Difference between exit(0) and exit(1) in Python

python exit-code
seeker picture seeker · Feb 24, 2012 · Viewed 286.1k times · Source

What's the difference between exit(0) and exit(1) in Python?

I tried looking around but didn't find a specific question on these lines. If it's already been answered, a link would be sufficient.

Answer

manojlds picture manojlds · Feb 24, 2012

0 and 1 are the exit codes.

exit(0) means a clean exit without any errors / problems

exit(1) means there was some issue / error / problem and that is why the program is exiting.

This is not Python specific and is pretty common. A non-zero exit code is treated as an abnormal exit, and at times, the error code indicates what the problem was. A zero error code means a successful exit.

This is useful for other programs, shell, caller etc. to know what happened with your program and proceed accordingly.

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