Statements must be separated by newlines or semicolons [Fix]

# Statements must be separated by newlines or semicolons

The Pylance error "Statements must be separated by newlines or semicolons" occurs when we have two or more statements on a single line, most commonly when using print as a statement instead of a function.

To solve the error, call print() as a function instead.

Here is an example of how the error occurs.

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import json

# ⛔️ Statements must be separated by newlines or semicolons
print json.dumps({'name': 'bobby'})

# Call the print() function to solve the error

To resolve the issue, call print() as a function, because print is a function in Python 3 (not a keyword or a statement).

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import json

# ✅ Using print() as a function
print(json.dumps({'name': 'bobby'}))

Notice that we called print() as a function with parentheses.

If you use Python 2, import print_function from __future__ to make your code Python 3 compatible.

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from __future__ import print_function
import json

print(json.dumps({'name': 'bobby'}))

# Declaring multiple variables on the same line incorrectly

Here is another example of having multiple statements on the same line.

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# ⛔️ Statements must be separated by newlines or semicolons
a = 10 b = 20

To resolve the error, you have to move the second statement on a separate line.

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a = 10
b = 20

You can also use semicolons to write multiple statements on a single line, but that is unusual and not recommended.

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a = 10; b = 20

Semicolons are only necessary when you have to separate statements, in order to have multiple statements on the same line.

However, a much more common approach is to simply put each statement on a separate line.

Here is another example of using a semicolon to separate multiple statements.

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a_list = ['bobby', 'hadz', 'com']

for item in a_list:
    print(item)

    #                             👇️ semicolon
    if item == 'hadz': print('abc'); break

Notice that after the call to the print() function, there is a semicolon.

The semicolon is used to separate the call to print() and the use of the break statement.

When you separate the statements with a semicolon, they can be used on the same line.

However, a much more readable approach would be to write the two statements on separate lines.

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a_list = ['bobby', 'hadz', 'com']

for item in a_list:
    print(item)

    if item == 'hadz':
        print('abc')
        break

I've also written an article on solving the Import "X" could not be resolved from source Pylance error.