TypeError: cannot unpack non-iterable float object (Python)

TypeError: cannot unpack non-iterable float object (Python) #

The Python "TypeError: cannot unpack non-iterable float object" occurs when we try to unpack a float value. To solve the error, track down where the variable got assigned a float and correct the assignment to an iterable, e.g. a list or a tuple of floats.

Here is an example of how the error occurs.

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my_float = 3.1

# ⛔️ TypeError: cannot unpack non-iterable float object
a, b = my_float

We are trying to unpack a floating-point number, but floats are not iterable.

You can use a tuple or a list of floats.

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my_tuple = (3.1, 6.2)

a, b = my_tuple

print(a)  # 👉️ 3.1
print(b)  # 👉️ 6.2

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

You can use this approach if you need to initialize multiple variables to 0.

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a, b, c = 0, 0, 0

print(a, b, c)  # 👉️ 0, 0, 0

If you are unpacking the result of calling a function, make sure to return a tuple or a list of floats from the function.

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def get_list():
    return [3.1, 6.2]


a, b = get_list()

print(a)  # 👉️ 3.1
print(b)  # 👉️ 6.2

The get_list function returns a list of floats, so we can unpack the floats into variables.

Use an if statement if you need to check whether a variable doesn't store a float before unpacking.

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example = 3.1

if not isinstance(example, float):
    a, b = example
else:
    # 👇️ this runs
    print('Variable stores a float')

Alternatively, you can reassign the variable to an iterable if it stores a floating-point number.

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example = 3.1

if isinstance(example, float):
    example = (0, 0)
    a, b = example

    print(a, b)  # 👉️ 0, 0

We check if the example variable stores a float and if it does, we reassign it to a tuple.

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

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my_float = 3.14

print(type(my_float))  # 👉️ <class 'float'>
print(isinstance(my_float, float))  # 👉️ True

my_list = [3.1, 6.2]
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.