I’d strongly suggest using a data format known to both the elixir and the python side – like json. Inspect converts terms to a string representation in elixir syntax. This is not meant to work with python (even if it might in some places).

Until you do:

iex> inspect [100, 101, 102]
"'def'"

Personally, I’d use one of the more formal, established approaches for coaxing data across the Elixir/Python divide, such as JSON or Erlang_py discussed above. The corner cases have been sorted so you don’t have to.

FWIW - You can fix the inspect approach with the charlists option:

iex(5)> inspect [100, 101, 102], charlists: :as_lists
"[100, 101, 102]"

Perhaps this?

iex> inspect [1,2,3,4]
"[1, 2, 3, 4]"