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How to Get Get Boolean Input from Users in Python

This guide explains how to get boolean (True/False) input from users in Python. We'll cover simple string comparisons, handling various "yes/no" type inputs (case-insensitively), and using a while loop for validation.

Basic Boolean Input (String Comparison)​

The simplest way to get boolean input is to treat the user's input as a string and compare it to expected values (e.g., "True" or "False"):

user_input = input('Subscribe to newsletter? True / False: ')

if user_input == 'True':
    print('The user typed in True')
elif user_input == 'False':
    print('The user typed in False')
else:
    print('Enter True or False')
  • The input is always a string, so even if the user types True it is not equal to the boolean value True and must be compared with a string that has the value True.
  • The input returns a string, which can be compared to another string.
  • The check is case-sensitive.

Case-Insensitive Boolean Input​

To make the input case-insensitive, use .lower() or .capitalize() to convert the input to a consistent case before comparison:

user_input = input('Subscribe to newsletter? True / False: ')

if user_input.lower() == 'true':  # Convert to lowercase
    print('The user typed in True')
elif user_input.lower() == 'false':
    print('The user typed in False')
else:
    print('Enter True or False')
  • user_input.lower(): Converts the input to lowercase. Now "True", "true", "TRUE", etc., will all be treated the same. You could also use .upper() and compare to 'TRUE'.
  • .capitalize() can also be used, but it only capitalizes the first character and converts the rest to lowercase.

Accepting Multiple "Yes/No" Variations​

To be more user-friendly, accept various ways of saying "yes" or "no" (e.g., "y", "yes", "n", "no"):

user_input = input('Do you like pizza (yes/no): ')

yes_choices = ['yes', 'y', 'true']  #  Add more variations if needed
no_choices = ['no', 'n', 'false']

if user_input.lower() in yes_choices:
    print('user typed yes')
elif user_input.lower() in no_choices:
    print('user typed no')
else:
    print('Type yes or no')
  • yes_choices and no_choices: Lists of acceptable input strings.
  • in: Checks if the (lowercased) input is present in the respective list. This is much cleaner than multiple or conditions.

Using a while Loop for Input Validation​

To ensure the user enters valid input, use a while loop that repeats until a valid response is given:

yes_choices = ['yes', 'y', 'true']
no_choices = ['no', 'n', 'false']

while True:  # Loop indefinitely
    user_input = input('Do you want to continue? yes/no: ').lower()

    if user_input in yes_choices:
        print('User typed yes')
        break  # Exit the loop
    elif user_input in no_choices:
        print('User typed no')
        break  # Exit the loop
    else:
        print('Type yes or no')
        # continue is implicit here, could be omitted.
  • while True:: This creates an infinite loop. We'll use break to exit the loop when we get valid input.
  • .lower(): Converts the input to lowercase inside the loop for case-insensitive comparison.
  • break: Exits the loop when a valid "yes" or "no" response is given.
  • continue (optional): You could use continue in the else block to explicitly jump to the next iteration, but it's implicit here.

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