How to Convert Hexadecimal to Binary in Python

John on November 22, 2021

To convert hexadecimal to binary form, first, convert it to a decimal with the int() function, then use the Python bin() function to get binary from the decimal.

Hex to Bin using the Python int() Function

To demonstrate this, let's convert a hex value into its equivalent representation in binary.

result = bin(int('8AB', 16))

print(result)

0b100010101011

If you don't need the binary to be prefixed with 0b, trim the first two characters like this:

result = bin(int('8AB', 16))

trimmed_res = result[2:]

print(trimmed_res)

100010101011

Essentially we are accessing everything after the second index then storing it in a new variable.

Hex to Bin using the Python literal_eval() Function

You can also use the literal_eval() function to convert hex to binary. The one difference is you'll need to prefix the hexadecimal with 0x so the parser can understand it.

from ast import literal_eval

result = bin(literal_eval('0x8AB'))

print(result[2:])

100010101011