Read List of Dictionaries from File in Python

Last Updated : 4 Feb, 2026

Given a file containing a list of dictionaries, the task is to read all the dictionaries from the file and convert them back into Python dictionary objects. For example:

Input (sample.txt)

{'name': 'geek'}
{'platform': 'GeeksforGeeks'}
{'active': False}

Output

{'name': 'geek'}
{'platform': 'GeeksforGeeks'}
{'active': False}

To Download the sample file used in this article: click here

Below are different methods to read list of dictionaries from file.

Using ast.literal_eval()

ast.literal_eval() safely converts a string containing a Python literal (like a dictionary) into an actual Python object.

Python 
import ast

try:
    with open('data.txt', 'r') as file:
        for line in file:
            if line.strip():  
                dictionary = ast.literal_eval(line.strip())
                print(dictionary)
except Exception as e:
    print("Something unexpected occurred:", e)

Output

{'name': 'geek', 'score': 10}
{'platform': 'GeeksforGeeks', 'rating': 4.8}
{'username': 'supergeek', 'active': False}

Explanation:

  • with open('data.txt', 'r') as file: Opens the file safely in read mode.
  • if line.strip(): Skips empty lines.
  • dictionary = ast.literal_eval(line.strip()): Converts line string to a Python dictionary safely.

Using Pickle Module

This method loads dictionaries from a file that was saved earlier using pickle.dump(). It is the safest and easiest way because pickle automatically converts the byte data back into Python objects.

To save the pickle file:

Python 
import pickle

data = [
    {'name': 'geek', 'score': 10},
    {'platform': 'GeeksforGeeks', 'rating': 4.8},
    {'username': 'supergeek', 'active': False}
]

with open('data.pkl', 'wb') as file:
    pickle.dump(data, file)

The code saves a list of dictionaries into a binary file data.pkl using Pickle.

Python 
import pickle
try:
    with open("data.pkl", "rb") as f:
        dict_list = pickle.load(f)

    for d in dict_list:
        print(d)

except Exception as e:
    print("Error:", e)

Output

{'name': 'geek', 'score': 10}
{'platform': 'GeeksforGeeks', 'rating': 4.8}
{'username': 'supergeek', 'active': False}

Explanation:

  • import pickle: Loads the pickle module.
  • open("data.pkl", "rb"): Opens the pickle file in binary read mode.
  • pickle.load(f): Deserializes the file and returns the list of dictionaries.
  • for d in dict_list: Prints each dictionary in the list.

Using read() Method

This method treats each line in the file as a dictionary-like string and then manually converts it into a Python dictionary.

Python 
try:
    with open("file.txt", "r") as f:
        lines = f.readlines()

    for l in lines:
        l = l.strip()
        if not l:
            continue

        d = {}
        for i in l.strip("{}").split(", "):
            k, v = i.split(":", 1)
            d[k.strip("'\" ").strip()] = v.strip("'\" ").strip()

        print(d)

except Exception as e:
    print("Error:", e)

Output

{'name': 'geek', 'score': '10'}
{'platform': 'GeeksforGeeks', 'rating': '4.8'}
{'username': 'supergeek', 'active': 'False'}

Explanation:

  • parse(line): Converts a dictionary-formatted string into a Python dictionary.
  • line.strip("{}"): Removes curly braces.
  • key, val = item.split(": "): Splits each pair.
  • f.read().split("\n"): Reads and splits file into lines.
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