Add Print Out A Calendar For Current Year as a Python TIL

2026-11-05 02:13:27 +00:00 · 2026-11-04 15:26:39 -06:00
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+# Print Out A Calendar For Current Year
+
+While reading through Simon Willison's [CLI tools hidden in the Python standard
+library](https://til.simonwillison.net/python/stdlib-cli-tools), I learned that
+you can print out the entire calendar for the current year with a simple Python
+one-liner. This uses the
+[`calendar`](https://docs.python.org/3/library/calendar.html) module in Python's
+standard library.
+
+```bash
+❯ python -m calendar
+                                  2026
+
+      January                   February                   March
+Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su      Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su      Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
+          1  2  3  4                         1                         1
+ 5  6  7  8  9 10 11       2  3  4  5  6  7  8       2  3  4  5  6  7  8
+12 13 14 15 16 17 18       9 10 11 12 13 14 15       9 10 11 12 13 14 15
+19 20 21 22 23 24 25      16 17 18 19 20 21 22      16 17 18 19 20 21 22
+26 27 28 29 30 31         23 24 25 26 27 28         23 24 25 26 27 28 29
+                                                    30 31
+
+       April                      May                       June
+Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su      Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su      Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
+       1  2  3  4  5                   1  2  3       1  2  3  4  5  6  7
+ 6  7  8  9 10 11 12       4  5  6  7  8  9 10       8  9 10 11 12 13 14
+13 14 15 16 17 18 19      11 12 13 14 15 16 17      15 16 17 18 19 20 21
+20 21 22 23 24 25 26      18 19 20 21 22 23 24      22 23 24 25 26 27 28
+27 28 29 30               25 26 27 28 29 30 31      29 30
+
+        July                     August                  September
+Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su      Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su      Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
+       1  2  3  4  5                      1  2          1  2  3  4  5  6
+ 6  7  8  9 10 11 12       3  4  5  6  7  8  9       7  8  9 10 11 12 13
+13 14 15 16 17 18 19      10 11 12 13 14 15 16      14 15 16 17 18 19 20
+20 21 22 23 24 25 26      17 18 19 20 21 22 23      21 22 23 24 25 26 27
+27 28 29 30 31            24 25 26 27 28 29 30      28 29 30
+                          31
+
+      October                   November                  December
+Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su      Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su      Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
+          1  2  3  4                         1          1  2  3  4  5  6
+ 5  6  7  8  9 10 11       2  3  4  5  6  7  8       7  8  9 10 11 12 13
+12 13 14 15 16 17 18       9 10 11 12 13 14 15      14 15 16 17 18 19 20
+19 20 21 22 23 24 25      16 17 18 19 20 21 22      21 22 23 24 25 26 27
+26 27 28 29 30 31         23 24 25 26 27 28 29      28 29 30 31
+                          30
+```
+
+You cannot tell in this markdown code block, but in the terminal the current day
+gets highlighted.
+
+There is also an _output type_ flag (`-t`) where `html` can be specified instead
+of the default of `text`. The `html` version will spit a bunch of markup out
+into the terminal. Instead, I can encode that output with `base64` and then open
+it as a `date:text` URL in Chrome like so:
+
+```bash
+❯ open -a "Google Chrome" "data:text/html;base64,$(python -m calendar -t html | base64)"
+```
+
+Unfortunately, that gets no default styles. Everything is scrunched together
+making it hard to read. What if I were to use `sed` to inject some styles that
+make for much better default styling?
+
+```bash
+❯ open -a "Google Chrome" "data:text/html;base64,$(
+  python -m calendar -t html \
+    | sed 's|<link[^>]*/>|<style>body{font-family:system-ui;margin:2rem}table.year{border-spacing:1.5rem;margin:auto}table.month td{text-align:right;padding:.35rem .5rem}</style>|' \
+    | base64
+)"
+```
+
+That's easier to read and fits nicely on a single sheet of paper if printed.
+
+See `python -m calendar -h` for more details.