What causes "IndentationError: unexpected indent"?

Mixing tabs and spaces in the same file (Python 3 disallows this) Copy-pasting code from a website that used different indentation Forgetting to indent the block after a colon (:), e.g., if, for, def Accidentally adding a space at the start of a top-level line

Error3 Fixes Available

IndentationError: unexpected indent

IndentationError: unexpected indent

What does this error mean?

Python uses indentation (whitespace) to define code blocks, unlike languages that use curly braces {}. This error means you have an extra space or tab at the beginning of a line that doesn't match the surrounding block level.

Common Causes

Mixing tabs and spaces in the same file (Python 3 disallows this)
Copy-pasting code from a website that used different indentation
Forgetting to indent the block after a colon (:), e.g., if, for, def
Accidentally adding a space at the start of a top-level line

How to Fix It (3 Solutions)

Convert all tabs to spaces

In your editor (VS Code, PyCharm), run the 'Convert Indentation to Spaces' command.

Code

# VS Code Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) -> "Convert Indentation to Spaces"

Check for missing colons

Ensure the line before the indented block ends with a colon :.

Code

// ❌ SyntaxError (leads to confusion)
if x > 5
    print(x)

// ✅ Correct
if x > 5:
    print(x)

Use a linter / formatter

Run 'black' or 'autopep8' to automatically fix all indentation issues.

Code

pip install black
black my_script.py

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Text Cleaner (Normalize Whitespace)

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