@classmethod in Python (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 8 Jun, 2026

@classmethod is used to create a method that works with the class instead of an object instance. A class method receives the class itself as the first argument using cls. It is commonly used to access class variables, create factory methods and perform operations related to the class.

**Example: In this example, a class method is used to access a class variable without creating an object.

Python `

class Student: course = "Python"

@classmethod
def show_course(cls):
    print(cls.course)

Student.show_course()

`

**Explanation: @classmethod converts show_course() into a class method, and cls.course accesses the class variable course.

Syntax

class ClassName:

@classmethod
def method_name(cls, args):
# method body

**Parameters:

• **cls: Refers to the class itself.
• **args (optional): Additional arguments passed to the method.

**Return Value: Returns a class method object.

Examples

**Example 1: In this example, the class method accesses and prints a class variable shared by all objects.

Python `

class Car: brand = "Toyota"

@classmethod
def show_brand(cls):
    print(cls.brand)

Car.show_brand()

`

**Explanation: cls.brand accesses the class variable brand directly using the class method.

**Example 2: In this example, a class method creates an object using a formatted string.

Python `

class User: def init(self, name, age): self.name = name self.age = age

@classmethod
def from_string(cls, data):
    n, a = data.split("-")
    return cls(n, int(a))

u = User.from_string("Alex-21")

print(u.name) print(u.age)

`

**Explanation: from_string() uses cls() to create and return a new object from the string data.

**Example 3: In this example, classmethod() function is used directly instead of the @classmethod decorator.

Python `

class Demo: name = "GeeksforGeeks"

def show(cls):
    print(cls.name)

Demo.show = classmethod(Demo.show) Demo.show()

`

**Explanation: classmethod(Demo.show) converts the normal method show() into a class method.