:mod:`!traceback` --- Print or retrieve a stack traceback
=========================================================
.. module:: traceback
:synopsis: Print or retrieve a stack traceback.
**Source code:** :source:`Lib/traceback.py`
--------------
This module provides a standard interface to extract, format and print stack
traces of Python programs. It exactly mimics the behavior of the Python
interpreter when it prints a stack trace. This is useful when you want to print
stack traces under program control, such as in a "wrapper" around the
interpreter.
.. index:: pair: object; traceback
The module uses :ref:`traceback objects <traceback-objects>` --- these are
objects of type :class:`types.TracebackType`,
which are assigned to the :attr:`~BaseException.__traceback__` field of
:class:`BaseException` instances.
.. seealso::
Module :mod:`faulthandler`
Used to dump Python tracebacks explicitly, on a fault, after a timeout, or on a user signal.
Module :mod:`pdb`
Interactive source code debugger for Python programs.
The module defines the following functions:
.. function:: print_tb(tb, limit=None, file=None)
Print up to *limit* stack trace entries from
:ref:`traceback object <traceback-objects>` *tb* (starting
from the caller's frame) if *limit* is positive. Otherwise, print the last
``abs(limit)`` entries. If *limit* is omitted or ``None``, all entries are
printed. If *file* is omitted or ``None``, the output goes to
:data:`sys.stderr`; otherwise it should be an open
:term:`file <file object>` or :term:`file-like object` to
receive the output.
.. note::
The meaning of the *limit* parameter is different than the meaning
of :const:`sys.tracebacklimit`. A negative *limit* value corresponds to
a positive value of :const:`!sys.tracebacklimit`, whereas the behaviour of
a positive *limit* value cannot be achieved with
:const:`!sys.tracebacklimit`.
.. versionchanged:: 3.5
Added negative *limit* support.
.. function:: print_exception(exc, /[, value, tb], limit=None, \
file=None, chain=True)
Print exception information and stack trace entries from
:ref:`traceback object <traceback-objects>`
*tb* to *file*. This differs from :func:`print_tb` in the following
ways:
* if *tb* is not ``None``, it prints a header ``Traceback (most recent
call last):``
* it prints the exception type and *value* after the stack trace
.. index:: single: ^ (caret); marker
* if *type(value)* is :exc:`SyntaxError` and *value* has the appropriate
format, it prints the line where the syntax error occurred with a caret
indicating the approximate position of the error.
Since Python 3.10, instead of passing *value* and *tb*, an exception object
can be passed as the first argument. If *value* and *tb* are provided, the
first argument is ignored in order to provide backwards compatibility.
The optional *limit* argument has the same meaning as for :func:`print_tb`.
If *chain* is true (the default), then chained exceptions (the
:attr:`~BaseException.__cause__` or :attr:`~BaseException.__context__`
attributes of the exception) will be
printed as well, like the interpreter itself does when printing an unhandled
exception.
.. versionchanged:: 3.5
The *etype* argument is ignored and inferred from the type of *value*.
.. versionchanged:: 3.10
The *etype* parameter has been renamed to *exc* and is now
positional-only.
.. function:: print_exc(limit=None, file=None, chain=True)
This is a shorthand for ``print_exception(sys.exception(), limit, file,
chain)``.
.. function:: print_last(limit=None, file=None, chain=True)
This is a shorthand for ``print_exception(sys.last_exc, limit, file,
chain)``. In general it will work only after an exception has reached
an interactive prompt (see :data:`sys.last_exc`).
.. function:: print_stack(f=None, limit=None, file=None)
Print up to *limit* stack trace entries (starting from the invocation
point) if *limit* is positive. Otherwise, print the last ``abs(limit)``
entries. If *limit* is omitted or ``None``, all entries are printed.
The optional *f* argument can be used to specify an alternate
:ref:`stack frame <frame-objects>`
to start. The optional *file* argument has the same meaning as for
:func:`print_tb`.
.. versionchanged:: 3.5
Added negative *limit* support.
.. function:: extract_tb(tb, limit=None)
Return a :class:`StackSummary` object representing a list of "pre-processed"
stack trace entries extracted from the
:ref:`traceback object <traceback-objects>` *tb*. It is useful
for alternate formatting of stack traces. The optional *limit* argument has
the same meaning as for :func:`print_tb`. A "pre-processed" stack trace
entry is a :class:`FrameSummary` object containing attributes
:attr:`~FrameSummary.filename`, :attr:`~FrameSummary.lineno`,
:attr:`~FrameSummary.name`, and :attr:`~FrameSummary.line` representing the
information that is usually printed for a stack trace.
.. function:: extract_stack(f=None, limit=None)
Extract the raw traceback from the current
:ref:`stack frame <frame-objects>`. The return value has
the same format as for :func:`extract_tb`. The optional *f* and *limit*
arguments have the same meaning as for :func:`print_stack`.
.. function:: format_list(extracted_list)
Given a list of tuples or :class:`FrameSummary` objects as returned by
:func:`extract_tb` or :func:`extract_stack`, return a list of strings ready
for printing. Each string in the resulting list corresponds to the item with
the same index in the argument list. Each string ends in a newline; the
strings may contain internal newlines as well, for those items whose source
text line is not ``None``.
.. function:: format_exception_only(exc, /[, value], *, show_group=False)
Format the exception part of a traceback using an exception value such as
given by :data:`sys.last_value`. The return value is a list of strings, each
ending in a newline. The list contains the exception's message, which is
normally a single string; however, for :exc:`SyntaxError` exceptions, it
contains several lines that (when printed) display detailed information
about where the syntax error occurred. Following the message, the list
contains the exception's :attr:`notes <BaseException.__notes__>`.
Since Python 3.10, instead of passing *value*, an exception object
can be passed as the first argument. If *value* is provided, the first
argument is ignored in order to provide backwards compatibility.
When *show_group* is ``True``, and the exception is an instance of
:exc:`BaseExceptionGroup`, the nested exceptions are included as
well, recursively, with indentation relative to their nesting depth.
.. versionchanged:: 3.10
The *etype* parameter has been renamed to *exc* and is now
positional-only.
.. versionchanged:: 3.11
The returned list now includes any
:attr:`notes <BaseException.__notes__>` attached to the exception.
.. versionchanged:: 3.13
*show_group* parameter was added.
.. function:: format_exception(exc, /[, value, tb], limit=None, chain=True)
Format a stack trace and the exception information. The arguments have the
same meaning as the corresponding arguments to :func:`print_exception`. The
return value is a list of strings, each ending in a newline and some
containing internal newlines. When these lines are concatenated and printed,
exactly the same text is printed as does :func:`print_exception`.
.. versionchanged:: 3.5
The *etype* argument is ignored and inferred from the type of *value*.
.. versionchanged:: 3.10
This function's behavior and signature were modified to match
:func:`print_exception`.
.. function:: format_exc(limit=None, chain=True)
This is like ``print_exc(limit)`` but returns a string instead of printing to
a file.
.. function:: format_tb(tb, limit=None)
A shorthand for ``format_list(extract_tb(tb, limit))``.
.. function:: format_stack(f=None, limit=None)
A shorthand for ``format_list(extract_stack(f, limit))``.
.. function:: clear_frames(tb)
Clears the local variables of all the stack frames in a
:ref:`traceback <traceback-objects>` *tb*
by calling the :meth:`~frame.clear` method of each
:ref:`frame object <frame-objects>`.
.. versionadded:: 3.4
.. function:: walk_stack(f)
Walk a stack following :attr:`f.f_back <frame.f_back>` from the given frame,
yielding the frame
and line number for each frame. If *f* is ``None``, the current stack is
used. This helper is used with :meth:`StackSummary.extract`.
.. versionadded:: 3.5
.. function:: walk_tb(tb)
Walk a traceback following :attr:`~traceback.tb_next` yielding the frame and
line number
for each frame. This helper is used with :meth:`StackSummary.extract`.
.. versionadded:: 3.5
The module also defines the following classes:
:class:`!TracebackException` Objects
------------------------------------
.. versionadded:: 3.5
:class:`!TracebackException` objects are created from actual exceptions to
capture data for later printing in a lightweight fashion.
.. class:: TracebackException(exc_type, exc_value, exc_traceback, *, limit=None, lookup_lines=True, capture_locals=False, compact=False, max_group_width=15, max_group_depth=10)
Capture an exception for later rendering. *limit*, *lookup_lines* and
*capture_locals* are as for the :class:`StackSummary` class.
If *compact* is true, only data that is required by
:class:`!TracebackException`'s :meth:`format` method
is saved in the class attributes. In particular, the
:attr:`__context__` field is calculated only if :attr:`__cause__` is
``None`` and :attr:`__suppress_context__` is false.
Note that when locals are captured, they are also shown in the traceback.
*max_group_width* and *max_group_depth* control the formatting of exception
groups (see :exc:`BaseExceptionGroup`). The depth refers to the nesting
level of the group, and the width refers to the size of a single exception
group's exceptions array. The formatted output is truncated when either
limit is exceeded.
.. versionchanged:: 3.10
Added the *compact* parameter.
.. versionchanged:: 3.11
Added the *max_group_width* and *max_group_depth* parameters.
.. attribute:: __cause__
A :class:`!TracebackException` of the original
:attr:`~BaseException.__cause__`.
.. attribute:: __context__
A :class:`!TracebackException` of the original
:attr:`~BaseException.__context__`.
.. attribute:: exceptions
If ``self`` represents an :exc:`ExceptionGroup`, this field holds a list of
:class:`!TracebackException` instances representing the nested exceptions.
Otherwise it is ``None``.
.. versionadded:: 3.11
.. attribute:: __suppress_context__
The :attr:`~BaseException.__suppress_context__` value from the original
exception.
.. attribute:: __notes__
The :attr:`~BaseException.__notes__` value from the original exception,
or ``None``
if the exception does not have any notes. If it is not ``None``
is it formatted in the traceback after the exception string.
.. versionadded:: 3.11
.. attribute:: stack
A :class:`StackSummary` representing the traceback.
.. attribute:: exc_type
The class of the original traceback.
.. deprecated:: 3.13
.. attribute:: exc_type_str
String display of the class of the original exception.
.. versionadded:: 3.13
.. attribute:: filename
For syntax errors - the file name where the error occurred.
.. attribute:: lineno
For syntax errors - the line number where the error occurred.
.. attribute:: end_lineno
For syntax errors - the end line number where the error occurred.
Can be ``None`` if not present.
.. versionadded:: 3.10
.. attribute:: text
For syntax errors - the text where the error occurred.
.. attribute:: offset
For syntax errors - the offset into the text where the error occurred.
.. attribute:: end_offset
For syntax errors - the end offset into the text where the error occurred.
Can be ``None`` if not present.
.. versionadded:: 3.10
.. attribute:: msg
For syntax errors - the compiler error message.
.. classmethod:: from_exception(exc, *, limit=None, lookup_lines=True, capture_locals=False)
Capture an exception for later rendering. *limit*, *lookup_lines* and
*capture_locals* are as for the :class:`StackSummary` class.
Note that when locals are captured, they are also shown in the traceback.
.. method:: print(*, file=None, chain=True)
Print to *file* (default ``sys.stderr``) the exception information returned by
:meth:`format`.
.. versionadded:: 3.11
.. method:: format(*, chain=True)
Format the exception.
If *chain* is not ``True``, :attr:`__cause__` and :attr:`__context__`
will not be formatted.
The return value is a generator of strings, each ending in a newline and
some containing internal newlines. :func:`~traceback.print_exception`
is a wrapper around this method which just prints the lines to a file.
.. method:: format_exception_only(*, show_group=False)
Format the exception part of the traceback.
The return value is a generator of strings, each ending in a newline.
When *show_group* is ``False``, the generator emits the exception's
message followed by its notes (if it has any). The exception message
is normally a single string; however, for :exc:`SyntaxError` exceptions,
it consists of several lines that (when printed) display detailed
information about where the syntax error occurred.
When *show_group* is ``True``, and the exception is an instance of
:exc:`BaseExceptionGroup`, the nested exceptions are included as
well, recursively, with indentation relative to their nesting depth.
.. versionchanged:: 3.11
The exception's :attr:`notes <BaseException.__notes__>` are now
included in the output.
.. versionchanged:: 3.13
Added the *show_group* parameter.
:class:`!StackSummary` Objects
------------------------------
.. versionadded:: 3.5
:class:`!StackSummary` objects represent a call stack ready for formatting.
.. class:: StackSummary
.. classmethod:: extract(frame_gen, *, limit=None, lookup_lines=True, capture_locals=False)
Construct a :class:`!StackSummary` object from a frame generator (such as
is returned by :func:`~traceback.walk_stack` or
:func:`~traceback.walk_tb`).
If *limit* is supplied, only this many frames are taken from *frame_gen*.
If *lookup_lines* is ``False``, the returned :class:`FrameSummary`
objects will not have read their lines in yet, making the cost of
creating the :class:`!StackSummary` cheaper (which may be valuable if it
may not actually get formatted). If *capture_locals* is ``True`` the
local variables in each :class:`!FrameSummary` are captured as object
representations.
.. versionchanged:: 3.12
Exceptions raised from :func:`repr` on a local variable (when
*capture_locals* is ``True``) are no longer propagated to the caller.
.. classmethod:: from_list(a_list)
Construct a :class:`!StackSummary` object from a supplied list of
:class:`FrameSummary` objects or old-style list of tuples. Each tuple
should be a 4-tuple with *filename*, *lineno*, *name*, *line* as the
elements.
.. method:: format()
Returns a list of strings ready for printing. Each string in the
resulting list corresponds to a single :ref:`frame <frame-objects>` from
the stack.
Each string ends in a newline; the strings may contain internal
newlines as well, for those items with source text lines.
For long sequences of the same frame and line, the first few
repetitions are shown, followed by a summary line stating the exact
number of further repetitions.
.. versionchanged:: 3.6
Long sequences of repeated frames are now abbreviated.
.. method:: format_frame_summary(frame_summary)
Returns a string for printing one of the :ref:`frames <frame-objects>`
involved in the stack.
This method is called for each :class:`FrameSummary` object to be
printed by :meth:`StackSummary.format`. If it returns ``None``, the
frame is omitted from the output.
.. versionadded:: 3.11
:class:`!FrameSummary` Objects
------------------------------
.. versionadded:: 3.5
A :class:`!FrameSummary` object represents a single :ref:`frame <frame-objects>`
in a :ref:`traceback <traceback-objects>`.
.. class:: FrameSummary(filename, lineno, name, lookup_line=True, locals=None, line=None)
Represents a single :ref:`frame <frame-objects>` in the
:ref:`traceback <traceback-objects>` or stack that is being formatted
or printed. It may optionally have a stringified version of the frame's
locals included in it. If *lookup_line* is ``False``, the source code is not
looked up until the :class:`!FrameSummary` has the :attr:`~FrameSummary.line`
attribute accessed (which also happens when casting it to a :class:`tuple`).
:attr:`~FrameSummary.line` may be directly provided, and will prevent line
lookups happening at all. *locals* is an optional local variable
mapping, and if supplied the variable representations are stored in the
summary for later display.
:class:`!FrameSummary` instances have the following attributes:
.. attribute:: FrameSummary.filename
The filename of the source code for this frame. Equivalent to accessing
:attr:`f.f_code.co_filename <codeobject.co_filename>` on a
:ref:`frame object <frame-objects>` *f*.
.. attribute:: FrameSummary.lineno
The line number of the source code for this frame.
.. attribute:: FrameSummary.name
Equivalent to accessing :attr:`f.f_code.co_name <codeobject.co_name>` on
a :ref:`frame object <frame-objects>` *f*.
.. attribute:: FrameSummary.line
A string representing the source code for this frame, with leading and
trailing whitespace stripped.
If the source is not available, it is ``None``.
.. _traceback-example:
Traceback Examples
------------------
This simple example implements a basic read-eval-print loop, similar to (but
less useful than) the standard Python interactive interpreter loop. For a more
complete implementation of the interpreter loop, refer to the :mod:`code`
module. ::
import sys, traceback
def run_user_code(envdir):
source = input(">>> ")
try:
exec(source, envdir)
except Exception:
print("Exception in user code:")
print("-"*60)
traceback.print_exc(file=sys.stdout)
print("-"*60)
envdir = {}
while True:
run_user_code(envdir)
The following example demonstrates the different ways to print and format the
exception and traceback:
.. testcode::
import sys, traceback
def lumberjack():
bright_side_of_life()
def bright_side_of_life():
return tuple()[0]
try:
lumberjack()
except IndexError:
exc = sys.exception()
print("*** print_tb:")
traceback.print_tb(exc.__traceback__, limit=1, file=sys.stdout)
print("*** print_exception:")
traceback.print_exception(exc, limit=2, file=sys.stdout)
print("*** print_exc:")
traceback.print_exc(limit=2, file=sys.stdout)
print("*** format_exc, first and last line:")
formatted_lines = traceback.format_exc().splitlines()
print(formatted_lines[0])
print(formatted_lines[-1])
print("*** format_exception:")
print(repr(traceback.format_exception(exc)))
print("*** extract_tb:")
print(repr(traceback.extract_tb(exc.__traceback__)))
print("*** format_tb:")
print(repr(traceback.format_tb(exc.__traceback__)))
print("*** tb_lineno:", exc.__traceback__.tb_lineno)
The output for the example would look similar to this:
.. testoutput::
:options: +NORMALIZE_WHITESPACE
*** print_tb:
File "<doctest...>", line 10, in <module>
lumberjack()
~~~~~~~~~~^^
*** print_exception:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<doctest...>", line 10, in <module>
lumberjack()
~~~~~~~~~~^^
File "<doctest...>", line 4, in lumberjack
bright_side_of_life()
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^
IndexError: tuple index out of range
*** print_exc:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<doctest...>", line 10, in <module>
lumberjack()
~~~~~~~~~~^^
File "<doctest...>", line 4, in lumberjack
bright_side_of_life()
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^
IndexError: tuple index out of range
*** format_exc, first and last line:
Traceback (most recent call last):
IndexError: tuple index out of range
*** format_exception:
['Traceback (most recent call last):\n',
' File "<doctest default[0]>", line 10, in <module>\n lumberjack()\n ~~~~~~~~~~^^\n',
' File "<doctest default[0]>", line 4, in lumberjack\n bright_side_of_life()\n ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^\n',
' File "<doctest default[0]>", line 7, in bright_side_of_life\n return tuple()[0]\n ~~~~~~~^^^\n',
'IndexError: tuple index out of range\n']
*** extract_tb:
[<FrameSummary file <doctest...>, line 10 in <module>>,
<FrameSummary file <doctest...>, line 4 in lumberjack>,
<FrameSummary file <doctest...>, line 7 in bright_side_of_life>]
*** format_tb:
[' File "<doctest default[0]>", line 10, in <module>\n lumberjack()\n ~~~~~~~~~~^^\n',
' File "<doctest default[0]>", line 4, in lumberjack\n bright_side_of_life()\n ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^\n',
' File "<doctest default[0]>", line 7, in bright_side_of_life\n return tuple()[0]\n ~~~~~~~^^^\n']
*** tb_lineno: 10
The following example shows the different ways to print and format the stack::
>>> import traceback
>>> def another_function():
... lumberstack()
...
>>> def lumberstack():
... traceback.print_stack()
... print(repr(traceback.extract_stack()))
... print(repr(traceback.format_stack()))
...
>>> another_function()
File "<doctest>", line 10, in <module>
another_function()
File "<doctest>", line 3, in another_function
lumberstack()
File "<doctest>", line 6, in lumberstack
traceback.print_stack()
[('<doctest>', 10, '<module>', 'another_function()'),
('<doctest>', 3, 'another_function', 'lumberstack()'),
('<doctest>', 7, 'lumberstack', 'print(repr(traceback.extract_stack()))')]
[' File "<doctest>", line 10, in <module>\n another_function()\n',
' File "<doctest>", line 3, in another_function\n lumberstack()\n',
' File "<doctest>", line 8, in lumberstack\n print(repr(traceback.format_stack()))\n']
This last example demonstrates the final few formatting functions:
.. doctest::
:options: +NORMALIZE_WHITESPACE
>>> import traceback
>>> traceback.format_list([('spam.py', 3, '<module>', 'spam.eggs()'),
... ('eggs.py', 42, 'eggs', 'return "bacon"')])
[' File "spam.py", line 3, in <module>\n spam.eggs()\n',
' File "eggs.py", line 42, in eggs\n return "bacon"\n']
>>> an_error = IndexError('tuple index out of range')
>>> traceback.format_exception_only(type(an_error), an_error)
['IndexError: tuple index out of range\n']
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