---
name: "vfscanf_l"
section: "3"
platform: "freebsd"
package: "base"
version: "16.0-CURRENT-20261027-61c70dc16a79"
release: "FreeBSD 16.0-CURRENT (2026-10-27)"
platforms: ["freebsd"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/fscanf_l"
---

# vfscanf\_l(3)

input format conversion

Part of [fscanf\_l(3)](/fscanf_l/3.md).

## NAME

**scanf\_l**, **fscanf\_l**, **sscanf\_l**, **vfscanf\_l**, **vscanf\_l**, **vsscanf\_l** – input format conversion

## LIBRARY

Standard C Library (libc, -lc)

## SYNOPSIS

**#include \<stdio.h\>**

**#include \<xlocale.h\>**

*int*\

**scanf\_l**(*locale\_t loc*, *const char \* restrict format*, *...*);

*int*\

**fscanf\_l**(*FILE \* restrict stream*, *locale\_t loc*, *const char \* restrict format*, *...*);

*int*\

**sscanf\_l**(*const char \* restrict str*, *locale\_t loc*, *const char \* restrict format*, *...*);

*int*\

**vfscanf\_l**(*FILE \* restrict stream*, *locale\_t loc*, *const char \* restrict format*, *va\_list ap*);

*int*\

**vscanf\_l**(*locale\_t loc*, *const char \* restrict format*, *va\_list ap*);

*int*\

**vsscanf\_l**(*const char \* restrict str*, *locale\_t loc*, *const char \* restrict format*, *va\_list ap*);

## DESCRIPTION

The above functions scan input according to a specified *format* in the locale *loc*. They behave in the same way as the versions without the \_l suffix, but use the specific locale rather than the global or per-thread locale. See the specific manual pages for more information.

## SEE ALSO

[scanf(3)](/scanf/3.md), [xlocale(3)](/xlocale/3.md)

## STANDARDS

These functions do not conform to any specific standard so they should be considered as non-portable local extensions.

## HISTORY

These functions first appeared in Darwin and were first implemented in FreeBSD 9.1.