# mpaland/printf

Tiny, fast, non-dependent and fully loaded printf implementation for embedded systems. Extensive test suite passing.

Repository: https://github.com/mpaland/printf
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/printf
Language: C
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: printf, no-dependencies, sprintf, embedded, replacement, format, snprintf, embedded-systems, tiny, libc, threadsafe, tinyprintf, iot
Last push: 2023-04-03T17:53:29+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4351, "days_push": 1248, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3056, forks 562 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:39.761796+00:00)

## What it is
A tiny, dependency-free, thread-safe printf/sprintf/(v)snprintf implementation in a single C file, designed for embedded systems where libc is unavailable or too large. It includes its own fast float/integer conversion routines and extensive compile-time feature trimming options.

## Use cases
- replace libc printf in embedded firmware to reduce code size
- add formatted string output to a bare-metal project without linking libc
- get thread-safe, malloc-free sprintf/snprintf in C
- print floats and integers over serial UART on a microcontroller
- disable float or long long support via compile flags to shrink footprint
- use a standard-compliant printf in an IoT or RTOS project

## When to choose
- you need printf-family formatting on embedded targets without libc
- code size and no dependencies are critical
- you need reentrant, thread-safe formatting with no static buffers
- you want a mature, well-tested single-file C implementation

## When to avoid
- you already link against a full libc with printf
- you need wide-character or locale-aware formatting
- you need a maintained project with frequent updates
- you need C++ iostream-style or extensible custom format specifiers

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: maintenance
- function: serialization, embedded, developer-tools
- domain: embedded-systems, developer-tools, iot
- platform: c, cpp, embedded, cross-platform
- tags: printf, sprintf, snprintf, libc-replacement, no-dependencies, thread-safe, single-file, tinyprintf

## Member repositories
- mpaland/printf (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:39.761796+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:28:50.382551+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mpaland/printf (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:39.761796+00:00, sha 609f7090c5fa)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.