How do I write output in same place on the console?

Question

I am new to python and am writing some scripts to automate downloading files from FTP servers, etc. I want to show the progress of the download, but I want it to stay in the same position, such as:

output:

Downloading File FooFile.txt [47%]

I'm trying to avoid something like this:

     Downloading File FooFile.txt [47%]
     Downloading File FooFile.txt [48%]
     Downloading File FooFile.txt [49%]

How should I go about doing this?

---

Duplicate: How can I print over the current line in a command line application?

Factor

you might be interested in this easy-to-use module, it's a text progress bar. pypi.python.org/pypi/progressbar/2.2 – Ceja

Does this answer your question? Print in one line dynamically – Intercourse

Answer 1

You can also use the carriage return:

sys.stdout.write("Download progress: %d%%   \r" % (progress) )
sys.stdout.flush()

Catanddog

Very common and simple solution. Note: if your line is longer than the width of your terminal, this gets ugly. – Nobe

I also had to add a call to sys.stdout.flush() so the cursor didn't bounce around – Factor

Is it possible to do this with multiple lines? Lets say I have three different downloads, and I want to show the progress of each one on its own line. – Lavena

I like to put the \r at the beginning of the line, and add a \x1b[K to clear the previous text. – System

What if I have multiple lines? For example, multiple downloads happening at the same time. It doesn't seem to work when I just add newlines, it prints infinitely. I.e., sys.stdout.write("Download progress: %d%% \n\r" % (progress) ) doesnt work – Mcclenaghan

It seems like the simplest solution for python 3 (as mentioned in answers below) is: print("sample text", end='\r", flush=True) – Monophony

@Monophony that worked seamlessly. Just fix the quotes with \r :) – Roche

Answer 2

Python 2

I like the following:

print 'Downloading File FooFile.txt [%d%%]\r'%i,

Demo:

import time

for i in range(100):
    time.sleep(0.1)
    print 'Downloading File FooFile.txt [%d%%]\r'%i,

Python 3

print('Downloading File FooFile.txt [%d%%]\r'%i, end="")

Demo:

import time

for i in range(100):
    time.sleep(0.1)
    print('Downloading File FooFile.txt [%d%%]\r'%i, end="")

PyCharm Debugger Console with Python 3

# On PyCharm Debugger console, \r needs to come before the text.
# Otherwise, the text may not appear at all, or appear inconsistently.
# tested on PyCharm 2019.3, Python 3.6

import time

print('Start.')
for i in range(100):
    time.sleep(0.02)
    print('\rDownloading File FooFile.txt [%d%%]'%i, end="")
print('\nDone.')

Otolaryngology

use this for python 3+: print('Downloading File FooFile.txt [%d%%]\r'%i, end="") – Allergy

On PyCharm Debugger console, \r needs to come before the text. Otherwise, the text may not appear at all, or appear inconsistently. I added the version that works for me as an edit, because I couldn't write multi-line code in this answer. I put it on my gist so people can view it while the edit is awaiting approval: gist.github.com/yulkang/40168c7729a7a7b96d0116d8b1bc26df – Mesocarp

"\r" at the end of the string works for me in the debugger console on PyCharm 2020.1 (PyCharm 2020.1.2 (Community Edition); Build #PC-201.7846.77, built on May 31, 2020). – Torment

What about 2 lines print ? – Steffin

minor detail it's possible to move the \r to the end parameter, like: print('Downloading File FooFile.txt [%d%%]'%i, end='\r') – Moraine

Answer 3

Use a terminal-handling library like the curses module:

The curses module provides an interface to the curses library, the de-facto standard for portable advanced terminal handling.

Palstave

Not available for Windows. – Cappella

@Diego there's now a support library for curses module on Windows. see https://mcmap.net/q/129423/-curses-alternative-for-windows-closed – Linlithgow

Answer 4

Print the backspace character \b several times, and then overwrite the old number with the new number.

Cinchonine

interesting, I hadn't thought of doing it that way. – Offshoot

I like this because it doesn't clear previous commands (if you have multiple stages you want to leave on the screen) – Concernment

Using carriage return (e.g. print 'Downloading.... \r') also doesn't clear previous data, but it prevents having to know how far back to back up. – Lurleen

Answer 5

For Python 3xx:

import time
for i in range(10):
    time.sleep(0.2) 
    print ("\r Loading... {}".format(i)+str(i), end="")

Excommunicate

Answer 6

#kinda like the one above but better :P

from __future__ import print_function
from time import sleep

for i in range(101):
  str1="Downloading File FooFile.txt [{}%]".format(i)
  back="\b"*len(str1)
  print(str1, end="")
  sleep(0.1)
  print(back, end="")

Dulcet

Why is this better than the above (I'm a Python n00b, so please excuse my ignorance :-))? – Attila

Answer 7

A neat solution that has been working for me is:

from __future__ import print_function
import sys
for i in range(10**6):
    perc = float(i) / 10**6 * 100
    print(">>> Download is {}% complete      ".format(perc), end='\r')
    sys.stdout.flush()
print("")

The sys.stdout.flush is important otherwise it gets really clunky and the print("") on for loop exit is also important.

UPDATE: As mentioned in the comments, print also has a flush argument. So the following will also work:

from __future__ import print_function
for i in range(10**6):
    perc = float(i) / 10**6 * 100
    print(">>> Download is {}% complete      ".format(perc), end='\r', flush=True)
print("")

Micropaleontology

In modern Python, you can supply an arg of flush=True to print, so there's no need for the extra sys.stdout.flush() call. – Rema

Answer 8

In python 3 the function print can get many arguments. the full signature of the function print is: print(args*, sep=' ', end='\n', file=sys.stdout, flush=False)

when sep is the separator of the arguments from args*, end is how to end the printed line ('\n\ means a new line) file is to where print the output (stdout is the consul) and flush is if to clean the buffer.

Usage Example

import sys

a = 'A'
b = 0
c = [1, 2, 3]

print(a, b, c, 4, sep=' * ', end='\n' + ('-' * 21), file=sys.stdout, flush=True)

Output

A * 0 * [1, 2, 3] * 4
---------------------

In python there are many ways to format string and even a built in formatted string type.

How to format string

1. the format() function. (some examples)
2. Formatted String Literals or in the common name f-strings.
3. format using % (more about this)

Examples

name = 'my_name'

>>> print('my name is: {}'.format(name))
my name is: my_name

# or
>>> print('my name is: {user_name}'.format(user_name=name))
my name is: my_name

# or
>>> print('my name is: {0}'.format(name))
my name is: my_name

# or using f-strings
>>> print(f'my name is: {name}')
my name is: my_name

# or formatting with %
>>> print('my name is: %s' % name)
my name is: my_name

Thereafter

First example has "sys.sdtout" gives a syntax error. Change to "sys.stdout". – Teledu

Answer 9

x="A Sting {}"
   for i in range(0,1000000):
y=list(x.format(i))
print(x.format(i),end="")

for j in range(0,len(y)):
    print("\b",end="")

Prem