parse python datetime object in javascript within django app

Question

I'm passing the following variable to a template:

from django.utils import timezone
dt = timezone.now()
print(type(dt))  # <class 'datetime.datetime'>

Everything works fine if I use it in my HTML directly:

{{ dt | date:'D d M Y' }}

which renders to Thu 14 Dec 2017.

However when I try to access the variable in my javascript I get an error:

<script>
  {{ dt | safe }}
</script>

Uncaught SyntaxError: missing ) after argument list

Furthermore, I get a slightly different error when I try to render a list of datetime objects:

dt_list = [timezone.now() for _ in range(3)]

and within my js:

<script>
  console.log({{ dt_list | safe }})
</script>

Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected token <

So my question is how can I convert a python datetime object to something I can use in JS?

Is your javascript in a separate .js file that is in static files or in the HTML page that is being rendered? — Stuart Dines
– Stuart Dines, Commented Dec 15, 2017 at 0:23

Stuart Dines · Accepted Answer · 2017-12-15 00:27:27Z

1

You will need to create a date object in JS.

<script>
    var dt = new Date("{{ dt.isoformat }}");
</script>

answered Dec 15, 2017 at 0:27

Stuart Dines

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