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W3Schools
w3schools.com › python › python_try_except.asp
Python Try Except
You can use the else keyword to define a block of code to be executed if no errors were raised: In this example, the try block does not generate any error: try: print("Hello") except: print("Something went wrong") else: print("Nothing went wrong") ...
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Python documentation
docs.python.org › 3 › tutorial › errors.html
8. Errors and Exceptions — Python 3.14.7 documentation
The try statement has another optional clause which is intended to define clean-up actions that must be executed under all circumstances. For example: >>> try: ... raise KeyboardInterrupt ... finally...
Discussions

What's the point of "finally" in "try except" block?
finally will always run, no matter what the result of try or except is, even if one of them contains break or return def tell_me_about_bad_math(): try: 1/0 except ZeroDivisionError: return 'oops!' finally: print('you did bad math!') print(tell_me_about_bad_math()) More on reddit.com
🌐 r/learnpython
14
19
September 22, 2020
exception - What is the intended use of the optional "else" clause of the "try" statement in Python? - Stack Overflow
So it really isn't "try-else," ... (and finally) being optional. The Python Tutorial elaborates on the intended usage: The try ... except statement has an optional else clause, which, when present, must follow all except clauses. It is useful for code that must be executed if the try clause does not raise an exception. For example... More on stackoverflow.com
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What happens when you use try and except statements in a function that both have a return statement in them BUT you also have a finally statement?
And what it seems to do is reach the return statement, ignore it, carry out the finally statement and then go back to the return. I don't observe it as being ignored at all: In [10]: def bla(): ...: try: ...: return "bla" ...: except ZeroDivisionError: ...: print("division by zero!") ...: finally: ...: print("finally called") ...: return "not bla" ...: In [11]: bla() finally called Out[11]: 'bla' If it would have ignored it, it would have returned 'not bla'. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/learnpython
9
9
May 30, 2023
Better way to handle multiple try/except statements
Use .get()? (less chance or an exception) myVar1 = myJSON.get("string1", "Nothing found for string1") Or, a function? def retrieve_value(data, key): value = data.get(key) if not value: print(f"Nothing found for {key}") return value myVar1 = retrieve_value(myJSON, "string1") myVar2 = retrieve_value(myJSON, "string2") More on reddit.com
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9
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October 12, 2022
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › try-except-else-and-finally-in-python
Try, Except, else and Finally in Python - GeeksforGeeks
Example: Let's try to throw the exception in except block and Finally will execute either exception will generate or not ... # Python code to illustrate # working of try() def divide(x, y): try: # Floor Division : Gives only Fractional # Part ...
Published: July 15, 2025
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Python Tutorial
pythontutorial.net › home › python basics › python try…except…finally
Python try...except...finally Statement - Python Tutorial
October 29, 2020 - Therefore, all statements in the try and finally clauses execute: a = 10 b = 2 try: c = a / b print(c) except ZeroDivisionError as error: print(error) finally: print('Finishing up.') Copy
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Programiz
programiz.com › python-programming › exception-handling
Python Exception Handling (With Examples)
The finally block is optional. And, for each try block, there can be only one finally block. ... try: numerator = 10 denominator = 0 result = numerator/denominator print(result) except: print("Error: Denominator cannot be 0.") finally: print("This is finally block.")
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Python Land
python.land › home › language deep dives › python try except: examples and best practices
Python Try Except: Examples And Best Practices • Python Land Tutorial
January 29, 2026 - You should see the ‘Closing the file now’ message printed on your screen. Now change the writing mode to ‘r’ instead of ‘w’. You’ll get an error since the file does not exist. Despite this exception, we try to close the file anyway thanks to the finally block.
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w3resource
w3resource.com › python › python-try-except-with-examples.php
Python Try-Except with Examples: Else, Finally, and More
The 'try' block attempts to convert user input to an integer and divide it. The 'except' blocks handle potential errors. The 'else' block runs only if no exceptions occur. The 'finally' block runs at the end, no matter what.
Find elsewhere
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freeCodeCamp
freecodecamp.org › news › error-handling-in-python-introduction
Error Handling in Python – try, except, else, & finally Explained with Code Examples
April 11, 2024 - In the above example, I’m trying to divide 5 by the variable y, which does not exist. This raises a NameError. I don’t specify to the program how to handle NameErrors, so the only option is to terminate itself. Try and except are the main tools in handling errors, but an optional clause that you can use is named finally.
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Note.nkmk.me
note.nkmk.me › home › python
Try, except, else, finally in Python (Exception handling) | note.nkmk.me
August 15, 2023 - For example, if an exception occurs ... the except clause is executed. try: for i in [-2, -1, 0, 1, 2]: print(1 / i) except ZeroDivisionError as e: print(e) # -0.5 # -1.0 # division by zero ......
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Medium
galea.medium.com › pythons-try-except-else-finally-explained-f04d47d57125
Python’s “try except else finally” explained | by Alexander Galea | Medium
October 4, 2020 - The try statement fails -> The except statement runs -> The else statement is skipped -> The finally statement runs · The idea in my example above is to write the div text to a file only if it’s found on the page.
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Python Basics
pythonbasics.org › home › python basics › try and except in python
Try and Except in Python - pythonbasics.org
The else clause is executed if and only if no exception is raised. This is different from the finally clause that's always executed. ... try: x = 1 except: print('Failed to set x') else: print('No exception occured') finally: print('We always do this')
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Devcuriosity
devcuriosity.com › manual › details › python-try-except-finally-continue-break-loops
Python - Try, Except, Finally, Continue, Break in Loop Control Flow with examples
TypeError · continue - Immediately go to the next loop iteration, skipping any remaining code in the current iteration. (pass is simply doing nothing, they are NOT the same) ... finally - Executes at the end of each try block, whether or not an exception was raised.
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Board Infinity
boardinfinity.com › blog › try-except-in-python
Try, Except, Else and Finally in Python | Board Infinity
August 14, 2025 - ValueError: When a wrong argument is passed by the user this exception is raised. EOFError: When reading a file, if the pointer hit End-Of-File is hit and no data is read from the file. ImportError: When importing if a module is not found. In Python, to handle errors in a program, we use a try-except statement.
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GUVI
guvi.in › hub › python › try-except-finally-in-python
try…except…finally in Python
In the first call to 'divide_numbers(10, 2)', the division is successful, and the 'except' block is not triggered. The program then proceeds to the 'finally' block, which is always executed.
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › python-try-except
Python Try Except - GeeksforGeeks
June 8, 2026 - try: # Code that may raise an exception ... occurs. Python · try: result = 10 // 0 print(result) except ZeroDivisionError: print("Cannot divide by zero") finally: print("This block always executes") Output ·...
Top answer
1 of 16
1156

The statements in the else block are executed if execution falls off the bottom of the try - if there was no exception. Honestly, I've never found a need.

However, Handling Exceptions notes:

The use of the else clause is better than adding additional code to the try clause because it avoids accidentally catching an exception that wasn’t raised by the code being protected by the try ... except statement.

So, if you have a method that could, for example, throw an IOError, and you want to catch exceptions it raises, but there's something else you want to do if the first operation succeeds, and you don't want to catch an IOError from that operation, you might write something like this:

try:
    operation_that_can_throw_ioerror()
except IOError:
    handle_the_exception_somehow()
else:
    # we don't want to catch the IOError if it's raised
    another_operation_that_can_throw_ioerror()
finally:
    something_we_always_need_to_do()

If you just put another_operation_that_can_throw_ioerror() after operation_that_can_throw_ioerror, the except would catch the second call's errors. And if you put it after the whole try block, it'll always be run, and not until after the finally. The else lets you make sure

  1. the second operation's only run if there's no exception,
  2. it's run before the finally block, and
  3. any IOErrors it raises aren't caught here
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172

There is one big reason to use else - style and readability. It's generally a good idea to keep code that can cause exceptions near the code that deals with them. For example, compare these:

try:
    from EasyDialogs import AskPassword
    # 20 other lines
    getpass = AskPassword
except ImportError:
    getpass = default_getpass

and

try:
    from EasyDialogs import AskPassword
except ImportError:
    getpass = default_getpass
else:
    # 20 other lines
    getpass = AskPassword

The second one is good when the except can't return early, or re-throw the exception. If possible, I would have written:

try:
    from EasyDialogs import AskPassword
except ImportError:
    getpass = default_getpass
    return False  # or throw Exception('something more descriptive')

# 20 other lines
getpass = AskPassword

Note: Answer copied from recently-posted duplicate here, hence all this "AskPassword" stuff.

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InventiveHQ
inventivehq.com › home › blog › software engineering › python try except: complete error handling guide
Python Try Except: Complete Error Handling Guide
July 18, 2026 - The order is fixed: the try body runs first; if it raises, Python looks for a matching except; if it does not raise, the else runs; and the finally block always runs last, exception or not — even if the function returns or re-raises from inside ...
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Quora
quora.com › How-does-the-finally-clause-work-in-Pythons-try-except-blocks
How does the finally clause work in Python's try-except blocks? - Quora
Answer: It's a default block of code that executes irrespective of exception. It's generally put after the catch block. It only have some default statements to be executed.
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Python
docs.python.org › 2.5 › whatsnew › pep-341.html
6 PEP 341: Unified try/except/finally
July 31, 2012 - Guido van Rossum spent some time working with Java, which does support the equivalent of combining except blocks and a finally block, and this clarified what the statement should mean. In Python 2.5, you can now write: try: block-1 ... except Exception1: handler-1 ...