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How to Print Lists Without Brackets and Commas in Python

By default, printing a list in Python displays it with square brackets and commas separating the elements.

This guide explains how to print a list's contents without these delimiters, producing cleaner, more customized output. We'll cover using str.join(), the unpacking operator (*), and how to handle lists containing non-string elements.

The str.join() method is the most flexible and Pythonic way to print a list's contents without brackets and with a customizable separator.

Joining Lists of Strings​

If your list contains strings, you can directly use join():

list_of_strings = ['tutorial', 'reference', '.com']
result = ''.join(list_of_strings)   # Join with NO separator
print(result)                       # Output: tutorialreference.com

result = ' '.join(list_of_strings) # Join with space
print(result)                       # Output: tutorial reference .com

result = '\n'.join(list_of_strings) # Join with newline character.
print(result)

Output:

tutorial
reference
.com
  • ''.join(list_of_strings): Joins the elements with no separator (empty string).
  • ' '.join(list_of_strings): Joins the elements with a space separator.
  • '\n'.join(list_of_strings): Joins the elements with a newline separator.
  • You can use any string as the separator.

Joining Lists of Numbers​

str.join() requires a list of strings. If your list contains numbers (integers, floats), you need to convert them to strings first. A generator expression is the most efficient way to do this:

list_of_integers = [7, 21, 44]
result = ''.join(str(item) for item in list_of_integers)
print(result)  # Output: 72144

result = ' '.join(str(item) for item in list_of_integers)
print(result)  # Output: 7 21 44

result = '\n'.join(str(item) for item in list_of_integers)
print(result)

Output:

7
21
44
  • (str(item) for item in list_of_integers): This is a generator expression. It efficiently converts each number to a string as it's needed by join(), without creating an intermediate list. This is generally more memory-efficient than a list comprehension, especially for large lists.
  • Alternatively, you can use the map function:
list_of_integers = [7, 21, 44]
result = ''.join(map(str, list_of_integers))
print(result)  # Output: 72144

Using the Unpacking Operator (*) with print()​

The unpacking operator (*) provides a very concise way to print list elements without brackets and with a specified separator, all within the print() function itself:

list_of_strings = ['tutorial', 'reference', '.com']
print(*list_of_strings, sep='')   # Output: tutorialreference.com
print(*list_of_strings, sep=' ')  # Output: tutorial reference .com
print(*list_of_strings, sep='\n') # Output: Each item on new line.

list_of_integers = [7, 21, 44]
print(*list_of_integers, sep='')  # Output: 72144 (no separator)
  • *list_of_strings: The asterisk unpacks the list, passing each element as a separate argument to print().
  • sep='': The sep keyword argument to print() controls the separator between the arguments. Setting it to '' (empty string) removes any separation. The default is a space.
  • No string conversion needed: print() automatically handles converting numbers to strings, so you don't need str() or map() with this approach. This is a major advantage.
note

The unpacking operator with print() is usually the simplest option if you want space-separated output or no separator. If you need a different separator (like a comma, hyphen, or newline), str.join() is more flexible.

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