python syntax_error official true

SyntaxError

ID: python/syntaxerror

Also available as: JSON · Markdown
80%Fix Rate
95%Confidence
0Evidence

Version Compatibility

VersionStatusIntroducedDeprecatedNotes
3.x active — — —

Root Cause

The parser encountered invalid Python syntax. The code cannot be compiled due to a syntax violation.

generic

Official Documentation

https://docs.python.org/3/library/exceptions.html

Workarounds

  1. 90% success Check the line indicated by the error and the line before it (missing closing bracket, colon, etc.) 
    Look at lines around the indicated line number; check for unbalanced parentheses or quotes
  2. 90% success Use python -m py_compile <file> to check syntax without running 
    Static syntax check catches issues before runtime

Dead Ends

Common approaches that don't work:

  1. Guessing at the fix without understanding the error location 80% fail

    The caret (^) in SyntaxError points to where the parser got confused, not always the root cause