaintained. Would it be worth reverting to python-dateutil or use parsedatetime

[saibug]

Having a pb compatibility with python 3.14

[jpmckinney]

@bkmgit Good catch. I would accept a PR.

[jpmckinney]

@bkmgit Are you familiar with the dateutil and parsedatetime APIs that would parse formats like:

4:10
1.2m
172 hours
5 weeks, 2 days

[jpmckinney]

FWIW, Claude came up with this diff, but I'd rather try to find a library (or multiple together) that can handle these.

Details

diff --git a/agate/data_types/time_delta.py b/agate/data_types/time_delta.py
index 0c0fc73..8db039a 100644
--- a/agate/data_types/time_delta.py
+++ b/agate/data_types/time_delta.py
@@ -1,11 +1,57 @@
 import datetime
+import re
 
-import pytimeparse
+import humanfriendly
 
 from agate.data_types.base import DataType
 from agate.exceptions import CastError
 
 
+def _parse_duration_fallback(duration_str):
+    """
+    Fallback parser for duration formats that humanfriendly doesn't support.
+
+    Handles:
+    - "4:10" -> 4 minutes 10 seconds
+    - "4m15s", "1.2m" -> abbreviated formats
+    - "5 weeks, 2 days" -> comma-separated multiple units
+
+    Returns:
+        int: Total seconds, or None if parsing fails
+    """
+    if not isinstance(duration_str, str):
+        return None
+
+    duration_str = duration_str.strip()
+    total_seconds = 0
+
+    # Handle MM:SS or HH:MM:SS format
+    if re.match(r'^\d+:\d+(:\d+)?$', duration_str):
+        parts = duration_str.split(':')
+        if len(parts) == 2:  # MM:SS
+            return int(parts[0]) * 60 + int(parts[1])
+        elif len(parts) == 3:  # HH:MM:SS
+            return int(parts[0]) * 3600 + int(parts[1]) * 60 + int(parts[2])
+
+    # Handle various time unit patterns (abbreviated forms)
+    patterns = [
+        (r'(\d*\.?\d+)\s*w(eeks?)?(?:$|[\s,])', 604800),  # weeks
+        (r'(\d*\.?\d+)\s*d(ays?)?(?:$|[\s,])', 86400),    # days
+        (r'(\d*\.?\d+)\s*h(ours?)?(?:$|[\s,])', 3600),    # hours
+        (r'(\d*\.?\d+)\s*m(ins?|inutes?)?(?:$|[\s,])', 60),  # minutes
+        (r'(\d*\.?\d+)\s*s(ecs?|econds?)?(?:$|[\s,])', 1),   # seconds
+    ]
+
+    # Try to match patterns in the string
+    for pattern, multiplier in patterns:
+        matches = re.finditer(pattern, duration_str, re.IGNORECASE)
+        for match in matches:
+            value = float(match.group(1))
+            total_seconds += value * multiplier
+
+    return int(total_seconds) if total_seconds > 0 else None
+
+
 class TimeDelta(DataType):
     """
     Data representing the interval between two dates and/or times.
@@ -30,9 +76,14 @@ class TimeDelta(DataType):
             raise CastError('Can not parse value "%s" as timedelta.' % d)
 
         try:
-            seconds = pytimeparse.parse(d)
-        except AttributeError:
-            seconds = None
+            # Try humanfriendly first for standard formats, but reject bare numbers
+            if re.match(r'^\d+\.?\d*$', d.strip()):
+                # Bare number without unit - reject this
+                raise humanfriendly.InvalidTimespan("Bare numbers not allowed")
+            seconds = int(humanfriendly.parse_timespan(d))
+        except (ValueError, humanfriendly.InvalidTimespan):
+            # Fall back to custom parser for formats humanfriendly doesn't support
+            seconds = _parse_duration_fallback(d)
 
         if seconds is None:
             raise CastError('Can not parse value "%s" to as timedelta.' % d)
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 0607b90..ae93633 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -38,12 +38,12 @@ setup(
     packages=find_packages(exclude=['benchmarks', 'tests', 'tests.*']),
     install_requires=[
         'Babel>=2.0',
+        'humanfriendly>=1.44.9',
         'isodate>=0.5.4',
         'leather>=0.3.2',
         # KeyError: 's' https://github.com/bear/parsedatetime/pull/233 https://github.com/wireservice/agate/issues/743
         'parsedatetime>=2.1,!=2.5',
         'python-slugify>=1.2.1',
-        'pytimeparse>=1.1.5',
         'tzdata>=2023.3;platform_system=="Windows"',
     ],
     extras_require={

[bkmgit]

Can examine how to do this later this week.

[jpmckinney]

Noting that pytimeparse prints DeprecationWarning: codecs.open() is deprecated. Use open() instead.

[edgarrmondragon]

@bkmgit Are you familiar with the dateutil and parsedatetime APIs that would parse formats like:

4:10
1.2m
172 hours
5 weeks, 2 days

dateparser is able to parse those (if I'm correct in assuming they're meant to be relative deltas?)

$ uvx --with dateparser python -c 'import datetime, dateparser; print(datetime.datetime.now()); [print(dateparser.parse(example)) for example in ["4:10", "1.2m", "172 hours", "5 weeks, 2 days"]]'
2026-05-13 07:27:50.130120
2026-05-13 04:10:00
2026-05-13 07:26:38.163662
2026-05-06 03:27:50.164281
2026-04-06 07:27:50.164806

[edgarrmondragon]

We could also just fork pytimeparse and release something like pytimeparse2 pytimeparse3