- Why do I get a SyntaxError for a Unicode escape in my file path? [duplicate]
- Python SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’ codec can’t decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \UXXXXXXXX escape
- Step #1: How to solve SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’ — Double slashes for escape characters
- Step #2: Use raw strings to prevent SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’
- Step #3: Slashes for file paths -SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’
- Step #4: PyCharm — SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’ codec can’t decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \UXXXXXXXX escape
- Unicode escape python ошибка
- # SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’ codec can’t decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \ UXXXXXXXX escape
- # Prefix the string with r to mark it as a raw string
- # Escape the backslash with a second backslash character
- # Using forward slashes instead of backslashes in paths
- # The 3 possible solutions to the error
- problem opening a text document — unicode error
- 3 Answers 3
Why do I get a SyntaxError for a Unicode escape in my file path? [duplicate]
You need to use a raw string, double your slashes or use forward slashes instead:
r'C:\Users\expoperialed\Desktop\Python' 'C:\\Users\\expoperialed\\Desktop\\Python' 'C:/Users/expoperialed/Desktop/Python'
In regular Python strings, the \U character combination signals an extended Unicode codepoint escape.
You can hit any number of other issues, for any of the other recognised escape sequences, such as \a , \t , or \x .
Note that as of Python 3.6, unrecognized escape sequences can trigger a DeprecationWarning (you’ll have to remove the default filter for those), and in a future version of Python, such unrecognised escape sequences will cause a SyntaxError . No specific version has been set at this time, but Python will first use SyntaxWarning in the version before it’ll be an error.
If you want to find issues like these in Python versions 3.6 and up, you can turn the warning into a SyntaxError exception by using the warnings filter error:^invalid escape sequence .*:DeprecationWarning (via a command line switch, environment variable or function call):
Python 3.10.0 (default, Oct 15 2021, 22:25:32) [Clang 13.0.0 (clang-1300.0.29.3)] on darwin Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information. >>> import warnings >>> '\expoperialed' '\\expoperialed' >>> warnings.filterwarnings('default', '^invalid escape sequence .*', DeprecationWarning) >>> '\expoperialed' :1: DeprecationWarning: invalid escape sequence '\e' '\\expoperialed' >>> warnings.filterwarnings('error', '^invalid escape sequence .*', DeprecationWarning) >>> '\expoperialed' File "", line 1 '\expoperialed' ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ SyntaxError: invalid escape sequence '\e'
Python SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’ codec can’t decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \UXXXXXXXX escape
While this error can appear in different situations the reason for the error is one and the same:
- there are special characters( escape sequence — characters starting with backslash — » ).
- From the error above you can recognize that the culprit is ‘\U’ — which is considered as unicode character.
- another possible errors for SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’ will be raised for ‘\x’, ‘\u’
- codec can’t decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \xXX escape
- codec can’t decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \uXXXX escape
Step #1: How to solve SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’ — Double slashes for escape characters
Let’s start with one of the most frequent examples — windows paths. In this case there is a bad character sequence in the string:
import json json_data=open("C:\Users\test.txt").read() json_obj = json.loads(json_data)
The problem is that \U is considered as a special escape sequence for Python string. In order to resolved you need to add second escape character like:
import json json_data=open("C:\\Users\\test.txt").read() json_obj = json.loads(json_data)
Step #2: Use raw strings to prevent SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’
If the first option is not good enough or working then raw strings are the next option. Simply by adding r (for raw string literals) to resolve the error. This is an example of raw strings:
import json json_data=open(r"C:\Users\test.txt").read() json_obj = json.loads(json_data)
If you like to find more information about Python strings, literals
In the same link we can find:
When an r’ or R’ prefix is present, backslashes are still used to quote the following character, but all backslashes are left in the string. For example, the string literal r»\n» consists of two characters: a backslash and a lowercase `n’.
Step #3: Slashes for file paths -SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’
Another possible solution is to replace the backslash with slash for paths of files and folders. For example:
Since python can recognize both I prefer to use only the second way in order to avoid such nasty traps. Another reason for using slashes is your code to be uniform and homogeneous.
Step #4: PyCharm — SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’ codec can’t decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \UXXXXXXXX escape
The picture below demonstrates how the error will look like in PyCharm. In order to understand what happens you will need to investigate the error log.
The error log will have information for the program flow as:
/home/vanx/Software/Tensorflow/environments/venv36/bin/python3 /home/vanx/PycharmProjects/python/test/Other/temp.py File "/home/vanx/PycharmProjects/python/test/Other/temp.py", line 3 json_data=open("C:\Users\test.txt").read() ^ SyntaxError: (unicode error) 'unicodeescape' codec can't decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \UXXXXXXXX escape
You can see the latest call which produces the error and click on it. Once the reason is identified then you can test what could solve the problem.
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Unicode escape python ошибка
SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’ codec can’t decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \UXXXXXXXX escape
Last updated: Feb 17, 2023
Reading time · 3 min# SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’ codec can’t decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \ UXXXXXXXX escape
The Python «SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’ codec can’t decode bytes in position» occurs when we have an unescaped backslash character in a path.
To solve the error, prefix the path with r to mark it as a raw string, e.g. r’C:\Users\Bob\Desktop\example.txt’ .
Copied!File "/home/borislav/Desktop/bobbyhadz_python/main.py", line 2 file_name = 'C:\Users\Bob\Desktop\example.txt' ^ SyntaxError: (unicode error) 'unicodeescape' codec can't decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \UXXXXXXXX escape
Here is an example of how the error occurs.
Copied!# ⛔️ SyntaxError: (unicode error) 'unicodeescape' codec can't decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \UXXXXXXXX escape file_name = 'C:\Users\Bob\Desktop\example.txt' with open(file_name, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f: lines = f.readlines() print(lines)
The path contains backslash characters which is the cause of the error.
The backslash \ character has a special meaning in Python. It is used as an escape character (e.g. \n or \t ).
# Prefix the string with r to mark it as a raw string
One way to solve the error is to prefix the string with the letter r to mark it as a raw string.
Copied!# ✅ prefix string with r file_name = r'C:\Users\Bob\Desktop\example.txt' with open(file_name, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f: lines = f.readlines() print(lines)
If the error persists, try to use a triple-quoted raw string instead.
Copied!# ✅ wrapped raw string in triple quotes file_name = r'''C:\Users\Bob\Desktop\example.txt''' with open(file_name, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f: lines = f.readlines() print(lines)
You might also use the open() function directly, without the with statement.
Copied!file_name = r'C:\Users\Bob\Desktop\example.txt' my_file = open(file_name, 'r', encoding='utf-8') lines = my_file.readlines() print(lines) my_file.close()
Prefixing the string with r works either way.
# Escape the backslash with a second backslash character
An alternative way to treat a backslash \ as a literal character is to escape it with a second backslash \\ .
Copied!# ✅ escape each backslash with a second backslash file_name = 'C:\\Users\\Bob\\Desktop\\example.txt' with open(file_name, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f: lines = f.readlines() print(lines)
We escaped each backslash character to treat them as literal backslashes.
Here is a string that shows how 2 backslashes only get translated into 1.
Copied!my_str = 'bobby\\hadz' print(my_str) # 👉️ "bobby\hadz"
Similarly, if you need to have 2 backslashes next to one another, you would have to use 4 backslashes.
Copied!my_str = 'bobby\\\\hadz\\\\com' print(my_str) # 👉️ "bobby\\hadz\\com"
# Using forward slashes instead of backslashes in paths
An alternative solution to the error is to use forward slashes in the path instead of backslashes.
Copied!# ✅ using forward slashes instead of backslashes file_name = 'C:/Users/Bob/Desktop/example.txt' with open(file_name, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f: lines = f.readlines() print(lines)
A forward slash can be used in place of a backslash when you need to specify a path.
This solves the error because we no longer have any unescaped backslash characters in the path.
The error occurs because the \U character in the path is a Unicode code point.
Copied!file_name = 'C:\Users\Bob\Desktop\example.txt'
If the 8 characters after \U are not numeric an error is raised.
Since backslash characters have a special meaning in Python, we need to treat them as a literal character by:
- prefixing the string with r to mark it as a raw string
- escaping each backslash with a second backslash
- using forward slashes in place of backslashes in the path
# The 3 possible solutions to the error
Here are the 3 possible solutions to the error.
Copied!# ✅ prefix string with r file_name = r'C:\Users\Bob\Desktop\example.txt' # ✅ escaping each backslash with another backslash file_name = 'C:\\Users\\Bob\\Desktop\\example.txt' # ✅ using forward slashes instead of backslashes file_name = 'C:/Users/Bob/Desktop/example.txt'
If none of the suggestions works, try to use a triple-quoted raw string.
Copied!file_name = r'''C:\Users\Bob\Desktop\example.txt'''
The backslash ( \ ) character is used to escape characters that otherwise have a special meaning, such as newline, backslash itself, or the quote character.
Unless the string is prefixed with an r , escape sequences are interpreted as follows:
Escape Sequence Meaning Backslash and newline ignored \ Backslash ( \ ) \’ Single quote ( ‘ ) \» Double quote ( » ) \n ASCII Linefeed \r ASCII Carriage Return \t ASCII Horizontal Tab A backslash is also used as a continuation character.
Copied!my_str = 'first \ second \ third' print(my_str) # first second third
When a backslash is added at the end of a line, the newline is ignored.
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problem opening a text document — unicode error
i have probably rather simple question. however, i am just starting to use python and it just drives me crazy. i am following the instructions of a book and would like to open a simple text file. the code i am using:
import sys try: d = open("p0901aus.txt" , "W") except: print("Unsucessfull") sys.exit(0)
i am either getting the news, that i was unsucessfull in opening the document or pop up appears saying: (unicode eror) ‘unicodeescape’ codec can’t decode bytes in position 2-4: truncated \UXXXXXXXX escape i have no clue what the problem is. i tried to save the document in different codes, tried different path. always the same problem does anybody know any help? thank you very much in advance, georg ps: i am using windows vista
3 Answers 3
(unicode eror) ‘unicodeescape’ codec can’t decode bytes in position 2-4: truncated \UXXXXXXXX escape
This probably means that the file you are trying to read is not in the encoding that open() expects. Apparently open() expects some Unicode encoding (most likely UTF-8 or UTF-16), but your file is not encoded like that.
You should not normally use plain open() for reading text files, as it is impossible to correctly read a text file (unless it’s pure ASCII) without specifying an encoding.
import codecs fileObj = codecs.open( "someFile", "r", "utf-8" ) u = fileObj.read() # Returns a Unicode string from the UTF-8 bytes in the file
# for Python 2.5+ import sys try: d = open("p0901aus.txt","w") except Exception, ex: print "Unsuccessful." print ex sys.exit(0) # for Python 3 import sys import codecs try: d = codecs.open("p0901aus.txt","w","utf-8") except Exception as ex: print("Unsuccessful.") print(ex) sys.exit(0)
The W is case-sensitive. I do not want to hit you with all the Python syntax at once, but it will be useful for you to know how to display what exception was raised, and this is one way to do it.
Also, you are opening the file for writing, not reading. Is that what you wanted?
If there is already a document named p0901aus.txt, and you want to read it, do this:
#for Python 2.5+ import sys try: d = open("p0901aus.txt","r") print "Awesome, I opened p0901aus.txt. Here is what I found there:" for l in d: print l except Exception, ex: print "Unsuccessful." print ex sys.exit(0) #for Python 3+ import sys import codecs try: d = codecs.open("p0901aus.txt","r","utf-8") print "Awesome, I opened p0901aus.txt. Here is what I found there:" for l in d: print(l) except Exception, ex: print("Unsuccessful.") print(ex) sys.exit(0)
You can of course use the codecs in Python 2.5 also, and your code will be higher quality («correct») if you do. Python 3 appears to treat the Byte Order Mark as something between a curiosity and line noise which is a bummer.
- another possible errors for SyntaxError: (unicode error) ‘unicodeescape’ will be raised for ‘\x’, ‘\u’