How to get Linux console window width in Python

Question

Is there a way in python to programmatically determine the width of the console? I mean the number of characters that fits in one line without wrapping, not the pixel width

Answer 1

If you're using Python 3.3 or above, I'd recommend the built-in get_terminal_size() as already recommended. However if you are stuck with an older version and want a simple, cross-platform way of doing this, you could use asciimatics. This package supports versions of Python back to 2.7 and uses similar options to those suggested above to get the current terminal/console size.

Simply construct your Screen class and use the dimensions property to get the height and width. This has been proven to work on Linux, OSX and Windows.

Oh - and full disclosure here: I am the author, so please feel free to open a new issue if you have any problems getting this to work.