How to fix TypeError: list indices must be integers or slices, not str in Python

One error that you might encounter when running Python code is:

TypeError: list indices must be integers or slices, not str

There are two possible causes for this error:

1. Accessing an element of a list using a string
2. Slicing a list using a string in the slice syntax

This tutorial will show you examples that cause this error and how I fix it in practice.

1. Accessing an element of a list using a string

This error frequently occurs when you try to access an element of a list using a string.

The most common scenario is you’re using the input() function to make the user choose the element to select as follows:

my_list = ["Apple", "Banana", "Orange"]

print(my_list)
choice = input("Which fruit you want to pick? (0, 1, or 2): ")

print(f"You chose {my_list[choice]}")

When you execute the code, Python will show an error after you send an input:

['Apple', 'Banana', 'Orange']
Which fruit you want to pick? (0, 1, or 2): 2
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "main.py", line 6, in <module>
    print(f"You chose {my_list[choice]}")
TypeError: list indices must be integers or slices, not str

The error happens because the input() function always returns a str object.

To resolve this error, you need to call the int() function to convert the choice to an integer:

my_list = ["Apple", "Banana", "Orange"]

print(my_list)
choice = input("Which fruit you want to pick? (0, 1, or 2): ")

choice = int(choice)

print(f"You chose {my_list[choice]}")

Now you can run the code without triggering the error:

['Apple', 'Banana', 'Orange']
Which fruit you want to pick? (0, 1, or 2): 2
You chose Orange

2. Slicing a list using a string in the slice syntax

The same error also occurs when you try to slice a list using a string.

For example:

my_list = ["Apple", "Banana", "Orange"]

# Get the last two items
sliced_list = my_list["1":]

Because slicing can only be done using integers, you need to convert the string into a number using the int() function:

my_list = ["Apple", "Banana", "Orange"]

# Get the last two items
sliced_list = my_list[int("1"):]

print(sliced_list)

Output:

['Banana', 'Orange']

As you can see, the code works when you use an integer number for the slicing.

Conclusion

The TypeError: list indices must be integers or slices, not str occurs when you use strings to access a list at a specific position.

To resolve this error, you need to make sure you put integers or slices inside the square brackets [] to access a list.

I hope this tutorial helps. Happy coding! 👍