pprint : Data pretty printer in Python

Last Updated : 9 Jan, 2026

The pprint module (pretty print) is a built-in utility that formats complex data structures like dictionaries, lists, or JSON in a readable way with proper indentation and line breaks. It’s useful for debugging and inspecting nested data.

Python 
from pprint import pprint

data = {
    'name': 'Leo',
    'age': 20,
    'hobbies': ['reading', 'coding', 'traveling'],
    'address': {
        'city': 'New Delhi',
        'country': 'India'
    }
}
pprint(data)

Output
{'address': {'city': 'New Delhi', 'country': 'India'},
 'age': 20,
 'hobbies': ['reading', 'coding', 'traveling'],
 'name': 'Leo'}

Explanation: pprint(data): formats it neatly with indentation and line breaks, making it easier to read.

Example: Printing JSON from an API

Without pprint

Python 
import requests

def geocode(address):
    url = "https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json"
    resp = requests.get(url, params={'address': address})
    return resp.json()

data = geocode('India Gate')
print(data)

Output:

{'status': 'OK', 'results': [{'address_components': [{'long_name': 'Rajpath', 'types': ['route'], 'short_name': 'Rajpath'}, ... }]}

Explanation:

  • Imports requests to call the Google Maps API.
  • geocode(address): sends a request and returns the JSON response as a Python dictionary.
  • data = geocode('India Gate'): gets location details.

With pprint

Python 
import requests
from pprint import pprint

def geocode(address):
    url = "https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json"
    resp = requests.get(url, params={'address': address})
    return resp.json()

data = geocode('India Gate')
pprint(data)

{'results': [{'address_components': [{'long_name': 'Rajpath',
'short_name': 'Rajpath',
'types': ['route']},
{'long_name': 'India Gate',
'short_name': 'India Gate',
'types': ['political',
'sublocality',
'sublocality_level_1']},
...
],
'formatted_address': 'Rajpath, India Gate, New Delhi, Delhi 110001, India',
'geometry': {'location': {'lat': 28.612912, 'lng': 77.2295097},
'location_type': 'APPROXIMATE',
'viewport': {'northeast': {'lat': 28.6142609802915,
'lng': 77.2308586802915},
'southwest': {'lat': 28.6115630197085,
'lng': 77.22816071970848}}}},
'place_id': 'ChIJC03rqdriDDkRXT6SJRGXFwc',
'types': ['establishment', 'point_of_interest']}],
'status': 'OK'}

Explanation:

  • pprint: Displays data neatly.
  • geocode(address): Sends a request to the API with the given address and returns the JSON response as a Python dictionary.
  • data = geocode('India Gate'): Gets location details for India Gate.
  • pprint(data): Prints the data in a readable, well-formatted way instead of one long line.
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