C Newline in Output

The \n escape sequence moves output to a new line, whether used once inside a single printf call or repeated across several separate calls.

In this page:

The \n Escape Sequence
Multiple Lines in One printf
Newlines Across Multiple printf Calls
Newline vs No Newline
Platform Differences in Line Endings

The \n Escape Sequence

The \n escape sequence represents a newline character, and placing it inside a string tells printf to move the cursor to the beginning of the next line at exactly that point in the output.

Example: The \n Escape Sequence

#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
	printf("Line one\nLine two");
	return 0;
}

Multiple Lines in One printf

A single printf call isn't limited to one line -- multiple \n sequences can appear within the same string literal, each one starting a new line as the string is printed.

Example: Multiple Lines in One printf

#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
	printf("Line one\nLine two\nLine three");
	return 0;
}

Newlines Across Multiple printf Calls

Newlines don't have to come from a single printf call; several consecutive calls can build up multi-line output together, with each \n in any of them starting a fresh line.

Example: Newlines Across Multiple printf Calls

#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
	printf("Line one\n");
	printf("Line two\n");
	return 0;
}

Newline vs No Newline

Without an explicit \n, consecutive printf calls print their text immediately next to each other on the same line, which is a common source of confusing output for beginners expecting automatic line breaks.

Example: Newline vs No Newline

#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
	printf("Hello");
	printf("World");
	return 0;
}

Platform Differences in Line Endings

The C standard library handles the translation between \n and the operating system's actual line-ending convention automatically when writing to a text-mode stream, so the same \n works correctly across Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Example: Platform Differences in Line Endings

#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
	printf("This works the same on Linux, macOS, and Windows\n");
	return 0;
}

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