What's the correct way to convert bytes to a hex string in Python 3?

Advanced techniques and use-cases

Legacy issues?

Does your ancestor's code deny the existence of bytes.hex()? Use binascii.hexlify():

import binascii

# More like 'hex-or-ASCII', amirite?
hex_string = binascii.hexlify(b'example').decode('ascii')
print(hex_string)  # Output: 6578616d706c65
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Why decode? Because binascii.hexlify() returns a bytes object, not a str.

Using codecs as your secret weapon

codecs module, the Swiss army knife of encoders, for hex conversion:

import codecs

# It's like a secret handshake!
hex_string = codecs.encode(b'example', 'hex_codec').decode()
print(hex_string)  # Output: 6578616d706c65
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Fancy format on demand

Python 3.8+ supports the ability to include delimiters when using bytes.hex(). It's all about style!

fancy_hex_string = b'example'.hex(':')
print(fancy_hex_string)  # Output: 65:78:61:6d:70:6c:65
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We used colons here, but feel free to pick your fancy punctuation.

A detour: More conversion tricks

Bytes to bytes-like entities

base64 and zlib come in handy for other bytes conversions:

• base64 for safe data encoding in URLs or tattoos.
• zlib for when your data had too much to eat.

Don't forget to encode strings

Strings turning into hex? Remember to change them into bytes first:

# Strings to bytes to hex... are we there yet?
string = 'trip'
byte_data = string.encode('utf-8')  # Convert to bytes
hex_string = binascii.hexlify(byte_data).decode('ascii')
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Potential pitfalls

• Hex strings are two-faced - they're always twice as long as their byte selves.
• Decode cautiously with binascii.hexlify() - 'ascii' is the secret password.
• bytes.encode('hex') is a party crasher at the Python 3 club.