How to Print All Possible Permutations of Three Digits in Python

Generating all possible permutations (ordered arrangements) of a set of digits is a classic problem in combinatorics and programming. Given three digits like 1, 2, and 3, the goal is to produce every unique ordering: [1, 2, 3], [1, 3, 2], [2, 1, 3], and so on. This is useful in password generation, puzzle solving, brute-force algorithms, and combinatorial analysis.

In this guide, you will learn multiple methods to generate all permutations of three digits in Python, from the built-in itertools.permutations to recursive and loop-based approaches, along with explanations of how each method generalizes to more than three elements.

Understanding Permutations vs. Combinations

Before diving in, it's important to clarify the terminology:

• Permutations: order matters: [1, 2, 3] and [3, 2, 1] are different.
• Combinations: order doesn't matter: {1, 2, 3} and {3, 2, 1} are the same.

For n elements, the number of permutations is n! (n factorial):

• 3 digits → 3! = 6 permutations
• 4 digits → 4! = 24 permutations
• 5 digits → 5! = 120 permutations

Method 1: Using itertools.permutations (Recommended)

The most efficient and Pythonic approach uses itertools.permutations, which generates all ordered arrangements:

from itertools import permutations

digits = [1, 2, 3]

for perm in permutations(digits):
    print(perm)

Output:

(1, 2, 3)
(1, 3, 2)
(2, 1, 3)
(2, 3, 1)
(3, 1, 2)
(3, 2, 1)

Collecting Results as a List

from itertools import permutations

digits = [1, 2, 3]

all_perms = [list(p) for p in permutations(digits)]

print(f"Total permutations: {len(all_perms)}")
for p in all_perms:
    print(p)

Output:

Total permutations: 6
[1, 2, 3]
[1, 3, 2]
[2, 1, 3]
[2, 3, 1]
[3, 1, 2]
[3, 2, 1]

Generating Partial Permutations

You can also generate permutations of a specific length from a larger set:

from itertools import permutations

digits = [1, 2, 3, 4]

# All 2-element permutations from 4 digits
for perm in permutations(digits, 2):
    print(perm)

Output:

(1, 2)
(1, 3)
(1, 4)
(2, 1)
(2, 3)
(2, 4)
(3, 1)
(3, 2)
(3, 4)
(4, 1)
(4, 2)
(4, 3)

tip

itertools.permutations is the recommended approach for production code. It's implemented in C internally, making it significantly faster than pure-Python alternatives, and it works with any number of elements: not just three.

Method 2: Using Recursion

A recursive approach builds permutations by fixing one element at a time and recursively permuting the remaining elements:

def get_permutations(elements, current=[]):
    """Recursively generate all permutations."""
    if len(current) == len(elements):
        print(current)
        return

    for item in elements:
        if item not in current:
            get_permutations(elements, current + [item])


digits = [1, 2, 3]
get_permutations(digits)

Output:

[1, 2, 3]
[1, 3, 2]
[2, 1, 3]
[2, 3, 1]
[3, 1, 2]
[3, 2, 1]

How it works:

1. Base case: When the current list has the same length as the input, a complete permutation is formed: print it.
2. Recursive case: For each element not yet in current, add it and recurse with the extended list.
3. The item not in current check ensures each element is used exactly once.

caution

The item not in current check uses linear search (O(n) per check), which is acceptable for small inputs but becomes slow for large lists. For better performance with large inputs, use a set to track used elements or use itertools.permutations.

Improved Recursive Version with Swapping

A more efficient recursive approach swaps elements in place:

def permute(arr, start=0):
    """Generate permutations by swapping elements in place."""
    if start == len(arr):
        print(arr[:])  # Print a copy
        return

    for i in range(start, len(arr)):
        arr[start], arr[i] = arr[i], arr[start]  # Swap
        permute(arr, start + 1)                    # Recurse
        arr[start], arr[i] = arr[i], arr[start]  # Backtrack


digits = [1, 2, 3]
permute(digits)

Output:

[1, 2, 3]
[1, 3, 2]
[2, 1, 3]
[2, 3, 1]
[3, 2, 1]
[3, 1, 2]

This approach avoids creating new lists at each step, using O(1) extra space (not counting the recursion stack).

Method 3: Using Nested Loops (Fixed for Three Elements)

For exactly three elements, three nested loops with distinctness checks produce all permutations:

digits = [1, 2, 3]

for i in range(3):
    for j in range(3):
        for k in range(3):
            if i != j and j != k and i != k:
                print(digits[i], digits[j], digits[k])

Output:

1 2 3
1 3 2
2 1 3
2 3 1
3 1 2
3 2 1

How it works:

• Three nested loops iterate over all possible index combinations.
• The condition i != j and j != k and i != k ensures all three indices are distinct.
• Only valid permutations (where no element repeats) are printed.

info

This approach is hardcoded for exactly three elements. Adding a fourth element requires a fourth nested loop. For a variable number of elements, use itertools.permutations or recursion instead.

Generating Permutations as Numbers

If you need the permutations as three-digit numbers (e.g., for PIN generation):

from itertools import permutations

digits = [1, 2, 3]

numbers = []
for perm in permutations(digits):
    number = int("".join(str(d) for d in perm))
    numbers.append(number)

print("All three-digit numbers:", sorted(numbers))

Output:

All three-digit numbers: [123, 132, 213, 231, 312, 321]

Handling Duplicate Digits

When the input contains duplicate digits, itertools.permutations treats them as distinct (by position), producing duplicate results:

Problem

from itertools import permutations

digits = [1, 1, 2]

for perm in permutations(digits):
    print(perm)

Output (contains duplicates):

(1, 1, 2)
(1, 2, 1)
(1, 1, 2)  ← duplicate
(1, 2, 1)  ← duplicate
(2, 1, 1)
(2, 1, 1)  ← duplicate

Fix: use set() to eliminate duplicates

from itertools import permutations

digits = [1, 1, 2]

unique_perms = set(permutations(digits))

for perm in sorted(unique_perms):
    print(perm)

Output:

(1, 1, 2)
(1, 2, 1)
(2, 1, 1)

Practical Example: Generating All PIN Combinations

from itertools import permutations

digits = [3, 7, 9]

print("All possible 3-digit PINs:")
for perm in permutations(digits):
    pin = "".join(str(d) for d in perm)
    print(f"  {pin}")

print(f"\nTotal PINs: {len(list(permutations(digits)))}")

Output:

All possible 3-digit PINs:
  379
  397
  739
  793
  937
  973

Total PINs: 6

Comparison of Methods

Method	Generalizable	Performance	Handles Duplicates	Best For
itertools.permutations	✅ Any n	✅ Fastest (C impl.)	⚠️ With set()	Production code (recommended)
Recursion	✅ Any n	⚠️ Moderate	⚠️ With checks	Learning, custom logic
Recursion (swap)	✅ Any n	✅ Fast (in-place)	⚠️ With checks	Memory-efficient
Nested loops	❌ Fixed n only	✅ Fast	✅ Yes	Small, fixed-size inputs

Summary

Generating all permutations of three (or more) digits in Python can be accomplished in several ways:

• Use itertools.permutations() for the simplest, fastest, and most flexible solution: it works with any number of elements and is implemented in optimized C code.
• Use recursion for educational purposes or when you need custom logic during permutation generation (e.g., pruning, filtering).
• Use nested loops for quick, fixed-size problems where the number of elements is known and small (2–4 elements).
• Handle duplicates by wrapping results in set() when input elements may repeat.

For n elements, there are n! permutations: this grows very quickly (10! = 3,628,800), so be mindful of performance and memory when working with larger inputs.