SyntaxError Python Origin: Application & API Last updated 12 Oct 2026

SyntaxError: invalid syntax

Python couldn’t parse the code. The caret (^) points at or just after the mistake.

Exact message you may see invalid syntaxexpected ':'unterminated string literalwas never closed
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Seen on: Python

Meaning

Missing colons, unclosed brackets on the previous line, using = instead of ==, Python 2 print statements and keywords used as names are common causes. Newer Pythons give more precise messages (“expected ':'”).

Common causes

  • Missing : after if/for/def
  • Unclosed ( [ { on the line above
  • print "x" (Python 2 syntax)
  • Running new syntax (match, walrus) on an old Python
  • Pasting shell commands (pip install) into the Python REPL

⚡ Quick fix

  1. Look at the line above the caret
  2. Check Python version (python --version)
  3. Run pip from the terminal, not inside python

Detailed fix by platform

Python

  1. python -m py_compile file.py checks syntax without running

How to diagnose

  1. Caret — Where does ^ point?
  2. Previous line — Unclosed bracket?
  3. Version — Syntax supported?

🔧 Still not fixed?

Many errors look alike. If the steps above didn’t solve it, one of these is probably what you’re facing:

Where this error sits

Origin: Application & API. Errors that are often confused with or caused by this one (click to open):

already declared — SyntaxError: Identifier 'x' has already been declared (JavaScript)already declaredawait outside async — SyntaxError: await is only valid in async functions and the top level bodies of modules (JavaScript)await outside asyncGraphQL Syntax Error — GraphQL: Syntax Error: Expected Name, found <EOF> / Unexpected } (API)GraphQL Syntax ErrorIndentationError — IndentationError: unexpected indent / expected an indented block (Python)IndentationErrorinvalid regex — SyntaxError: Invalid regular expression: /x/: Unterminated group (JavaScript)invalid regexinvalid token — SyntaxError: Invalid or unexpected token (JavaScript)invalid tokenmissing ) — SyntaxError: missing ) after argument list (JavaScript)missing )Parse error — PHP Parse error: syntax error, unexpected … (PHP)Parse errorSyntaxErr…

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