hex_to_bytes

Convert a hex string to raw bytes

Convert a hex string to raw bytes, stripping an optional 0x prefix.

Overview

hex_to_bytes() is a convenience wrapper around bytes.fromhex() that accepts both "0xabcd…" and "abcd…" formats. It handles the common case of hex-encoded data that may or may not include an Ethereum-style 0x prefix.

Signature

def hex_to_bytes(hex_string: str) -> bytes:

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
hex_string	str	Yes	Hex-encoded string, with or without a "0x" prefix

Returns

Type	Description
bytes	Decoded raw bytes

Raises

• ValueError — If hex_string contains non-hex characters or has odd length after prefix removal

Examples

Basic Usage

from seismic_web3 import hex_to_bytes

# With 0x prefix
data = hex_to_bytes("0xdeadbeef")  # b'\xde\xad\xbe\xef'

# Without prefix
data = hex_to_bytes("deadbeef")    # b'\xde\xad\xbe\xef'

Load Key from Environment

import os
from seismic_web3 import hex_to_bytes, Bytes32

# Load a 32-byte viewing key from an environment variable
viewing_key = Bytes32(hex_to_bytes(os.environ["VIEWING_KEY"]))

Validate Hex Input

from seismic_web3 import hex_to_bytes

try:
    data = hex_to_bytes("not-valid-hex")
except ValueError as e:
    print(f"Invalid hex: {e}")

Notes

• Equivalent to bytes.fromhex(hex_string.removeprefix("0x"))

• Does not validate length — use Bytes32 or PrivateKey for length-checked values

• For loading private keys from hex, prefer PrivateKey.from_hex_str() which combines decoding and validation

See Also

• PrivateKey.from_hex_str() — Load a private key from a hex string

• Bytes32 — 32-byte value type

• PrivateKey — 32-byte private key type