Python Tutorial

Python Basics

Python I/O

Python Operators

Python Conditions & Controls

Python Functions

Python Strings

Python Modules

Python Lists

Python OOPs

Python Arrays

Python Dictionary

Python Sets

Python Tuples

Python Exception Handling

Python NumPy

Python Pandas

Python File Handling

Python WebSocket

Python GUI Programming

Python Image Processing

Python Miscellaneous

Python Practice

Python Programs

Home » Python

Python Dynamic Attributes

Last Updated : May 03, 2025

Python dynamic attributes are attributes that are added to an instance object after it has been created. In this chapter, we will learn how to add, access, and delete dynamic attributes with the help of examples.

Adding Dynamic Attributes

You can add attributes to an instance dynamically using the dot (.) operator. These attributes will only belong to the specific instance they are added to.

Example

In this example, we add a dynamic attribute city to an instance of the Student class.

# Defining the class
class Student:
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name

# Creating an instance
student1 = Student("Anjali")

# Adding dynamic attribute
student1.city = "Mumbai"

# Accessing the dynamic attribute
print(f"{student1.name} lives in {student1.city}")

The output of the above code would be:

Anjali lives in Mumbai

Dynamic Attributes Are Instance-Specific

Dynamic attributes do not affect other instances of the class. Each instance can have its own set of dynamic attributes.

Example

In this example, only one instance has the dynamic attribute city.

# Creating another instance
student2 = Student("Ravi")

# Only student1 has 'city' attribute
print(hasattr(student1, 'city'))  # True
print(hasattr(student2, 'city'))  # False

The output of the above code would be:

True
False

Using `setattr()` to Add Dynamic Attributes

You can also use the built-in setattr() function to add a dynamic attribute.

Example

In this example, we add a dynamic attribute called marks using setattr().

# Using setattr to add dynamic attribute
setattr(student1, 'marks', 95)

# Accessing the new attribute
print(f"{student1.name} scored {student1.marks} marks.")

The output of the above code would be:

Anjali scored 95 marks.

Using `getattr()` to Access Dynamic Attributes

You can access dynamic attributes using getattr(), which is useful when the attribute name is stored in a variable.

Example

In this example, we retrieve the value of the dynamically added marks attribute.

# Using getattr to access the dynamic attribute
attribute_name = 'marks'
print(f"{student1.name}'s {attribute_name}: {getattr(student1, attribute_name)}")

The output of the above code would be:

Anjali's marks: 95

Deleting Dynamic Attributes

You can delete a dynamic attribute using the del statement or the delattr() function.

Example

In this example, we delete the marks attribute from the instance.

# Deleting dynamic attribute using del
del student1.marks

# Checking if attribute exists
print(hasattr(student1, 'marks'))

The output of the above code would be:

False