PrettyTable

3.17.0 · active · verified Sat Mar 28

PrettyTable is a Python library for easily displaying tabular data in a visually appealing ASCII table format. It supports various output formats including ASCII, HTML, CSV, JSON, LaTeX, and MediaWiki. The library is actively maintained with regular releases, currently at version 3.17.0.

Warnings

breaking PrettyTable 3.17.0 dropped support for Python 3.9. Users on Python 3.9 or older should use an earlier version of PrettyTable (e.g., 3.16.0 or below) or upgrade their Python interpreter.
Fix: Upgrade Python to 3.10+ or pin `prettytable<3.17.0`.
deprecated The direct constants `hrule` and `tableStyle` were deprecated in version 3.12.0. Use the corresponding enum values from `HRuleStyle`, `VRuleStyle`, and `TableStyle` instead for clarity and type safety.
Fix: Replace `prettytable.FRAME` with `HRuleStyle.FRAME` or `TableStyle.DEFAULT` etc. as appropriate.
gotcha `ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'prettytable'` is a common issue, often caused by installing `prettytable` in a different Python environment (e.g., virtual environment) than the one your IDE or script is using.
Fix: Ensure `pip install prettytable` is run in the *same* Python environment where your script is executed. Verify the active Python interpreter in your IDE.
gotcha Prior to 3.15.1, `add_rows()` could raise an `IndexError` if provided with an empty list that was not handled gracefully.
Fix: Upgrade to `prettytable>=3.15.1` or ensure the list passed to `add_rows()` is not empty before calling.
gotcha In versions prior to 3.14.0, specifying `sortby` directly at class declaration might not have been correctly applied, requiring it to be set after instantiation or via `get_string()` arguments.
Fix: Upgrade to `prettytable>=3.14.0` or set `sortby` explicitly on the table instance (`table.sortby = "Column"`) after initialization or when calling `get_string()`.

Install

pip install prettytable Install latest version

Imports

PrettyTable
```
from prettytable import PrettyTable
```
ColorTable
```
from prettytable.colortable import ColorTable
```
Use ColorTable for ANSI color support.
TableStyle
```
from prettytable import TableStyle
```
Also HRuleStyle, VRuleStyle for granular styling enums.

Quickstart

Initialize a PrettyTable, define column headers using `field_names`, add data row by row with `add_row`, and then print the table. Customization for alignment and built-in styles is also demonstrated.

from prettytable import PrettyTable

table = PrettyTable()
table.field_names = ["City name", "Area", "Population"]
table.add_row(["Adelaide", 1295, 1158259])
table.add_row(["Brisbane", 5905, 1857594])
table.add_row(["Sydney", 2058, 4336374])

print(table)

# Example with alignment and style
table.align["City name"] = "l"
table.align["Population"] = "r"

# To use custom styles, import TableStyle
from prettytable import TableStyle
table.set_style(TableStyle.MARKDOWN)
print(table)

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