std::formatter

 

C++

Compiler support

Freestanding and hosted

Language

Standard library

Standard library headers

Named requirements

Feature test macros (C++20)

Language support library

Concepts library (C++20)

Diagnostics library

Memory management library

Metaprogramming library (C++11)

General utilities library

Containers library

Iterators library

Ranges library (C++20)

Algorithms library

Strings library

Text processing library

Numerics library

Date and time library

Input/output library

Filesystem library (C++17)

Concurrency support library (C++11)

Execution control library (C++26)

Technical specifications

Symbols index

External libraries

 

Text processing library

Localization library

Regular expressions library (C++11)

Formatting library (C++20)

Null-terminated sequence utilities

Byte strings

Multibyte strings

Wide strings

Primitive numeric conversions

to_chars (C++17) to_chars_result (C++17) from_chars (C++17) from_chars_result (C++17) chars_format (C++17)

Text encoding identifications

text_encoding (C++26)

 

Formatting library

Standard format specification

Formatting functions

format (C++20)

format_to (C++20)

format_to_n (C++20)

formatted_size (C++20)

vformat (C++20)

vformat_to (C++20)

Format strings

basic_format_stringformat_stringwformat_string (C++20)(C++20)(C++20)

runtime_format (C++26)

Formatting concepts

formattable (C++23)

Formatter

formatter (C++20)

formatter<pair-or-tuple> (C++23)

formatter<range> (C++23)

range_formatter (C++23)

enable_nonlocking_formatter_optimization (C++23)

basic_format_parse_contextformat_parse_contextwformat_parse_context (C++20)(C++20)(C++20)

basic_format_contextformat_contextwformat_context (C++20)(C++20)(C++20)

range_format (C++23)

format_kind (C++23)

Formatting arguments

basic_format_arg (C++20)

basic_format_arg::handle (C++20)

basic_format_argsformat_argswformat_args (C++20)(C++20)(C++20)

visit_format_arg (C++20) (deprecated in C++26)

make_format_argsmake_wformat_args (C++20)(C++20)

Format error

format_error (C++20)

 

Defined in header <format>
template< class T, class CharT = char > struct formatter;		(since C++20)

See More

The enabled specializations of std::formatter define formatting rules for a given type. Enabled specializations meet the BasicFormatter requirements, and, unless otherwise specified, also meet the Formatter requirements.

For all types T and CharT for which no specialization std::formatter<T, CharT> is enabled, that specialization is a complete type and is disabled.

Disabled specializations do not meet the Formatter requirements, and the following are all false:

• std::is_default_constructible_v
• std::is_copy_constructible_v
• std::is_move_constructible_v
• std::is_copy_assignable_v
• std::is_move_assignable_v.

Basic standard specializations

In the following list, CharT is either char or wchar_t, ArithmeticT is any cv-unqualified arithmetic type other than char, wchar_t, char8_t, char16_t, or char32_t:

Character formatters
template<> struct formatter<char, char>;	(1)
template<> struct formatter<char, wchar_t>;	(2)
template<> struct formatter<wchar_t, wchar_t>;	(3)
String formatters
template<> struct formatter<CharT*, CharT>;	(4)
template<> struct formatter<const CharT*, CharT>;	(5)
template< std::size_t N > struct formatter<CharT[N], CharT>;	(6)
template< class Traits, class Alloc > struct formatter<std::basic_string<CharT, Traits, Alloc>, CharT>;	(7)
template< class Traits > struct formatter<std::basic_string_view<CharT, Traits>, CharT>;	(8)
Arithmetic formatters
template<> struct formatter<ArithmeticT, CharT>;	(9)
Pointer formatters
template<> struct formatter<std::nullptr_t, CharT>;	(10)
template<> struct formatter<void*, CharT>;	(11)
template<> struct formatter<const void*, CharT>;	(12)

Formatters for other pointers and pointers to members are disabled.

Specializations such as std::formatter<wchar_t, char> and std::formatter<const char*, wchar_t> that would require encoding conversions are disabled.

The following specialization are still disabled in C++23 to avoid formatting some char sequences as ranges of wchar_t: Disabled formatters for wchar_t template<> struct formatter<char*, wchar_t>; (1) template<> struct formatter<const char*, wchar_t>; (2) template< std::size_t N > struct formatter<char[N], wchar_t>; (3) template< class Traits, class Allocator > struct formatter<std::basic_string<char, Traits, Allocator>, wchar_t>; (4) template< class Traits > struct formatter<std::basic_string_view<char, Traits>, wchar_t>; (5) A debug-enabled formatter specialization additionally provides a public non-static member function constexpr void set_debug_format(); which modifies the state of the formatter object so that it will format the values as escaped and quoted, as if the type of the format specifier parsed by the last call to parse were ?. Each formatter specialization for string or character type is debug-enabled.

(since C++23)

Standard format specification

Standard specializations for library types

std::formatter<std::chrono::duration> (C++20)	formatting support for duration (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::sys_time> (C++20)	formatting support for sys_time (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::utc_time> (C++20)	formatting support for utc_time (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::tai_time> (C++20)	formatting support for tai_time (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::gps_time> (C++20)	formatting support for gps_time (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::file_time> (C++20)	formatting support for file_time (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::local_time> (C++20)	formatting support for local_time (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::day> (C++20)	formatting support for day (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::month> (C++20)	formatting support for month (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::year> (C++20)	formatting support for year (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::weekday> (C++20)	formatting support for weekday (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::weekday_indexed> (C++20)	formatting support for weekday_indexed (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::weekday_last> (C++20)	formatting support for weekday_last (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::month_day> (C++20)	formatting support for month_day (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::month_day_last> (C++20)	formatting support for month_day_last (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::month_weekday> (C++20)	formatting support for month_weekday (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::month_weekday_last> (C++20)	formatting support for month_weekday_last (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::year_month> (C++20)	formatting support for year_month (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::year_month_day> (C++20)	formatting support for year_month_day (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::year_month_day_last> (C++20)	formatting support for year_month_day_last (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::year_month_weekday> (C++20)	formatting support for year_month_weekday (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::year_month_weekday_last> (C++20)	formatting support for year_month_weekday_last (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::hh_mm_ss> (C++20)	formatting support for hh_mm_ss (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::sys_info> (C++20)	formatting support for sys_info (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::local_info> (C++20)	formatting support for local_info (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::chrono::zoned_time> (C++20)	formatting support for zoned_time (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::basic_stacktrace> (C++23)	formatting support for basic_stacktrace (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::stacktrace_entry> (C++23)	formatting support for stacktrace_entry (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::thread::id> (C++23)	formatting support for thread::id (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::vector<bool>::reference> (C++23)	formatting support for vector<bool>::reference (class template specialization)
std::formatter<pair-or-tuple> (C++23)	formatting support for pair and tuple (class template specialization)
std::formatter<range> (C++23)	formatting support for ranges (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::stack> (C++23)	formatting support for std::stack (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::queue> (C++23)	formatting support for std::queue (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::priority_queue> (C++23)	formatting support for std::priority_queue (class template specialization)
std::formatter<std::filesystem::path> (C++26)	formatting support for filesystem::path (class template specialization)

Example

Run this code

#include <algorithm>
#include <format>
#include <iomanip>
#include <iostream>
#include <sstream>
#include <string_view>
 
struct QuotableString : std::string_view
{};
 
template<>
struct std::formatter<QuotableString, char>
{
    bool quoted = false;

    template<class ParseContext>
    constexpr ParseContext::iterator parse(ParseContext& ctx)
    {
        auto it = ctx.begin();
        if (it == ctx.end())
            return it;
            
        if (*it == '#')
        {
            quoted = true;
            ++it;
        }
        if (it != ctx.end() && *it != '}')
            throw std::format_error("Invalid format args for QuotableString.");
            
        return it;
    }
 
    template<class FmtContext>
    FmtContext::iterator format(QuotableString s, FmtContext& ctx) const
    {
        std::ostringstream out;
        if (quoted)
            out << std::quoted(s);
        else
            out << s;

        return std::ranges::copy(std::move(out).str(), ctx.out()).out;
    }
};
 
int main()
{
    QuotableString a("be"), a2(R"( " be " )");
    QuotableString b("a question");
    std::cout << std::format("To {0} or not to {0}, that is {1}.\n", a, b);
    std::cout << std::format("To {0:} or not to {0:}, that is {1:}.\n", a, b);
    std::cout << std::format("To {0:#} or not to {0:#}, that is {1:#}.\n", a2, b);
}

Output:

To be or not to be, that is a question.
To be or not to be, that is a question.
To " \" be \" " or not to " \" be \" ", that is "a question".

Defect reports

The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to previously published C++ standards.

DR	Applied to	Behavior as published	Correct behavior
LWG 3944	C++23	some char sequences were formattable as ranges of wchar_t	disable specializations added

See also

basic_format_contextformat_contextwformat_context (C++20)(C++20)(C++20)	formatting state, including all formatting arguments and the output iterator (class template)
formattable (C++23)	specifies that a type is formattable, that is, it specializes std::formatter and provides member functions parse and format (concept)
range_formatter (C++23)	class template that helps implementing std::formatter specializations for range types (class template)