str.rjust()

str.rjust(width[, fillchar])

The .rjust() method returns a right-justified version of the string padded with the specified fill character (default is space) to reach the given width. This is useful for formatting output in tables or console applications where you want numeric or right-aligned text to line up neatly.

Syntax

str.rjust(width, fillchar=' ')

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
width	int	Required	Minimum length of the returned string
fillchar	str	’ ‘	Character used for padding

Returns: A new string of at least width length, right-justified.

Examples

Basic usage with spaces

>>> s = "hello"
>>> s.rjust(10)
'     hello'
>>> len(s.rjust(10))
10

The string “hello” is 5 characters long. When you ask for a width of 10, Python adds 5 spaces to the left to reach the target length.

Custom fill character

>>> "Py".rjust(8, '*')
'******Py'
>>> "Code".rjust(10, '-')
'------Code'

You can use any character for padding, not just spaces. This is handy for creating visual separators or aligning numbers.

Width shorter than string

>>> "hello".rjust(3)
'hello'

If the specified width is less than or equal to the string’s length, the original string is returned unchanged.

Practical formatting example

>>> numbers = ["1", "25", "125", "1000"]
>>> for n in numbers:
...     print(n.rjust(5) + " |")
    1 |
   25 |
  125 |
 1000 |

This creates neatly right-aligned numeric output where all numbers end at the same column position.

Aligning numeric tables

>>> data = [("Apples", 150), ("Oranges", 25), ("Bananas", 300)]
>>> for fruit, count in data:
...     print(f"{fruit.rjust(10)} | {str(count).rjust(5)}")
    Apples |   150
   Oranges |    25
   Bananas |   300

Right-justifying works well for numbers since it aligns digits by place value.

With f-strings (modern alternative)

>>> f"{'hello':>10}"
'     hello'

Note that f-strings provide a more concise syntax for string alignment in Python 3.6+. The > specifier means right-align.

Common Patterns

Right-aligning prices

>>> prices = ["9.99", "100.00", "50.50"]
>>> max_len = max(len(p) for p in prices)
>>> for price in prices:
...     print(price.rjust(max_len + 2))
  9.99
100.00
 50.50

Creating fixed-width columns for logs

>>> timestamps = ["10:00", "14:30", "09:15"]
>>> messages = ["Started", "Processing", "Complete"]
>>> for ts, msg in zip(timestamps, messages):
...     print(f"[{ts.rjust(5)}] {msg}")
[10:00] Started
[14:30] Processing
[09:15] Complete

Padding version numbers

>>> versions = ["1.0", "1.10.2", "2.0.1"]
>>> for v in versions:
...     print(f"v{v.rjust(10, '0')}")
v000001.0.0
v001.10.2
v0002.0.1

Errors

• If fillchar is not exactly one character, TypeError is raised
• If width is not an integer, TypeError is raised

>>> "hello".rjust(10, "ab")
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: The fill character must be exactly one character long

>>> "hello".rjust("10")
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: 'str' object cannot be interpreted as an integer

See Also

• str.center()
• str.ljust()
• str.zfill()