Typeerror: list object cannot be interpreted as an integer

Have you encountered the “TypeError: ‘list’ object cannot be interpreted as an integer” error?

This error appears in two possible scenarios namely:

1. Passing a list to the range function
2. Passing a list to the pop function

In this article, we’ll explain the cases of this error and provide solutions to fix it.

We’ll also provide examples and code snippets to illustrate the different solutions to the “Typeerror: list object cannot be interpreted as an integer” error.

By the end of this post, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to handle binary and string data in Python without encountering this common error.

What is typeerror: list object cannot be interpreted as an integer?

A “TypeError: list object cannot be interpreted as an integer” error typically occurs in Python when trying to perform an operation that requires an integer on a list object.

For example, if you have a list and try to use it as an argument for a function that expects an integer, you may receive this error. This is because the function is expecting an integer argument, but instead received a list object.

Cases of why ‘list’ object cannot be interpreted as an integer occur

These are the two common cases why this list object cannot be interpreted as an integer occurs.

1. Passing a list to the range function
2. Passing a list to the pop function

Here is how an error occurs when we pass a list to the range function

# passing a list to the range function:
my_list = [10, 20, 30]

# range expects an integer, but a list is passed
for i in range(my_list):
    print(i)

Because the range function can only accept an integer argument, yet, we passed a list in the example above.

As a result, it will throw an error as follows:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File “C:\Users\Windows\PycharmProjects\pythonProject1\main.py”, line 5, in
for i in range(my_list):
TypeError: ‘list’ object cannot be interpreted as an integer

Another example of how this error occurs is when we passed a list to the list.pop function.

my_list = [10, 20, 30]
my_list.pop([1])

This will output the following error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File “C:\Users\Windows\PycharmProjects\pythonProject1\main.py”, line 3, in
my_list.pop([1])
TypeError: ‘list’ object cannot be interpreted as an integer

The next section will present solutions to the example error given above.

Typeerror: ‘list’ object cannot be interpreted as an integer — Solutions

This time we will fix the Typeerror: ‘list’ object cannot be interpreted as an integer. Here are the following solutions:

1. Pass an integer instead of a list to the function
2.  Remove the square brackets

Pass an integer instead of a list to the function

One way to fix the error is we need to pass an integer instead of a list to the function that causes the error.

Meanwhile, if we want to iterate over a list with a for loop, we can directly pass the list.

For example:

my_list = [10, 20, 30]

for i in my_list:
    print(i)

Output:

10
20
30

In addition to this, use enumerate function when an index value is needed in for loop.

Since, enumerate function returns the index and value of a list, therefore, we should define two variables in for loop.

For example:

my_list = ['it', 'source', 'code']

for ndx, val in enumerate(my_list):
    print(ndx, val)

Output:

0 it
1 source
2 code

The indices are 0, 1, 2 and the values are it, source, code. Where enumerate function allows the index values used in for statement.

Remove the square brackets

Another way to fix the error is to remove the square brackets in the case where you passing a list to the list.pop function.

It is because pop function only accepts an integer argument that represents the index of the element you want to pop from the list.

For example:

my_list = [10, 20, 30]

val = my_list.pop(1)

print(val)

Output:

20

Note: You need to pass an integer instead of a list, not a list with integer elements.

If you are finding solutions to some errors you might encounter we also have TypeError can’t concat str to bytes.

Conclusion

To sum up, the Python TypeError: list object cannot be interpreted as an integer means we are passing a list to a function that expects an integer value.

To fix this error, don’t pass a list to the range function, and if you want to iterate over a list with index value included use enumerate function.

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Glay Eliver

Programmer & Technical Writer at PIES IT Solution

Glay Eliver is a programmer and writer at PIES IT Solution, author of over 600 tutorials at itsourcecode.com. Specializes in JavaScript tutorials, Microsoft Office how-tos (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), and Python error debugging covering ImportError, TypeError, AttributeError, ModuleNotFoundError, and JavaScript ReferenceError. Authored several of the site’s highest-traffic Excel and MS Office reference articles.

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