Get Variable Name as String in Python

In Python Variables are just the labels that are pointing to the values. They don't carry any built-in metadata about their names. That's why there is no direct built-in method to get the variable name as a string.

However, we can achieve this, by inspecting the environment such as using the globals(), locals(), or the inspect module. Let's dive into the article to learn more about getting a variable name as a string.

Using Python globals() Function

The Python globals() function is used to return a dictionary representing the current global symbol table. It provides the access to all the global variables and their corresponding values in the current scope. With the help of this feature, we can retrieve, modify or delete global variables.

Syntax

Following is the syntax for Python globals() function -

globals()

Example

Let's look at the following example, where we are going to consider the basic usage of the globals() function.

demo = 12345
result = [name for name, val in globals().items() if val is demo][0]
print(f"The variable is : {result}")

Output

Output of the above program is as follows -

The variable is : demo

Using Python locals() Function

The Python locals() function is a built-in function that returns the dictionary representing the current local symbol table. It provide access to all the local variables, functions and their corresponding values.

Syntax

Following is the syntax for Python locals() function -

locals()

Example

In the following example, where we are going to consider the 2variables, and finding out the variable names.

math = 75
chem = 69
variable = []
variable.append([ i for i, j in locals().items() if j == math][0])
variable.append([ i for i, j in locals().items() if j == chem][0])
print("The variable names are")
print(variable)

Output

Output of the above program is as follows -

The variable names are
['math', 'chem']

Using Python inspect Module

The Python inspect module is the part of the standard library and provides the tools to observe the type or properties of object in runtime. It allows to retrieve the information about live objects such as functions, classes.

Example

Consider the following example, Where we are going to use inspect module and getting the local variable name.

import inspect
def x(var):
    y = inspect.currentframe().f_back
    return [name for name, val in y.f_locals.items() if val is var][0]
def tp():
    demo = "Welcome"
    print(x(demo))
tp()

Output

Following is the output of the above program -

demo