Simple example of use of __setstate__ and __getstate__

Here's a very simple example for Python that should supplement the pickle docs.

class Foo(object):
  def __init__(self, val=2):
     self.val = val
  def __getstate__(self):
     print("I'm being pickled")
     self.val *= 2
     return self.__dict__
  def __setstate__(self, d):
     print("I'm being unpickled with these values: " + repr(d))
     self.__dict__ = d
     self.val *= 3

import pickle
f = Foo()
f_data = pickle.dumps(f)
f_new = pickle.loads(f_data)

Output:

I'm being pickled
I'm being unpickled with these values: {'val': 4}

These methods are used for controlling how objects are pickled and unpickled by the pickle module. This is usually handled automatically, so unless you need to override how a class is pickled or unpickled you shouldn't need to worry about it.

A clarification to @BrainCore's answer. In practice, you probably won't want to modify self inside __getstate__. Instead construct a new object that will get pickled, leaving the original unchanged for further use. Here's what that would look like:

import pickle

class Foo:
    def __init__(self, x:int=2, y:int=3):
        self.x = x
        self.y = y
        self.z = x*y

    def __getstate__(self):
        # Create a copy of __dict__ to modify values and return;
        # you could also construct a new dict (or other object) manually
        out = self.__dict__.copy()
        out["x"] *= 3
        out["y"] *= 10
        # You can remove attributes, but note they will not get set with
        # some default value in __setstate__ automatically; you would need
        # to write a custom __setstate__ method yourself; this might be
        # useful if you have unpicklable objects that need removing, or perhaps
        # an external resource that can be reloaded in __setstate__ instead of
        # pickling inside the stream
        del out["z"]
        return out

    # The default __setstate__ will update Foo's __dict__;
    # so no need for a custom implementation here if __getstate__ returns a dict;
    # Be aware that __init__ is not called by default; Foo.__new__ gets called,
    # and the empty object is modified by __setstate__

f = Foo()
f_str = pickle.dumps(f)
f2 = pickle.loads(f_str)

print("Pre-pickle:", f.x, f.y, hasattr(f,"z"))
print("Post-pickle:", f2.x, f2.y, hasattr(f2,"z"))