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:mod:`!enum` --- Support for enumerations

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:mod:!enum --- Support for enumerations

.. module:: enum :synopsis: Implementation of an enumeration class.

.. versionadded:: 3.4

Source code: :source:Lib/enum.py

.. sidebar:: Important

This page contains the API reference information. For tutorial information and discussion of more advanced topics, see

  • :ref:Basic Tutorial <enum-basic-tutorial>
  • :ref:Advanced Tutorial <enum-advanced-tutorial>
  • :ref:Enum Cookbook <enum-cookbook>

An enumeration:

  • is a set of symbolic names (members) bound to unique values
  • can be iterated over to return its canonical (i.e. non-alias) members in definition order
  • uses call syntax to return members by value
  • uses index syntax to return members by name

Enumerations are created either by using :keyword:class syntax, or by using function-call syntax::

from enum import Enum

class syntax

class Color(Enum): ... RED = 1 ... GREEN = 2 ... BLUE = 3

functional syntax

Color = Enum('Color', [('RED', 1), ('GREEN', 2), ('BLUE', 3)])

Even though we can use :keyword:class syntax to create Enums, Enums are not normal Python classes. See :ref:How are Enums different? <enum-class-differences> for more details.

.. note:: Nomenclature

  • The class :class:!Color is an enumeration (or enum)
  • The attributes :attr:!Color.RED, :attr:!Color.GREEN, etc., are enumeration members (or members) and are functionally constants.
  • The enum members have names and values (the name of :attr:!Color.RED is RED, the value of :attr:!Color.BLUE is 3, etc.)

Module contents

:class:EnumType

  The ``type`` for Enum and its subclasses.

:class:Enum

  Base class for creating enumerated constants.

:class:IntEnum

  Base class for creating enumerated constants that are also
  subclasses of :class:`int`. (`Notes`_)

:class:StrEnum

  Base class for creating enumerated constants that are also
  subclasses of :class:`str`. (`Notes`_)

:class:Flag

  Base class for creating enumerated constants that can be combined using
  the bitwise operations without losing their :class:`Flag` membership.

:class:IntFlag

  Base class for creating enumerated constants that can be combined using
  the bitwise operators without losing their :class:`IntFlag` membership.
  :class:`IntFlag` members are also subclasses of :class:`int`. (`Notes`_)

:class:ReprEnum

  Used by :class:`IntEnum`, :class:`StrEnum`, and :class:`IntFlag`
  to keep the :class:`str() <str>` of the mixed-in type.

:class:EnumCheck

  An enumeration with the values ``CONTINUOUS``, ``NAMED_FLAGS``, and
  ``UNIQUE``, for use with :func:`verify` to ensure various constraints
  are met by a given enumeration.

:class:FlagBoundary

  An enumeration with the values ``STRICT``, ``CONFORM``, ``EJECT``, and
  ``KEEP`` which allows for more fine-grained control over how invalid values
  are dealt with in an enumeration.

:class:EnumDict

  A subclass of :class:`dict` for use when subclassing :class:`EnumType`.

:class:auto

  Instances are replaced with an appropriate value for Enum members.
  :class:`StrEnum` defaults to the lower-cased version of the member name,
  while other Enums default to 1 and increase from there.

:func:~enum.property

  Allows :class:`Enum` members to have attributes without conflicting with
  member names.  The ``value`` and ``name`` attributes are implemented this
  way.

:func:unique

  Enum class decorator that ensures only one name is bound to any one value.

:func:verify

  Enum class decorator that checks user-selectable constraints on an
  enumeration.

:func:member

  Make ``obj`` a member.  Can be used as a decorator.

:func:nonmember

  Do not make ``obj`` a member.  Can be used as a decorator.

:func:global_enum

  Modify the :class:`str() <str>` and :func:`repr` of an enum
  to show its members as belonging to the module instead of its class,
  and export the enum members to the global namespace.

:func:show_flag_values

  Return a list of all power-of-two integers contained in a flag.

:func:enum.bin

  Like built-in :func:`bin`, except negative values are represented in
  two's complement, and the leading bit always indicates sign
  (``0`` implies positive, ``1`` implies negative).

.. versionadded:: 3.6 Flag, IntFlag, auto .. versionadded:: 3.11 StrEnum, EnumCheck, ReprEnum, FlagBoundary, property, member, nonmember, global_enum, show_flag_values .. versionadded:: 3.13 EnumDict


Data types

.. class:: EnumType

EnumType is the :term:metaclass for enum enumerations. It is possible to subclass EnumType -- see :ref:Subclassing EnumType <enumtype-examples> for details.

EnumType is responsible for setting the correct :meth:!__repr__, :meth:!__str__, :meth:!__format__, and :meth:!__reduce__ methods on the final enum, as well as creating the enum members, properly handling duplicates, providing iteration over the enum class, etc.

.. versionadded:: 3.11

  Before 3.11 ``EnumType`` was called ``EnumMeta``, which is still available as an alias.

.. method:: EnumType.call(cls, value, names=None, *, module=None, qualname=None, type=None, start=1, boundary=None)

  This method is called in two different ways:

  * to look up an existing member:

     :cls:   The enum class being called.
     :value: The value to lookup.

  * to use the ``cls`` enum to create a new enum (only if the existing enum
    does not have any members):

     :cls:   The enum class being called.
     :value: The name of the new Enum to create.
     :names: The names/values of the members for the new Enum.
     :module:    The name of the module the new Enum is created in.
     :qualname:  The actual location in the module where this Enum can be found.
     :type:  A mix-in type for the new Enum.
     :start: The first integer value for the Enum (used by :class:`auto`).
     :boundary:  How to handle out-of-range values from bit operations (:class:`Flag` only).

.. method:: EnumType.contains(cls, member)

  Returns ``True`` if member belongs to the ``cls``::

    >>> some_var = Color.RED
    >>> some_var in Color
    True
    >>> Color.RED.value in Color
    True

  .. versionchanged:: 3.12

     Before Python 3.12, a ``TypeError`` is raised if a
     non-Enum-member is used in a containment check.

.. method:: EnumType.dir(cls)

  Returns ``['__class__', '__doc__', '__members__', '__module__']`` and the
  names of the members in *cls*::

    >>> dir(Color)
    ['BLUE', 'GREEN', 'RED', '__class__', '__contains__', '__doc__', '__getitem__', '__init_subclass__', '__iter__', '__len__', '__members__', '__module__', '__name__', '__qualname__']

.. method:: EnumType.getitem(cls, name)

  Returns the Enum member in *cls* matching *name*, or raises a :exc:`KeyError`::

    >>> Color['BLUE']
    <Color.BLUE: 3>

.. method:: EnumType.iter(cls)

  Returns each member in *cls* in definition order::

    >>> list(Color)
    [<Color.RED: 1>, <Color.GREEN: 2>, <Color.BLUE: 3>]

.. method:: EnumType.len(cls)

  Returns the number of member in *cls*::

    >>> len(Color)
    3

.. attribute:: EnumType.members

  Returns a mapping of every enum name to its member, including aliases

.. method:: EnumType.reversed(cls)

  Returns each member in *cls* in reverse definition order::

    >>> list(reversed(Color))
    [<Color.BLUE: 3>, <Color.GREEN: 2>, <Color.RED: 1>]

.. class:: Enum

Enum is the base class for all enum enumerations.

.. attribute:: Enum.name

  The name used to define the ``Enum`` member::

    >>> Color.BLUE.name
    'BLUE'

.. attribute:: Enum.value

  The value given to the ``Enum`` member::

     >>> Color.RED.value
     1

  Value of the member, can be set in :meth:`~Enum.__new__`.

  .. note:: Enum member values

     Member values can be anything: :class:`int`, :class:`str`, etc.  If
     the exact value is unimportant you may use :class:`auto` instances and an
     appropriate value will be chosen for you.  See :class:`auto` for the
     details.

     While mutable/unhashable values, such as :class:`dict`, :class:`list` or
     a mutable :class:`~dataclasses.dataclass`, can be used, they will have a
     quadratic performance impact during creation relative to the
     total number of mutable/unhashable values in the enum.

.. attribute:: Enum.name

  Name of the member.

.. attribute:: Enum.value

  Value of the member, can be set in :meth:`~Enum.__new__`.

.. attribute:: Enum.order

  No longer used, kept for backward compatibility.
  (class attribute, removed during class creation).

  The :attr:`~Enum._order_` attribute can be provided to help keep Python 2 / Python 3 code in sync.
  It will be checked against the actual order of the enumeration and raise an error if the two do not match::

     >>> class Color(Enum):
     ...     _order_ = 'RED GREEN BLUE'
     ...     RED = 1
     ...     BLUE = 3
     ...     GREEN = 2
     ...
     Traceback (most recent call last):
     ...
     TypeError: member order does not match _order_:
        ['RED', 'BLUE', 'GREEN']
        ['RED', 'GREEN', 'BLUE']

  .. note::

     In Python 2 code the :attr:`~Enum._order_` attribute is necessary as definition
     order is lost before it can be recorded.

  .. versionadded:: 3.6

.. attribute:: Enum.ignore

  ``_ignore_`` is only used during creation and is removed from the
  enumeration once creation is complete.

  ``_ignore_`` is a list of names that will not become members, and whose
  names will also be removed from the completed enumeration.  See
  :ref:`TimePeriod <enum-time-period>` for an example.

  .. versionadded:: 3.7

.. method:: Enum.dir(self)

  Returns ``['__class__', '__doc__', '__module__', 'name', 'value']`` and
  any public methods defined on *self.__class__*::

     >>> from enum import Enum
     >>> import datetime as dt
     >>> class Weekday(Enum):
     ...     MONDAY = 1
     ...     TUESDAY = 2
     ...     WEDNESDAY = 3
     ...     THURSDAY = 4
     ...     FRIDAY = 5
     ...     SATURDAY = 6
     ...     SUNDAY = 7
     ...     @classmethod
     ...     def today(cls):
     ...         print(f'today is {cls(dt.date.today().isoweekday()).name}')
     ...
     >>> dir(Weekday.SATURDAY)
     ['__class__', '__doc__', '__eq__', '__hash__', '__module__', 'name', 'today', 'value']

.. method:: Enum.generate_next_value(name, start, count, last_values)

     :name: The name of the member being defined (e.g. 'RED').
     :start: The start value for the Enum; the default is 1.
     :count: The number of members currently defined, not including this one.
     :last_values: A list of the previous values.

  A *staticmethod* that is used to determine the next value returned by
  :class:`auto`.

  .. note::
     For standard :class:`Enum` classes the next value chosen is the highest
     value seen incremented by one.

     For :class:`Flag` classes the next value chosen will be the next highest
     power-of-two.

  This method may be overridden, e.g.::

     >>> from enum import auto, Enum
     >>> class PowersOfThree(Enum):
     ...     @staticmethod
     ...     def _generate_next_value_(name, start, count, last_values):
     ...         return 3 ** (count + 1)
     ...     FIRST = auto()
     ...     SECOND = auto()
     ...
     >>> PowersOfThree.SECOND.value
     9

  .. versionadded:: 3.6
  .. versionchanged:: 3.13
     Prior versions would use the last seen value instead of the highest value.

.. method:: Enum.init(self, *args, **kwds)

  By default, does nothing.  If multiple values are given in the member
  assignment, those values become separate arguments to ``__init__``; e.g.

     >>> from enum import Enum
     >>> class Weekday(Enum):
     ...     MONDAY = 1, 'Mon'

  ``Weekday.__init__()`` would be called as ``Weekday.__init__(self, 1, 'Mon')``

.. method:: Enum.init_subclass(cls, **kwds)

  A *classmethod* that is used to further configure subsequent subclasses.
  By default, does nothing.

.. method:: Enum.missing(cls, value)

  A *classmethod* for looking up values not found in *cls*.  By default it
  does nothing, but can be overridden to implement custom search behavior::

     >>> from enum import auto, StrEnum
     >>> class Build(StrEnum):
     ...     DEBUG = auto()
     ...     OPTIMIZED = auto()
     ...     @classmethod
     ...     def _missing_(cls, value):
     ...         value = value.lower()
     ...         for member in cls:
     ...             if member.value == value:
     ...                 return member
     ...         return None
     ...
     >>> Build.DEBUG.value
     'debug'
     >>> Build('deBUG')
     <Build.DEBUG: 'debug'>

  .. versionadded:: 3.6

.. method:: Enum.new(cls, *args, **kwds)

  By default, doesn't exist.  If specified, either in the enum class
  definition or in a mixin class (such as ``int``), all values given
  in the member assignment will be passed; e.g.

     >>> from enum import Enum
     >>> class MyIntEnum(int, Enum):
     ...     TWENTYSIX = '1a', 16

  results in the call ``int('1a', 16)`` and a value of ``26`` for the member.

  .. note::

     When writing a custom ``__new__``, do not use ``super().__new__`` --
     call the appropriate ``__new__`` instead.

.. method:: Enum.repr(self)

  Returns the string used for *repr()* calls.  By default, returns the
  *Enum* name, member name, and value, but can be overridden::

     >>> from enum import auto, Enum
     >>> class OtherStyle(Enum):
     ...     ALTERNATE = auto()
     ...     OTHER = auto()
     ...     SOMETHING_ELSE = auto()
     ...     def __repr__(self):
     ...         cls_name = self.__class__.__name__
     ...         return f'{cls_name}.{self.name}'
     ...
     >>> OtherStyle.ALTERNATE, str(OtherStyle.ALTERNATE), f"{OtherStyle.ALTERNATE}"
     (OtherStyle.ALTERNATE, 'OtherStyle.ALTERNATE', 'OtherStyle.ALTERNATE')

.. method:: Enum.str(self)

  Returns the string used for *str()* calls.  By default, returns the
  *Enum* name and member name, but can be overridden::

     >>> from enum import auto, Enum
     >>> class OtherStyle(Enum):
     ...     ALTERNATE = auto()
     ...     OTHER = auto()
     ...     SOMETHING_ELSE = auto()
     ...     def __str__(self):
     ...         return f'{self.name}'
     ...
     >>> OtherStyle.ALTERNATE, str(OtherStyle.ALTERNATE), f"{OtherStyle.ALTERNATE}"
     (<OtherStyle.ALTERNATE: 1>, 'ALTERNATE', 'ALTERNATE')

.. method:: Enum.format(self)

  Returns the string used for *format()* and *f-string* calls.  By default,
  returns :meth:`__str__` return value, but can be overridden::

     >>> from enum import auto, Enum
     >>> class OtherStyle(Enum):
     ...     ALTERNATE = auto()
     ...     OTHER = auto()
     ...     SOMETHING_ELSE = auto()
     ...     def __format__(self, spec):
     ...         return f'{self.name}'
     ...
     >>> OtherStyle.ALTERNATE, str(OtherStyle.ALTERNATE), f"{OtherStyle.ALTERNATE}"
     (<OtherStyle.ALTERNATE: 1>, 'OtherStyle.ALTERNATE', 'ALTERNATE')

.. note::

  Using :class:`auto` with :class:`Enum` results in integers of increasing value,
  starting with ``1``.

.. versionchanged:: 3.12 Added :ref:enum-dataclass-support

.. method:: Enum.add_alias

  Adds a new name as an alias to an existing member::

     >>> Color.RED._add_alias_("ERROR")
     >>> Color.ERROR
     <Color.RED: 1>

  Raises a :exc:`NameError` if the name is already assigned to a different member.

  .. versionadded:: 3.13

.. method:: Enum.add_value_alias

  Adds a new value as an alias to an existing member::

     >>> Color.RED._add_value_alias_(42)
     >>> Color(42)
     <Color.RED: 1>

  | Raises a :exc:`ValueError` if the value is already linked with a different member.
  | See :ref:`multi-value-enum` for an example.

  .. versionadded:: 3.13

.. class:: IntEnum

IntEnum is the same as :class:Enum, but its members are also integers and can be used anywhere that an integer can be used. If any integer operation is performed with an IntEnum member, the resulting value loses its enumeration status.

  >>> from enum import IntEnum
  >>> class Number(IntEnum):
  ...     ONE = 1
  ...     TWO = 2
  ...     THREE = 3
  ...
  >>> Number.THREE
  <Number.THREE: 3>
  >>> Number.ONE + Number.TWO
  3
  >>> Number.THREE + 5
  8
  >>> Number.THREE == 3
  True

.. note::

  Using :class:`auto` with :class:`IntEnum` results in integers of increasing
  value, starting with ``1``.

.. versionchanged:: 3.11 :meth:~object.__str__ is now :meth:!int.__str__ to better support the replacement of existing constants use-case. :meth:~object.__format__ was already :meth:!int.__format__ for that same reason.

.. class:: StrEnum

StrEnum is the same as :class:Enum, but its members are also strings and can be used in most of the same places that a string can be used. The result of any string operation performed on or with a StrEnum member is not part of the enumeration.

from enum import StrEnum, auto class Color(StrEnum): ... RED = 'r' ... GREEN = 'g' ... BLUE = 'b' ... UNKNOWN = auto() ... Color.RED <Color.RED: 'r'> Color.UNKNOWN <Color.UNKNOWN: 'unknown'> str(Color.UNKNOWN) 'unknown'

.. note::

  There are places in the stdlib that check for an exact :class:`str`
  instead of a :class:`str` subclass (i.e. ``type(unknown) == str``
  instead of ``isinstance(unknown, str)``), and in those locations you
  will need to use ``str(MyStrEnum.MY_MEMBER)``.

.. note::

  Using :class:`auto` with :class:`StrEnum` results in the lower-cased member
  name as the value.

.. note::

  :meth:`~object.__str__` is :meth:`!str.__str__` to better support the
  *replacement of existing constants* use-case.  :meth:`~object.__format__` is likewise
  :meth:`!str.__format__` for that same reason.

.. versionadded:: 3.11

.. class:: Flag

Flag is the same as :class:Enum, but its members support the bitwise operators & (AND), | (OR), ^ (XOR), and ~ (INVERT); the results of those operations are (aliases of) members of the enumeration.

.. method:: contains(self, value)

  Returns *True* if value is in self::

     >>> from enum import Flag, auto
     >>> class Color(Flag):
     ...     RED = auto()
     ...     GREEN = auto()
     ...     BLUE = auto()
     ...
     >>> purple = Color.RED | Color.BLUE
     >>> white = Color.RED | Color.GREEN | Color.BLUE
     >>> Color.GREEN in purple
     False
     >>> Color.GREEN in white
     True
     >>> purple in white
     True
     >>> white in purple
     False

.. method:: iter(self):

  Returns all contained non-alias members::

     >>> list(Color.RED)
     [<Color.RED: 1>]
     >>> list(purple)
     [<Color.RED: 1>, <Color.BLUE: 4>]

  .. versionadded:: 3.11

.. method:: len(self):

  Returns number of members in flag::

     >>> len(Color.GREEN)
     1
     >>> len(white)
     3

  .. versionadded:: 3.11

.. method:: bool(self):

  Returns *True* if any members in flag, *False* otherwise::

     >>> bool(Color.GREEN)
     True
     >>> bool(white)
     True
     >>> black = Color(0)
     >>> bool(black)
     False

.. method:: or(self, other)

  Returns current flag binary or'ed with other::

     >>> Color.RED | Color.GREEN
     <Color.RED|GREEN: 3>

.. method:: and(self, other)

  Returns current flag binary and'ed with other::

     >>> purple & white
     <Color.RED|BLUE: 5>
     >>> purple & Color.GREEN
     <Color: 0>

.. method:: xor(self, other)

  Returns current flag binary xor'ed with other::

     >>> purple ^ white
     <Color.GREEN: 2>
     >>> purple ^ Color.GREEN
     <Color.RED|GREEN|BLUE: 7>

.. method:: invert(self):

  Returns all the flags in *type(self)* that are not in *self*::

     >>> ~white
     <Color: 0>
     >>> ~purple
     <Color.GREEN: 2>
     >>> ~Color.RED
     <Color.GREEN|BLUE: 6>

.. method:: numeric_repr

  Function used to format any remaining unnamed numeric values.  Default is
  the value's repr; common choices are :func:`hex` and :func:`oct`.

.. note::

  Using :class:`auto` with :class:`Flag` results in integers that are powers
  of two, starting with ``1``.

.. versionchanged:: 3.11 The repr() of zero-valued flags has changed. It is now:

     >>> Color(0) # doctest: +SKIP
     <Color: 0>

.. class:: IntFlag

IntFlag is the same as :class:Flag, but its members are also integers and can be used anywhere that an integer can be used.

  >>> from enum import IntFlag, auto
  >>> class Color(IntFlag):
  ...     RED = auto()
  ...     GREEN = auto()
  ...     BLUE = auto()
  ...
  >>> Color.RED & 2
  <Color: 0>
  >>> Color.RED | 2
  <Color.RED|GREEN: 3>

If any integer operation is performed with an IntFlag member, the result is not an IntFlag::

    >>> Color.RED + 2
    3

If a :class:Flag operation is performed with an IntFlag member and:

  • the result is a valid IntFlag: an IntFlag is returned
  • the result is not a valid IntFlag: the result depends on the :class:FlagBoundary setting

The :func:repr of unnamed zero-valued flags has changed. It is now::

  >>> Color(0)
  <Color: 0>

.. note::

  Using :class:`auto` with :class:`IntFlag` results in integers that are powers
  of two, starting with ``1``.

.. versionchanged:: 3.11

  :meth:`~object.__str__` is now :meth:`!int.__str__` to better support the
  *replacement of existing constants* use-case.  :meth:`~object.__format__` was
  already :meth:`!int.__format__` for that same reason.

  Inversion of an :class:`!IntFlag` now returns a positive value that is the
  union of all flags not in the given flag, rather than a negative value.
  This matches the existing :class:`Flag` behavior.

.. class:: ReprEnum

:class:!ReprEnum uses the :meth:repr() <Enum.__repr__> of :class:Enum, but the :class:str() <str> of the mixed-in data type:

  • :meth:!int.__str__ for :class:IntEnum and :class:IntFlag
  • :meth:!str.__str__ for :class:StrEnum

Inherit from :class:!ReprEnum to keep the :class:str() <str> / :func:format of the mixed-in data type instead of using the :class:Enum-default :meth:str() <Enum.__str__>.

.. versionadded:: 3.11

.. class:: EnumCheck

EnumCheck contains the options used by the :func:verify decorator to ensure various constraints; failed constraints result in a :exc:ValueError.

.. attribute:: UNIQUE

  Ensure that each value has only one name::

     >>> from enum import Enum, verify, UNIQUE
     >>> @verify(UNIQUE)
     ... class Color(Enum):
     ...     RED = 1
     ...     GREEN = 2
     ...     BLUE = 3
     ...     CRIMSON = 1
     Traceback (most recent call last):
     ...
     ValueError: aliases found in <enum 'Color'>: CRIMSON -> RED

.. attribute:: CONTINUOUS

  Ensure that there are no missing values between the lowest-valued member
  and the highest-valued member::

     >>> from enum import Enum, verify, CONTINUOUS
     >>> @verify(CONTINUOUS)
     ... class Color(Enum):
     ...     RED = 1
     ...     GREEN = 2
     ...     BLUE = 5
     Traceback (most recent call last):
     ...
     ValueError: invalid enum 'Color': missing values 3, 4

.. attribute:: NAMED_FLAGS

  Ensure that any flag groups/masks contain only named flags -- useful when
  values are specified instead of being generated by :func:`auto`::

     >>> from enum import Flag, verify, NAMED_FLAGS
     >>> @verify(NAMED_FLAGS)
     ... class Color(Flag):
     ...     RED = 1
     ...     GREEN = 2
     ...     BLUE = 4
     ...     WHITE = 15
     ...     NEON = 31
     Traceback (most recent call last):
     ...
     ValueError: invalid Flag 'Color': aliases WHITE and NEON are missing combined values of 0x18 [use enum.show_flag_values(value) for details]

.. note::

  CONTINUOUS and NAMED_FLAGS are designed to work with integer-valued members.

.. versionadded:: 3.11

.. class:: FlagBoundary

FlagBoundary controls how out-of-range values are handled in :class:Flag and its subclasses.

.. attribute:: STRICT

  Out-of-range values cause a :exc:`ValueError` to be raised. This is the
  default for :class:`Flag`::

     >>> from enum import Flag, STRICT, auto
     >>> class StrictFlag(Flag, boundary=STRICT):
     ...     RED = auto()
     ...     GREEN = auto()
     ...     BLUE = auto()
     ...
     >>> StrictFlag(2**2 + 2**4)
     Traceback (most recent call last):
     ...
     ValueError: <flag 'StrictFlag'> invalid value 20
         given 0b0 10100
       allowed 0b0 00111

.. attribute:: CONFORM

  Out-of-range values have invalid values removed, leaving a valid :class:`Flag`
  value::

     >>> from enum import Flag, CONFORM, auto
     >>> class ConformFlag(Flag, boundary=CONFORM):
     ...     RED = auto()
     ...     GREEN = auto()
     ...     BLUE = auto()
     ...
     >>> ConformFlag(2**2 + 2**4)
     <ConformFlag.BLUE: 4>

.. attribute:: EJECT

  Out-of-range values lose their :class:`Flag` membership and revert to :class:`int`.

     >>> from enum import Flag, EJECT, auto
     >>> class EjectFlag(Flag, boundary=EJECT):
     ...     RED = auto()
     ...     GREEN = auto()
     ...     BLUE = auto()
     ...
     >>> EjectFlag(2**2 + 2**4)
     20

.. attribute:: KEEP

  Out-of-range values are kept, and the :class:`Flag` membership is kept.
  This is the default for :class:`IntFlag`::

     >>> from enum import Flag, KEEP, auto
     >>> class KeepFlag(Flag, boundary=KEEP):
     ...     RED = auto()
     ...     GREEN = auto()
     ...     BLUE = auto()
     ...
     >>> KeepFlag(2**2 + 2**4)
     <KeepFlag.BLUE|16: 20>

.. versionadded:: 3.11

.. class:: EnumDict

EnumDict is a subclass of :class:dict that is used as the namespace for defining enum classes (see :ref:prepare). It is exposed to allow subclasses of :class:EnumType with advanced behavior like having multiple values per member. It should be called with the name of the enum class being created, otherwise private names and internal classes will not be handled correctly.

Note that only the :class:~collections.abc.MutableMapping interface (:meth:~object.__setitem__ and :meth:~dict.update) is overridden. It may be possible to bypass the checks using other :class:!dict operations like :meth:|= <object.__ior__>.

.. attribute:: EnumDict.member_names

  A list of member names.

.. versionadded:: 3.13


.. _enum-dunder-sunder:

Supported __dunder__ names """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""

:attr:~EnumType.__members__ is a read-only ordered mapping of member_name:member items. It is only available on the class.

:meth:~Enum.__new__, if specified, must create and return the enum members; it is also a very good idea to set the member's :attr:~Enum._value_ appropriately. Once all the members are created it is no longer used.

Supported _sunder_ names """"""""""""""""""""""""""""

  • :attr:~Enum._name_ -- name of the member

  • :attr:~Enum._value_ -- value of the member; can be set in __new__

  • :meth:~Enum._missing_ -- a lookup function used when a value is not found; may be overridden

  • :attr:~Enum._ignore_ -- a list of names, either as a :class:list or a :class:str, that will not be transformed into members, and will be removed from the final class

  • :attr:~Enum._order_ -- no longer used, kept for backward compatibility (class attribute, removed during class creation)

  • :meth:~Enum._generate_next_value_ -- used to get an appropriate value for an enum member; may be overridden

  • :meth:~Enum._add_alias_ -- adds a new name as an alias to an existing member.

  • :meth:~Enum._add_value_alias_ -- adds a new value as an alias to an existing member.

  • While _sunder_ names are generally reserved for the further development of the :class:Enum class and can not be used, some are explicitly allowed:

    • _repr_* (e.g. _repr_html_), as used in IPython's rich display_

.. versionadded:: 3.6 _missing_, _order_, _generate_next_value_ .. versionadded:: 3.7 _ignore_ .. versionadded:: 3.13 _add_alias_, _add_value_alias_, _repr_* .. _IPython's rich display: https://ipython.readthedocs.io/en/stable/config/integrating.html#rich-display


Utilities and decorators

.. class:: auto

auto can be used in place of a value. If used, the Enum machinery will call an :class:Enum's :meth:~Enum._generate_next_value_ to get an appropriate value. For :class:Enum and :class:IntEnum that appropriate value will be the last value plus one; for :class:Flag and :class:IntFlag it will be the first power-of-two greater than the highest value; for :class:StrEnum it will be the lower-cased version of the member's name. Care must be taken if mixing auto() with manually specified values.

auto instances are only resolved when at the top level of an assignment, either by itself or as part of a tuple:

  • FIRST = auto() will work (auto() is replaced with 1);
  • SECOND = auto(), -2 will work (auto is replaced with 2, so 2, -2 is used to create the SECOND enum member;
  • THREE = [auto(), -3] will not work ([<auto instance>, -3] is used to create the THREE enum member)

.. versionchanged:: 3.11.1

  In prior versions, ``auto()`` had to be the only thing
  on the assignment line to work properly.

_generate_next_value_ can be overridden to customize the values used by auto.

.. note:: in 3.13 the default _generate_next_value_ will always return the highest member value incremented by 1, and will fail if any member is an incompatible type.

.. decorator:: property

A decorator similar to the built-in property, but specifically for enumerations. It allows member attributes to have the same names as members themselves.

.. note:: the property and the member must be defined in separate classes; for example, the value and name attributes are defined in the Enum class, and Enum subclasses can define members with the names value and name.

.. versionadded:: 3.11

.. decorator:: unique

A :keyword:class decorator specifically for enumerations. It searches an enumeration's :attr:~EnumType.__members__, gathering any aliases it finds; if any are found :exc:ValueError is raised with the details::

  >>> from enum import Enum, unique
  >>> @unique
  ... class Mistake(Enum):
  ...     ONE = 1
  ...     TWO = 2
  ...     THREE = 3
  ...     FOUR = 3
  ...
  Traceback (most recent call last):
  ...
  ValueError: duplicate values found in <enum 'Mistake'>: FOUR -> THREE

.. decorator:: verify

A :keyword:class decorator specifically for enumerations. Members from :class:EnumCheck are used to specify which constraints should be checked on the decorated enumeration.

.. versionadded:: 3.11

.. decorator:: member

A decorator for use in enums: its target will become a member.

.. versionadded:: 3.11

.. decorator:: nonmember

A decorator for use in enums: its target will not become a member.

.. versionadded:: 3.11

.. decorator:: global_enum

A decorator to change the :class:str() <str> and :func:repr of an enum to show its members as belonging to the module instead of its class. Should only be used when the enum members are exported to the module global namespace (see :class:re.RegexFlag for an example).

.. versionadded:: 3.11

.. function:: show_flag_values(value)

Return a list of all power-of-two integers contained in a flag value.

.. versionadded:: 3.11

.. function:: bin(num, max_bits=None)

Like built-in :func:bin, except negative values are represented in two's complement, and the leading bit always indicates sign (0 implies positive, 1 implies negative).

  >>> import enum
  >>> enum.bin(10)
  '0b0 1010'
  >>> enum.bin(~10)   # ~10 is -11
  '0b1 0101'

.. versionadded:: 3.11


Notes

:class:IntEnum, :class:StrEnum, and :class:IntFlag

These three enum types are designed to be drop-in replacements for existing integer- and string-based values; as such, they have extra limitations:

  • __str__ uses the value and not the name of the enum member

  • __format__, because it uses __str__, will also use the value of the enum member instead of its name

If you do not need/want those limitations, you can either create your own base class by mixing in the int or str type yourself::

   >>> from enum import Enum
   >>> class MyIntEnum(int, Enum):
   ...     pass

or you can reassign the appropriate :meth:str, etc., in your enum::

   >>> from enum import Enum, IntEnum
   >>> class MyIntEnum(IntEnum):
   ...     __str__ = Enum.__str__