Aligning Strings in Python: How to Use rjust, ljust, and center

When outputting data in a table format to the console (terminal) or formatting logs for better readability, aligning text is an essential task.

Python strings come with three built-in methods to adjust the position of a string within a specified width: rjust(), ljust(), and center(). These methods allow you to fill the empty space with a specific character (the default is a space).

In this article, I will explain how to use each method and how to specify the padding character.

Table of Contents

1. Right Align: rjust()
2. Left Align: ljust()
3. Center Align: center()
4. Advanced: Using f-strings
5. Summary

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1. Right Align: rjust()

rjust() (Right Justify) aligns the string to the right end and fills the left side with a specified character.

Syntax:

new_string = original_string.rjust(total_width, fill_character)

Note: If the fill character is omitted, a half-width space is used.

Usage Example

text = "abc"

# Set total width to 6, fill left side with "*"
right_aligned = text.rjust(6, "*")

print(f"Original: '{text}'")
print(f"Right   : '{right_aligned}'")

Execution Result:

Original: 'abc'
Right   : '***abc'

The total width became 6 characters, and the 3 characters on the left were filled with *.

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2. Left Align: ljust()

ljust() (Left Justify) aligns the string to the left end and fills the right side with a specified character.

Syntax:

new_string = original_string.ljust(total_width, fill_character)

Usage Example

text = "abc"

# Set total width to 6, fill right side with "*"
left_aligned = text.ljust(6, "*")

print(f"Left    : '{left_aligned}'")

Execution Result:

Left    : 'abc***'

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3. Center Align: center()

center() places the string in the middle and fills both sides with a specified character.

Syntax:

new_string = original_string.center(total_width, fill_character)

Usage Example

text = "abc"

# Set total width to 6, fill both sides with "*"
centered = text.center(6, "*")

print(f"Center  : '{centered}'")

Execution Result:

Center  : '*abc**'

If the remainder (total width minus string length) is an odd number (in this example, 6 – 3 = 3), Python adjusts it so that the right side gets one extra character.

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Advanced: Using f-strings

In Python 3.6 and later, you can achieve the same result using f-string formatting. This is often used in modern code because it is intuitive when embedding variables.

• <: Left align
• >: Right align
• ^: Center align

text = "abc"
width = 6
fill = "*"

# Format: {value : fill align width}
print(f"Right : '{text:*>6}'")
print(f"Left  : '{text:*<6}'")
print(f"Center: '{text:*^6}'")

Execution Result:

Right : '***abc'
Left  : 'abc***'
Center: '*abc**'

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Summary

• rjust(width, char): Right align (fill the left side).
• ljust(width, char): Left align (fill the right side).
• center(width, char): Center align (fill both sides).
• If the character argument is omitted, spaces are used.
• The same results can be achieved using f-string formatting (<, >, ^).