Add spaces to the beginning of a String in Python

Add spaces to the beginning of a String in Python #

Use the str.rjust() method to add spaces to the beginning of a string, e.g. result = my_str.rjust(6, ' '). The rjust method takes the total width of the string and a fill character and pads the beginning of the string to the specified width with the provided fill character.

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my_str = 'abc'

result_1 = my_str.rjust(6, ' ')
print(repr(result_1))  # 👉️ '   abc'

result_2 = " " * 3 + my_str
print(repr(result_2))  # 👉️ '   abc'

result_3 = f'{my_str: >6}'
print(repr(result_3))  # 👉️ '   abc'

The first example in the code snippet uses the str.rjust (right justify) method.

The str.rjust method takes the following 2 arguments:

An alternative solution is to use the multiplication operator to add a specific number of spaces to the beginning of the string.

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my_str = 'abc'

result_2 = " " * 3 + my_str
print(repr(result_2))  # 👉️ '   abc'

When a character is multiplied, it gets repeated the specified number of times.

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print(repr(' ' * 3))  # 👉️ '   '

print('b' * 3)  # 👉️ 'bbb'

You can also use the format string syntax to add spaces to the beginning of a string.

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my_str = 'abc'

result_3 = f'{my_str: >6}'
print(repr(result_3))  # 👉️ '   abc'

This is a bit harder to read, but we basically fill the string to a length of 6 characters aligning it to the right.

If you have the total length of the string stored in a variable, use curly braces.

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width = 6

result_3 = f'{my_str: >{width}}'
print(repr(result_3))  # 👉️ '   abc'

Formatted string literals (f-strings) let us include expressions inside of a string by prefixing the string with f.

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my_str = 'is subscribed:'

my_bool = True

result = f'{my_str} {my_bool}'

print(result)  # 👉️ is subscribed: True

Make sure to wrap expressions in curly braces - {expression}.