How can I output leading zeros in Ruby?

Question

Use the % operator with a string:

irb(main):001:0> "%03d" % 5
=> "005"

The left-hand-side is a printf format string, and the right-hand side can be a list of values, so you could do something like:

irb(main):002:0> filename = "%s/%s.%04d.txt" % ["dirname", "filename", 23]
=> "dirname/filename.0023.txt"

Here's a printf format cheat sheet you might find useful in forming your format string. The printf format is originally from the C function printf, but similar formating functions are available in perl, ruby, python, java, php, etc.

If the maximum number of digits in the counter is known (e.g., n = 3 for counters 1..876), you can do

str = "file_" + i.to_s.rjust(n, "0")

Can't you just use string formatting of the value before you concat the filename?

"%03d" % number

Use String#next as the counter.

>> n = "000"
>> 3.times { puts "file_#{n.next!}" }
file_001
file_002
file_003

next is relatively 'clever', meaning you can even go for

>> n = "file_000"
>> 3.times { puts n.next! }
file_001
file_002
file_003

As stated by the other answers, "%03d" % number works pretty well, but it goes against the rubocop ruby style guide:

Favor the use of sprintf and its alias format over the fairly cryptic String#% method

We can obtain the same result in a more readable way using the following:

format('%03d', number)