# Convert a List to a String in Python with join()

> Use the str.join() method to concatenate list elements into a single string with a separator, with list comprehension to handle non-string items

**URL:** https://sentry.io/answers/convert-a-list-to-a-string-in-python/

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## The Problem

How can I convert a list to a string in Python?

## The Solution

We can do this using Python's [`str.join()`](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str.join) method. This method takes an iterable, such as a list, and returns a new string containing the iterable's elements, concatenated with the original string as a separator. Consider the following examples:

```python
fullname = " ".join(["John","Smith"])
print(fullname)  # will output "John Smith"

firstname = "".join(["J","o","h","n"])
print(firstname)  # will output "John"

fullname_alt = ", ".join(["Smith","John"])
print(fullname_alt)  # will output "Smith, John"
```

If the list contains any non-string items, this method will raise a [TypeError](https://docs.python.org/3/library/exceptions.html#TypeError), so we may need to cast items to strings before using it. We can do this with a [list comprehension](https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/datastructures.html?highlight=list%20comprehension#list-comprehensions):

```python
my_numbers = [13, 7, 42]
my_string = " ".join([str(number) for number in my_numbers])

print(my_string) # will output "13 7 42"
```

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*Source: [sentry.io/answers/convert-a-list-to-a-string-in-python/](https://sentry.io/answers/convert-a-list-to-a-string-in-python/)*