Cannot unpack non-iterable builtin_function_or_method object

Cannot unpack non-iterable builtin_function_or_method object #

The Python "TypeError: cannot unpack non-iterable builtin_function_or_method object" occurs when we try to unpack a method object instead of an iterable. To solve the error, make sure to call the method with parenthesis, e.g. my_method().

Here is an example of how the error occurs.

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# ⛔️ TypeError: cannot unpack non-iterable builtin_function_or_method object
a, b = 'one,two'.split # 👈️ forgot to call method

To solve the error, make sure to call the function.

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a, b = 'one,two'.split(',')

print(a)  # 👉️ 'one'
print(b)  # 👉️ 'two'

We used parenthesis to invoke the method, so now we iterate over the list that the method returns.

Make sure to method you are calling returns an iterable, e.g. a list or a tuple.

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a, b = (10, 20)

print(a)  # 👉️ 10
print(b)  # 👉️ 20

The variables need to be exactly as many as the values in the iterable.

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a, b, c = (10, 20, 30)

print(a)  # 👉️ 10
print(b)  # 👉️ 20
print(c)  # 👉️ 30

If you aren't sure what type of object a variable stores, use the type() class.

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print(type(''.split))  # 👉️ <class 'builtin_function_or_method'>
print(callable(''.split))  # 👉️ True

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

print(type(my_list))  # 👉️ <class 'list'>
print(isinstance(my_list, list))  # 👉️ True

The type class returns the type of an object.

The isinstance function returns True if the passed in object is an instance or a subclass of the passed in class.

The callable function takes an object as an argument and returns True if the object appears callable, otherwise False is returned.

If the callable() function returns True, it is still possible that calling the object fails, however if it returns False, calling the object will never succeed.