Yes, there is also std::endian::{big, small, native} that can be used to check if you need to byteswap or not. So a generic hton* is just: auto to_network_e

Yes, there is also std::endian::{big, small, native} that can be used to check if you need to byteswap or not. So a generic hton* is just: auto to_network_endian(auto std::integral value) { if constexpr (std::endian::native != std::endian::big) { return std::byteswap(value); } else { return value; } } ntoh is left as an exercise :). edit: in practice I think std::endian and std::byteswap is a compromise between those that wanted a simple {to,from}_network_endian and those that wanted strongly typed wrappers to prevent mixing object with distinct endianess (a-la boost::endian). As the commitee couldn't reach consensus, this is the compromise and you can build your own thing with these portable bits.