---
name: sprintf
status: documented
runtime: pp
source: src/runtime/pp/strings/sprintf.rs
---
```{index} single: sprintf; Perl built-in (pp runtime)
```

# sprintf

## Synopsis

```perl
$s = sprintf('%d items at $%.2f each', $count, $price);
$s = sprintf('%05x', $hex_val);
$s = sprintf('%-20s', $name);
```

## Description

Formats a string according to a printf-style format specification.

Takes a format string followed by a list of arguments (from a
pushmark-delimited argument list on the stack) and returns the
formatted result string. Supports the standard C-style conversion
specifiers:

- `%s` string, `%d`/`%i` signed decimal, `%u` unsigned decimal
- `%o` octal, `%x`/`%X` hex, `%b`/`%B` binary
- `%e`/`%E` scientific, `%f`/`%F` fixed, `%g`/`%G` general float
- `%c` character (by codepoint), `%p` pointer, `%%` literal percent

Flags: `-` (left-justify), `+` (force sign), ` ` (space for sign),
`0` (zero-pad), `#` (alternate form). Width and precision may be
literal or `*` (consumed from the argument list). Indexed arguments
via `%N$` are supported. The `%vd` vector flag formats a string as
dot-separated byte values (e.g. version strings).

Uses a zero-allocation fast path: arguments are peeked from the stack
as `&[Sv]` without cloning, and integer formatting uses stack buffers.

## See also

printf, join