Splunk Search

Convert seconds to MM:SS.ms

splunk_learner
Explorer

Hi
I am trying to convert seconds.milliseconds for ex 4.6566, 0.55,1.2 to Minutes:Second.milliseconds format
I tried tostring(time,duration) but it returns Days:hours:minutes:seconds
Please help

Tags (2)
1 Solution

MuS
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

Hi splunk_learner

try something like this:

... | eval n=strftime(timeStr, "%M:%S.%N")

This example returns the minute, seconds and subseconds from the timeStr field.
See the docs on Commontimeformatvariables for more information on the time format.

update:

just learned that strptime is for time stamp parsing, where strftime is for time stamp formatting.

hope this helps...

cheers, MuS

View solution in original post

MuS
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

Hi splunk_learner

try something like this:

... | eval n=strftime(timeStr, "%M:%S.%N")

This example returns the minute, seconds and subseconds from the timeStr field.
See the docs on Commontimeformatvariables for more information on the time format.

update:

just learned that strptime is for time stamp parsing, where strftime is for time stamp formatting.

hope this helps...

cheers, MuS

twinspop
Influencer

MuS was right there, just one change: Use strftime instead of strptime.

| eval test=4.678 | eval str=strftime(test,"%M:%S.%N")

str returned as "00:04.678000000"

MuS
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

a reverted convert mstime() would be the perfect match here

0 Karma

sowings
Splunk Employee
Splunk Employee

The OP indicated that they have seconds.milli and wanted a nice human-readable string. Sounds like they want strftime (with caveats).

0 Karma

MuS
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

no strftime takes epochtime as input as were strptime takes a time represented by a string....but now after some testing it looks like strptime isn't working either 😞

0 Karma

sowings
Splunk Employee
Splunk Employee

Did you mean strftime? Also, the latter will interpret timestr as # of seconds since the Unix epoch. While for times < 1 hour (3600 sec) it works just fine, when you start showing the hour, it may deliver confusing results (e.g. in my time zone, I get "16:00:05.12" for an input of "5.12").

0 Karma
Got questions? Get answers!

Join the Splunk Community Slack to learn, troubleshoot, and make connections with fellow Splunk practitioners in real time!

Meet up IRL or virtually!

Join Splunk User Groups to connect and learn in-person by region or remotely by topic or industry.

Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

Why Splunk Customers Should Attend Cisco Live 2026 Las Vegas

Why Splunk Customers Should Attend Cisco Live 2026 Las Vegas     Cisco Live 2026 is almost here, and this ...

What Is the Name of the USB Key Inserted by Bob Smith? (BOTS Hint, Not the Answer)

Hello Splunkers,   So you searched, “what is the name of the usb key inserted by bob smith?”  Not gonna lie… ...

Automating Threat Operations and Threat Hunting with Recorded Future

    Automating Threat Operations and Threat Hunting with Recorded Future June 29, 2026 | Register   Is your ...