delattr()

delattr(object, name)

Returns: None · Updated March 13, 2026 · Built-in Functions

attributes built-in object dynamic

The delattr() built-in function removes a named attribute from an object. It is the programmatic equivalent of the del statement for object attributes. The function takes an object and a string naming the attribute to delete, then removes that attribute if it exists.

Syntax

delattr(object, name)

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`object`	`object`	Required	The object from which to delete the attribute.
`name`	`str`	Required	A string specifying the name of the attribute to remove.

Examples

Basic usage

class Person:
    def __init__(self, name, age):
        self.name = name
        self.age = age

person = Person("Alice", 30)

# Delete an attribute
delattr(person, "age")

# This will raise AttributeError
print(person.age)
# AttributeError: 'Person' object has no attribute 'age'

Using with dynamic attribute names

class Config:
    def __init__(self):
        self.debug = True
        self.host = "localhost"
        self.port = 8080

config = Config()

# Delete based on user input or variable
attr_to_remove = "port"
if hasattr(config, attr_to_remove):
    delattr(config, attr_to_remove)

print(hasattr(config, "port"))  # False

Common Patterns

Cleaning up object state

class Session:
    def __init__(self, user_id):
        self.user_id = user_id
        self.authenticated = True
    
    def logout(self):
        delattr(self, "authenticated")
        # Session is now effectively logged out

session = Session("user123")
session.logout()
print(hasattr(session, "authenticated"))  # False

Conditional attribute removal

class Widget:
    def __init__(self):
        self.visible = True
        self.enabled = True

widget = Widget()

# Only delete if attribute exists and meets condition
for attr in ["visible", "enabled", "optional_attr"]:
    if hasattr(widget, attr):
        value = getattr(widget, attr)
        if not value:
            delattr(widget, attr)

# Results in widget having no attributes

Resetting object to default state

class GameState:
    def __init__(self):
        self.score = 0
        self.level = 1
        self.lives = 3
    
    def full_reset(self):
        attrs_to_remove = ["score", "level", "lives"]
        for attr in attrs_to_remove:
            if hasattr(self, attr):
                delattr(self, attr)

game = GameState()
game.score = 100
game.level = 5
game.full_reset()
print(vars(game))  # {}

Errors

AttributeError

delattr(object, "nonexistent")
# AttributeError: 'object' object has no attribute 'nonexistent'

This error occurs when trying to delete an attribute that does not exist. Use hasattr() to check before deleting, or handle the exception:

try:
    delattr(obj, "missing_attr")
except AttributeError:
    print("Attribute does not exist")

TypeError

delattr(obj, 123)
# TypeError: delattr(): argument 2 must be string, not int

The second argument must be a string. Passing a non-string will raise TypeError.