Python String lstrip() Method

The String lstrip() method removes any whitespace from the beginning (the leading) of the string by default.

Syntax

my_string.lstrip(chars)

lstrip() Parameters

Python String lstrip() method parameters:

lstrip() Return Value

Python String lstrip() method returns a copy of the string with leading characters stripped.

All combinations of characters in the chars parameter are removed from the beginning of the string until the first mismatch.

Examples

Example 1: Strip Whitespaces from Left with lstrip()

The lstrip() method allows to remove spaces from the left side of a string, returning a new string.

my_str = "   Hello   "
result = my_str.lstrip()
print(f"'{result}'") # Output: 'Hello   ' 

output

'Hello   '

Note that newline \n, tab \t and carriage return \r are also considered whitespace characters!

my_str = " \t\n\r  Hello   "
result = my_str.lstrip()
print(f"'{result}'") # Output: 'Hello   ' 

output

'Hello   '

Example 2: Strip Characters from Left with lstrip()

By specifying the chars parameter, you can also specify the character you want to strip.

my_str = "aaabbbaaa"
result = my_str.lstrip('a')
print(result) # Output: bbbaaa 

output

bbbaaa

Example 3: Strip Multiple Characters from Left with lstrip()

The chars parameter is not a prefix! All combinations of its values are stripped, until reaching a character of the string that is not d in the set of characters in chars parameter.

For example, let's strip all the characters provided in the argument:

my_str = 'http://www.example.com'
result = my_str.lstrip('hwtp:/.')
print(result) # Output: example.com 

output

example.com