Python Error "TypeError: 'Encoding' Is An Invalid Keyword Argument For This Function"

461 Asked by AlanTaylor in Python , Asked on Nov 17, 2022

I have a tine code snippet and it gives me the following error:

TypeError: 'encoding' is an invalid keyword argument for this function

code:
import numpy as np
trump = open('speeches.txt', encoding='utf8').read()
# display the data
print(trump)

Answered by Alexander Coxon

Regarding the typeerror: 'encoding' is an invalid keyword argument for this function -

using io.open() instead of open removed this error for me eg:

import io

with io.open('gaeilge_flashcard_mode.txt','r', encoding='utf8') as file:

    for line in file:

        line1 = line.rstrip().split("=")

        key = line1[0]

        trans = line1[1]

        PoS = line1[2]

        Flashcards(key, trans, PoS)

Your Answer

Answer (1)

Ranjana

The error "TypeError: 'encoding' is an invalid keyword argument for this function" typically occurs when the encoding argument is passed to a function that does not accept it. This is common when working with file I/O operations in Python, especially if there is confusion between different functions that handle file operations.

Common Causes and Solutions

Incorrect Function Usage:

Ensure you are using the correct function that supports the encoding parameter. The encoding argument is valid for the built-in open() function, but not for some other functions.

Example:

with open('example.txt', 'r', encoding='utf-8') as file:

    content = file.read()

Using codecs.open Instead of open:

If you mistakenly use codecs.open from the codecs module, it might lead to this error. Use the built-in open function instead.

Incorrect:

import codecs

with codecs.open('example.txt', 'r', encoding='utf-8') as file:

    content = file.read()

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