Python Hex to String

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How to convert hex to string in Python? You can convert a hexadecimal string to a regular string using the built-in functions of Python in a simple process. Use the bytes.fromhex() method to convert the hexadecimal string to bytes, and then decode the bytes using an appropriate character encoding.

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You can convert hex to string in Python using many ways, for example, by using bytes.fromhex(), binascii, list comprehension, and codecs modules. In this article, I will explain various ways of converting a hexadecimal string to a normal string by using all these methods with examples.

1. Quick Examples of Converting Hexadecimal String to String

If you are in a hurry, below are some quick examples of how to convert hex to string.


# Quick examples of hex to string

import binascii
import codecs

# Initialization of hexadecimal string
hex_string = "57656c636f6d6520746f20537061726b42794578616d706c65"

# Example 1: Using bytes.fromhex() method
# to convert hexadecimal to normal string
byte_string = bytes.fromhex(hex_string)            
result = byte_string.decode('utf-8')

# Example 2: Using binascii.unhexlify() method
# To convert hexadecimal string to string
byte_string = binascii.unhexlify(hex_string)            
result = byte_string.decode('utf-8')  

# Example 3: Using list comprehension
# Convert hexadecimal string to normal string
byte_data = [int(hex_string[i:i+2], 16) for i in range(0, len(hex_string), 2)]
byte_string = bytes(byte_data)
result = byte_string.decode('utf-8')

# Example 4: Another example to convert hex to string 
# using list comprehension
result = ''.join([chr(int(hex_string[i:i+2], 16)) for i in range(0, len(hex_string), 2)])

# Example 5: Using codecs.decode() to convert
# hexadecimal string to string
byte_string = codecs.decode(hex_string, 'hex')
result = byte_string.decode('utf-8')

# Example 6: Using codecs.decode() method
# To convert hexadecimal string to normal string
byte_string = bytes(hex_string, encoding='utf-8')
binary_string = codecs.decode(byte_string, "hex")
result = str(binary_string, 'utf-8')

2. Using bytes.fromhex() Method

You can convert a hexadecimal string to a regular string using the bytes.fromhex() method. For example, first, initializes a hexadecimal string and converts it to bytes using bytes.fromhex(), and then decodes the bytes to a string using UTF-8 encoding. The final result will print on the console as a regular string.

Let’s take a hexadecimal string 57656c636f6d6520746f20537061726b42794578616d706c65 and convert it into a normal string i.e. Welcome to SparkByExample.


# Initialization of hexadecimal string
hex_string = "57656c636f6d6520746f20537061726b42794578616d706c65"

# Using bytes.fromhex() method
# To convert hexadecimal to bytes
byte_string = bytes.fromhex(hex_string)


# Decoding the bytes to a regular string using UTF-8 encoding               
result = byte_string.decode('utf-8') 
print("Hexa decimal string:", hex_string)      
print("After converting hex to string:",result)

Yields below output.

python hex string

3. Using Binascii Module

You can use the binascii module of Python to convert hexadecimal string to a regular string. This module provides various functions for working with binary data and hexadecimal encoding/decoding.

The unhexlify() function is one of the functions of this module, using this you can convert the hexadecimal string to bytes. The bytes are then decoded into a regular string using UTF-8 encoding. The final result will print on the console as a regular string.


import binascii 

# Initialization of hexadecimal string
hex_string = "57656c636f6d6520746f20537061726b42794578616d706c65"

# Using binascii.unhexlify() method
# To convert hexadecimal to bytes
byte_string = binascii.unhexlify(hex_string)

# Decoding the bytes to a regular string using UTF-8 encoding              
result = byte_string.decode('utf-8')
print("Hexa decimal string:", hex_string)       
print("After converting hex to string:",result)

Yields the same output as above.

4. Using List Comprehension

You can also use list comprehension to convert a hexadecimal string to a regular string. The list comprehension iterates over pairs of characters in the hexadecimal string and converts them to integers using base 16 (hexadecimal). The integers are then used to create a byte object. The bytes are decoded into a regular string using UTF-8 encoding.

However, keep in mind that while using list comprehension provides a more manual way to convert the hexadecimal string, using built-in functions like bytes.fromhex() or binascii.unhexlify() is generally more readable and idiomatic for this specific task.


# Initialization hexadecimal string
hex_string = "57656c636f6d6520746f20537061726b42794578616d706c65"

# Using list comprehension
# Convert hexadecimal to bytes
byte_data = [int(hex_string[i:i+2], 16) for i in range(0, len(hex_string), 2)]
byte_string = bytes(byte_data)

# Decoding the bytes to a regular string using UTF-8 encoding
result = byte_string.decode('utf-8')
print("Hexa decimal string:", hex_string)
print("After converting hex to string:", result)

# Another example to convert hex to string using list comprehension
result = ''.join([chr(int(hex_string[i:i+2], 16)) for i in range(0, len(hex_string), 2)])
print("After converting hex to string:", result)

Yields the same output as above.

5. Using Codecs Module

You can also use the codecs module in Python to convert a hexadecimal string to a regular string. For example, the codecs.decode() function directly decodes the hexadecimal string into bytes. Using UTF-8 encoding you can decode the bytes into a regular string.

The codecs module provides additional functionality for encoding and decoding data, and in this case, it simplifies the process of converting a hexadecimal string to bytes and then to a regular string.


import codecs

# Initialization hexadecimal string
hex_string = "57656c636f6d6520746f20537061726b42794578616d706c65"

# Using codecs.decode() to hexadecimal to bytes
byte_string = codecs.decode(hex_string, 'hex')

# Convert bytes to string
result = byte_string.decode('utf-8')
print("Hexa decimal string:", hex_string)
print("After converting hex to string:", result)

# Another example Using codecs.decode() method
# To convert hexadecimal to bytes
byte_string = bytes(hex_string, encoding='utf-8') 
binary_string = codecs.decode(byte_string, "hex")
result = str(binary_string, 'utf-8')
print("After converting hex to string:", result)

Yields the same output as above.

Conclusion

In this article, I have explained multiple ways of converting hexadecimal strings to regular strings in Python by using bytes.fromhex(), binascii, list comprehension, and codecs modules with examples.

Happy Learning !!

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