How to Fix: SyntaxError: f-string: expected ‘}’

This is a very common error when working with Python’s modern f-strings. In fact, you might frequently encounter the SyntaxError f-string message when writing code.

It simply means: Python found an opening curly brace { but never found the matching closing brace }.

The Cause

You have an incomplete or mismatched brace in your f-string.

Problem Code 1: Missing Brace

name = "Alice"
print(f"Hello, {name") # Forgot the '}'
# CRASH! SyntaxError: f-string: expected '}'

Problem Code 2: Nested Braces (Common with Dictionaries) This is a trickier one. If you want to show literal braces inside an f-string, you must double them up.

# This is a common way to try and print a dictionary
my_dict = {'a': 1}
print(f"My dict is: {my_dict}") # This is fine!

# But what if you try to build the string manually?
print(f"My dict is: {'a': 1}") # CRASH!
# Python thinks the 'a' is the variable and gets confused.

The Fixes

1. For Missing Braces: Simply find the opening { and add its matching }.

name = "Alice"
print(f"Hello, {name}") # Correct

2. For Nested Braces (The “Double Brace” Trick): If you need literal {} characters inside your f-string, you must “escape” them by doubling them: {{ and }}.

my_dict = {'a': 1}
# This is a bit advanced, but shows the rule:
print(f"My dict literal is: {{'a': 1}}")
# Output: My dict literal is: {'a': 1}

Most of the time, this error is just a simple typo. Carefully check that every { has a matching }.