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auto-name-enum

String-based Enum with automatic value assignment

· 9 1 1

Created: 2020-12-02 · Last Released: 2026-03-10 · Version: 4.1.0

This package provides an extension of python Enum objects that automatically assigns values to members. This uses the auto() feature to assign text values to the enums instead of having to manually set them.

Specifying your enum

For example, you might create an enum with this like so:

class Aliens(AutoNameEnum):
    JAWA = auto()
    EWOK = auto()
    HUTT = auto()
    PYKE = auto()

Getting values

Using the class, verify the value of JAWA would be 'JAWA':

>>> print(Aliens.JAWA.value)
'JAWA'

You may also get the same value by just using the name of the item:

>>> print(Aliens.JAWA)
'JAWA'

Iterating

Python enums may be iterated over:

for alien in Aliens:
    print(f"name: {alien.name}, value: {alien.value}")

For more information on enums (and the auto method), see [the official docs] (https://docs.python.org/3/library/enum.html)

Mixins

There are two mixins provided that change the case of member values for both auto() and autodoc():

  • LowerCaseMixin: values are in all lower-case
  • TitleCaseMixin: values are in title-case (lower-case except for first letter)

When these mixins are used, they must be included after AutoNameEnum in the class inheritance declaration:

class Aliens(AutoNameEnum, TitleCaseMixin)
    JAWA = auto()
    EWOK = auto()
    HUTT = auto()
    PYKE = auto()

Documented members with autodoc()

The autodoc() function works like auto(), but also attaches a description and/or display_name to each enum member. This is useful for self-documenting enums where members need human-readable explanations or labels:

class Aliens(AutoNameEnum):
    JAWA = autodoc("A small, rodent-like alien from Tatooine")
    EWOK = autodoc("A furry, diminutive alien from the forest moon of Endor")
    HUTT = autodoc("A large, slug-like alien from Nal Hutta")
    PYKE = autodoc("A secretive, spice-dealing alien from Oba Diah")

The value works just like auto():

>>> print(Aliens.JAWA.value)
'JAWA'

Access the description via the .description property:

>>> print(Aliens.JAWA.description)
'A small, rodent-like alien from Tatooine'

A display_name can also be attached as a keyword argument:

class Aliens(AutoNameEnum):
    JAWA = autodoc(description="A small, rodent-like alien from Tatooine", display_name="Jawa (Tatooine)")
    EWOK = autodoc(description="A furry, diminutive alien from the forest moon of Endor", display_name="Ewok (Endor)")

>>> print(Aliens.JAWA.display_name)
'Jawa (Tatooine)'

You can mix auto() and autodoc() in the same enum. Members created with auto() will return None for .description and their value for .display_name:

class Aliens(AutoNameEnum):
    JAWA = autodoc("A small, rodent-like alien from Tatooine")
    EWOK = auto()
    HUTT = autodoc("A large, slug-like alien from Nal Hutta")

>>> print(Aliens.JAWA.description)
'A small, rodent-like alien from Tatooine'
>>> print(Aliens.EWOK.description)
None
>>> print(Aliens.EWOK.display_name)
'EWOK'