How do I read from stdin in Python?

Better Stack Team
Updated on February 3, 2023

In Python, you can read from standard input (stdin) using the input() function. This function blocks execution and waits for the user to enter some text, which is then returned as a string. For example:

 
input_string = input()
print(input_string)

Alternatively, you can use the sys.stdin object, which is a file-like object that can be read from using the standard file I/O methods, such as read(), readline(), and readlines().

For example:

 
import sys

input_string = sys.stdin.read()
print(input_string)

You can also use the fileinput library for reading input from stdin, it has several useful features like reading line by line, looping over multiple files, and providing a convenient way to access command line arguments.

 
import fileinput

for line in fileinput.input():
    print(line)
Got an article suggestion? Let us know
Explore more
Licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

We are hiring.

Software is our way of making the world a tiny bit better. We build tools for the makers of tomorrow.

Explore all positions →