C Format Specifiers

A format specifier tells printf() and scanf() what kind of value to print or read. It starts with %.

Common format specifiers

Specifier	Used for	Example value
%d or %i	int	25
%u	unsigned int	3000000000
%ld	long	123456789
%f	float (print)	3.140000
%lf	double (scanf)	3.14
%c	char	'A'
%s	string	"Hello"
%x	hexadecimal	ff
%o	octal	17
%e	scientific	1.5e+03
%%	percent sign	%

Example

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) {
    int n = 255;
    double pi = 3.14159265;

    printf("Decimal: %d\n", n);
    printf("Hex: %x\n", n);
    printf("Octal: %o\n", n);
    printf("Float: %f\n", pi);
    printf("Two decimals: %.2f\n", pi);
    printf("Char: %c\n", 'A');
    printf("String: %s\n", "C language");
    printf("Percent: 50%%\n");
    return 0;
}

Output:

Width and alignment

A number between % and the letter sets the minimum width. A minus sign aligns the value to the left. A zero fills with zeros.

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) {
    printf("[%5d]\n", 42);
    printf("[%-5d]\n", 42);
    printf("[%05d]\n", 42);
    printf("[%8.2f]\n", 3.14159);
    return 0;
}

Output:

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