---
name: "fgetws"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "man-pages"
version: "6.19-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux", "freebsd", "macos"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/fgetws"
---

# fgetws(3)

read a wide-character string from a FILE stream

## NAME

fgetws - read a wide-character string from a FILE stream

## LIBRARY

Standard C library (*libc*, *-lc*)

## SYNOPSIS

```
#include <wchar.h>
```

**wchar\_t \*fgetws(**int n;          **wchar\_t** *ws***\[restrict** *n***\], int** *n***, FILE \*restrict** *stream***);**

## DESCRIPTION

The **fgetws**() function is the wide-character equivalent of the [**fgets**(3)](/fgets/3.md) function. It reads a string of at most *n-1* wide characters into the wide-character array pointed to by *ws*, and adds a terminating null wide character (L'\\0'). It stops reading wide characters after it has encountered and stored a newline wide character. It also stops when end of stream is reached.

The programmer must ensure that there is room for at least *n* wide characters at *ws*.

For a nonlocking counterpart, see [**unlocked\_stdio**(3)](/unlocked_stdio/3.md).

## RETURN VALUE

The **fgetws**() function, if successful, returns *ws*. If end of stream was already reached or if an error occurred, it returns NULL.

## ATTRIBUTES

For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see [**attributes**(7)](/attributes/7.md).

| | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Interface** | **Attribute** | **Value** |
| **fgetws**() | Thread safety | MT-Safe |

## STANDARDS

C11, POSIX.1-2008.

## HISTORY

POSIX.1-2001, C99.

## NOTES

The behavior of **fgetws**() depends on the **LC\_CTYPE** category of the current locale.

In the absence of additional information passed to the [**fopen**(3)](/fopen/3.md) call, it is reasonable to expect that **fgetws**() will actually read a multibyte string from the stream and then convert it to a wide-character string.

This function is unreliable, because it does not permit to deal properly with null wide characters that may be present in the input.

## SEE ALSO

[**fgetwc**(3)](/fgetwc/3.md), [**unlocked\_stdio**(3)](/unlocked_stdio/3.md)