Check if a Variable is or is not None in Python

# Check if a Variable is or is not None in Python

Use the is operator to check if a variable is None in Python, e.g. if my_var is None:.

The is operator will return True if the variable is None and False otherwise.

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my_var = None

# ✅ Check if a variable is None
if my_var is None:
    # 👇️ this runs
    print('variable is None')

If you need to check if a variable is NOT None, use the is not operator.

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my_var = 'example'

# ✅ Check if variable is NOT None
if my_var is not None:
    # 👇️ this runs
    print('variable is not None')

The is identity operator returns True if the values on the left-hand and right-hand sides point to the same object and should be used when checking for singletons like None.

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var_1 = None
print(var_1 is None)  # 👉️ True

var_2 = 'example'
print(var_2 is None)  # 👉️ False

When we use is, we check for the object's identity.

Similarly, the is not operator should be used when you need to check if a variable is not None.

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var_1 = 'example'
print(var_1 is not None)  # 👉️ True

var_2 = None
print(var_2 is not None)  # 👉️ False

If you need to check if a variable exists and has been declared, use a try/except statement.

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try:
    does_this_exist
    print('variable exists')
except NameError:
    print('variable does NOT exist')

The try statement tries to access the variable and if it doesn't exist, the else block runs.

# Using is and is not vs the equality (==) operators

The pep 8 style guide mentions that comparison to singletons like None should always be done with is or is not, and never the equality operators.

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var_1 = None

# ✅ correct way of checking for None
print(var_1 is None)

# ✅ correct way of checking if not None
print(var_1 is not None)

# ----------------------------------------

# ⛔️ incorrect way of checking for None
print(var_1 == None)

# ⛔️ incorrect way of checking if not None
print(var_1 != None)

Here is an example that better illustrates checking for identity (is) vs checking for equality (==).

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first_list = ['a', 'b', 'c']

second_list = first_list # 👈️ same list as above

print(first_list is second_list)  # 👉️ True

print(first_list == second_list)  # 👉️ True

We declared 2 variables that store the same list.

We set the second variable to the first, so both variables point to the same list in memory.

Now, let's create a shallow copy of the list and assign it to the second variable.

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first_list = ['a', 'b', 'c']

second_list = first_list.copy() # 👈️ copy created

# 👇️ identity check
print(first_list is second_list)  # 👉️ False

# 👇️ equality check
print(first_list == second_list)  # 👉️ True

Notice that the identity check failed.

Even though the two lists store the same values, in the same order, they point to different locations in memory (they are not the same object).

When we use the double equals operator, Python calls the __eq__() method on the object.

In other words, x==y calls x.__eq__(y). In theory, this method could be implemented differently, so checking for None with the is operator is more direct.

You can use the id() function to get the identity of an object.

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first_list = ['a', 'b', 'c']
print(id(first_list))  # 👉️ 139944523741504

second_list = first_list.copy()
print(id(second_list))  # 👉️ 139944522293184

print(id(first_list) == id(second_list))  # 👉️ False

The id() function returns the address of the object in memory in CPython.

If the two variables refer to the same object, the id() function will produce the same result.

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my_first_list = ['a', 'b', 'c']
print(id(my_first_list))  # 👉️ 140311440685376

my_second_list = my_first_list
print(id(my_second_list))  # 👉️ 140311440685376

print(id(my_first_list) == id(my_second_list))  # 👉️ True

# There is only one instance of None in a Python program

Passing a None value to the id() function is always going to return the same result because there is only one instance of None in a Python program.

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print(id(None))  # 👉️ 9817984

print(id(None))  # 👉️ 9817984

Since there is only one instance of None in a Python program, the correct way of checking for None is to use the is operator.

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var_1 = None

if var_1 is None:
    print('The variable is None')

print(var_1 is None)  # 👉️ True

Similarly, the correct way of checking if a variable is not None is to use the is not operator.

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var_1 = 'example'

if var_1 is not None:
    print('The variable is NOT None')

print(var_1 is not None)  # 👉️ True

# Checking for None vs checking for truthyness

You might also see examples online that check for truthyness.

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var_1 = None

# 👇️ Checks if the variable stores a falsy value
if not var_1:
    print('The variable stores a falsy value')

The code sample checks if the variable stores a falsy value. It doesn't explicitly check for None.

This is very different than explicitly checking if a variable stores a None value because many falsy values are not None.

The falsy values in Python are:

• constants defined to be falsy: None and False.
• 0 (zero) of any numeric type
• empty sequences and collections: "" (empty string), () (empty tuple), [] (empty list), {} (empty dictionary), set() (empty set), range(0) (empty range).

All other values are truthy.

None is NOT equal to an empty string, False, 0, or any other of the falsy values.

In other words, the following if statement runs if the var_1 variable stores any of the aforementioned falsy values (not just None).

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var_1 = ""

# 👇️ Checks if the variable stores a falsy value
if not var_1:
    # 👇️ this runs
    print('The variable stores a falsy value')

The variable stores an empty string and empty strings are falsy values, so the if block runs.

If you check if a variable is truthy, you are checking if the variable is not any of the aforementioned falsy values, not just None.

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var_1 = "example"

# 👇️ Checks if the variable stores a truthy value
if var_1:
    print('The variable stores a truthy value')

Another common thing you might have to do is check if multiple variables are not None.

# Check if multiple variables are not None in Python

To check if multiple variables are not None:

1. Wrap the variables in a list.
2. Iterate over the list.
3. Check if each variable is not None.

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a = 'a'
b = 'b'
c = 'c'

if all(item is not None for item in [a, b, c]):
    print('Multiple variables are NOT None')
else:
    print('At least one of the variables stores a None value')

If you need to check if multiple variables are None, you would use the is operator instead of is not.

We used square brackets to add the variables to a list and used a generator expression to iterate over the list.

Generator expressions are used to perform some operation for every element or select a subset of elements that meet a condition.

On each iteration, we check if the current list item is not None and return the result.

The last step is to pass the generator object to the all() function.

The all() built-in function takes an iterable as an argument and returns True if all elements of the iterable are truthy (or the iterable is empty).

# Check if multiple variables are not None using in operator

You can also check if multiple variables are not None using the in operator.

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a = 'a'
b = 'b'
c = 'c'

if None not in (a, b, c):
    # 👇️ this runs
    print('Multiple variables are NOT None')

This approach looks much simpler than the previous one.

However, the in and not in operators check for equality, e.g. None != a, None != b, etc.

As previously noted, this is not a good practice in Python as it is recommended to check for None using the is keyword.

The in operator tests for membership. For example, x in l evaluates to True if x is a member of l, otherwise it evaluates to False.

x not in l returns the negation of x in l.

An alternative approach is to use the and operator multiple times.

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a = 'a'
b = 'b'
c = 'c'

if a is not None and b is not None and c is not None:
    print('Multiple variables are NOT None')

This is generally not recommended, as it is quite repetitive and difficult to read.

The if statement first checks if the a variable is not None.

If the condition is met, the if statement short-circuits returning False without checking any of the following conditions.

The best way to check if multiple variables are not None is to use the all() function.

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a = 'a'
b = 'b'
c = 'c'

if all(item is not None for item in [a, b, c]):
    print('Multiple variables are NOT None')
else:
    print('At least one of the variables stores a None value')

The all() function is not as manual as using the and operator and allows us to check for None using is.

# Conclusion

Always use the is operator to check if a variable stores a None value in Python.

Similarly, you should use the is not operator to check if a variable is not None.

# Additional Resources

You can learn more about the related topics by checking out the following tutorials:

• How to Return a default value if None in Python
• Why does my function print None in Python [Solved]
• Join multiple Strings with possibly None values in Python
• Convert None to Empty string or an Integer in Python
• How to Convert JSON NULL values to None using Python
• How to Remove the None values from a Dictionary in Python
• How to Remove the None values from a List in Python
• How to exit an if statement in Python [5 Ways]