finally — Intermediate Playground

Block that always executes after try/except, used for cleanup

Python Playground

def test_finally():
    try:
        print("  In try")
        return "from try"
    except:
        print("  In except")
        return "from except"
    finally:
        print("  In finally (runs before return!)")

result = test_finally()
print(f"Got: {result}")

print()

# finally can override the return value (but don't do this!)
def bad_practice():
    try:
        return 1
    finally:
        return 2  # overrides the return from try!

print(f"bad_practice() = {bad_practice()}")

Output

Click "Run" to execute your code

finally runs even when the try block returns. If finally also has a return, it overrides the try's return — avoid this anti-pattern.

Challenge

Try modifying the code above to explore different behaviors. Can you extend the example to handle a new use case?

View all Intermediate examples for finally