If you’re a Python developer, you may have encountered the “NameError: name ‘exit’ is not defined” error at some point. This error occurs when you try to use the exit()
function in your code, but Python doesn’t recognize it.

In this tutorial, we’ll explore the causes of this error and provide step-by-step instructions on how to fix it. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have a better understanding of how to resolve the “NameError: name ‘exit’ is not defined” error and ensure that your Python code runs smoothly.
Why does the NameError: name 'exit' is not defined
error occur?
This error occurs because Python cannot find exit
in its namespace. It is important to keep in mind that exit()
is not a built-in function in Python. The exit()
function is present in the sys
module and thus if you want to use it, you must import it from the sys
module.
To resolve the above error, you need to correctly import the exit() function which you can do in the following ways –
1) Only import the exit function from the sys
module
# import the exit function from the sys module from sys import exit # use the exit function when required exit()
2) Import the sys
module and then access the exit()
function using sys.exit()
# import the sys module import sys # use the exit function when required sys.exit()
Conclusion
The NameError: name 'exit' is not defined
error occurs when Python cannot find the exit()
function. This error can be fixed by using the sys.exit()
function, importing the exit()
function from the sys
module, or properly importing the script that contains the exit()
function.
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