Convert seconds into HH:MM:SS in Ruby

convert-seconds-into-hh-mm-ss-in-ruby.rb

t = 236 # seconds
Time.at(t).utc.strftime("%H:%M:%S")
=> "00:03:56"

# Reference
# http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3963930/ruby-rails-how-to-convert-seconds-to-time

I have used the solutions of @springerigor and @NayanaBhagat to make it a bit more readable / understandable than a cryptic oneliner. It also removes decimals by using rounding.

# Will take as input a time in seconds (which is typically a result after subtracting two Time objects),
# and return the result in HH:MM:SS, even if it exceeds a 24 hour period.
def formatted_duration(total_seconds)
  total_seconds = total_seconds.round # to avoid fractional seconds potentially compounding and messing up seconds, minutes and hours
  hours = total_seconds / (60*60)
  minutes = (total_seconds / 60) % 60 # the modulo operator (%) gives the remainder when leftside is divided by rightside. Ex: 121 % 60 = 1
  seconds = total_seconds % 60
  [hours, minutes, seconds].map do |t|
    # Right justify and pad with 0 until length is 2. 
    # So if the duration of any of the time components is 0, then it will display as 00
    t.round.to_s.rjust(2,'0')
  end.join(':')
end

Updated: Added the initial total_seconds.round to fix the bug with fractional seconds, after @dblock commented on Jun 26, 2018, which brought it to attention (thanks).

I will try to keep my most updated version here, for the future: https://gist.github.com/redbar0n/2eb154b8381994b2c55301bd37f57c1f

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If you want to have output like 1h 30m:

def seconds_to_str(seconds)
  ["#{seconds / 3600}h", "#{seconds / 60 % 60}m", "#{seconds % 60}s"]
    .select { |str| str =~ /[1-9]/ }.join(" ")
end

seconds_to_str(2) # => "2s"
seconds_to_str(69) # => "1m 9s"
seconds_to_str(600) # => "10m"*
seconds_to_str(43_200) #=> "12h"
seconds_to_str(43_205) # => "12h 5s" <- no minutes!
seconds_to_str(100_000) # => "27h 46m 40s" <- you could adjust it for days etc.

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👍

Beware of round being used here. If total seconds is 479.8282647584973

• @redbar0n code produces the wrong result, "00:08:60"
• @lonny code and the original Time.at version round down, so "00:07:59", but this is not the best approximation

Related and working:

• https://github.com/dblock/slack-strava/blob/master/slack-strava/models/activity.rb#L275
• https://yizeng.me/2017/02/25/convert-speed-to-pace-programmatically-using-ruby/

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Added days!
extending on @springerigor solution

    def formatted_duration(total_seconds)
      days = total_seconds / (60 * 60 * 24)
      hours = total_seconds / (60 * 60)
      hours -= 24 if days > 0
      minutes = (total_seconds / 60) % 60
      seconds = total_seconds % 60

      "#{days}d #{hours}h #{minutes}m #{seconds}s"
    end

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This is pretty cool!

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Solid!

Thanks, really good 😄

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@joshuapinter, nice code, but I'm not the Magne that contributed it to SO.

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Nice! I also needed days, so thanks @alexwebgr
Just a small change, in case it's more than 48 hours

def formatted_duration(total_seconds)
    days = total_seconds / (60 * 60 * 24)
    hours = total_seconds / (60 * 60)
    hours -= (24 * days) if days >= 1
    minutes = (total_seconds / 60) % 60
    seconds = total_seconds % 60

    "#{days}d #{hours}h #{minutes}min #{seconds}s"
end

You can also use %T, it's a combination shortcut to get 24-hour time (%H:%M:%S)

Time.at(624).gmtime.strftime('%T')
=> "00:10:24"

  def formatted_duration(total_seconds)
    days = (total_seconds / (60 * 60 * 24)).to_i
    hours = ((total_seconds / (60 * 60)) % 60).to_i
    minutes = ((total_seconds / 60) % 60).to_i
    seconds = (total_seconds % 60).to_i

    "#{days} d. #{hours} h. #{minutes} m. #{seconds} s."
  end

☑️

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nice!!!