Python IndexError

You may sometimes get an IndexError such as the following when running your code:

IndexError: list index out of range

What does it mean?

An IndexError means that your code is trying to access an index that is invalid. This is usually because the index goes out of bounds by being too large.

For example, if you have a list with three items and you try to access the fourth item, you will get an IndexError.

This can happen with strings, tuples, lists, and generally any object that is indexable.

Which line causes it?

Typically, Python will tell you which line is causing the error. For example:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/tmp/pyrunnerj1Bs76Cx/code.py", line 3, in
    print(xs[2])
IndexError: list index out of range

It can be helpful to read the error message carefully, paying special attention to the highlighted line.

Common causes

Typically the cause of an IndexError is that you forgot that indexing starts at 0 in Python.

So if you have a list with two items:

letters = ["A", "B"]

Then letters[0] is the first item, letters[1] is the last item, and letters[2] goes out of bounds and causes an IndexError

Debugging

It can be useful to add in a call to print right before the offending line, so you can see the object you are indexing into. If the index is a variable, you can also print that. This way you can see precisely what's going on in your code.

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