Python List Methods: 10 Essential Methods You Should Know

Lists in Python are one of the most commonly used data structures in the language, comparable to arrays in other languages.

They allow us to hold data in an ordered manner so that we can easily manipulate, transform, and manage information effectively.

In this guide, we’ll explore 10 essential Python list methods that enhance your ability to work with lists.

Whether if you’re just starting out or looking to refine your skills, these methods will provide the tools you need to handle list data proficiently.

Table of Contents

• Introduction to Python List Methods

• Essential Python List Methods Explained

  • Appending an element

  • Inserting an element

  • Popping an element

  • Removing an element

  • Retrieving index of an element

  • Counting elements

  • Sorting the list

  • Reversing the list

  • Copying the list

  • Clearing the list

Introduction to Python List Methods

Python lists are, in a sense, dynamic arrays that serve as one of the fundamental data structures in the language, alongside dictionaries, tuples, and sets.

Python lists are very versatile and can hold elements of different types, including None. This flexibility makes them exceptionally useful for a variety of programming tasks.

List methods are built-in functions in Python that you can call on a list to perform operations ranging from adding and removing elements to sorting and reversing the contents. In case you don’t know the difference between a function and a method, check out my article on the differences between functions and methods.

Understanding how to use these methods effectively can significantly enhance your coding efficiency and capability.

Essential Python List Methods Explained

While all of the methods can be found in the official Python documentation, I’ve extracted 10 list methods that I think are useful.

Appending an element

If you have an existing list that you want to add to, you can easily add an element to the end by calling the append method:

my_list = [1, 2, 3]
my_list.append(4)
print(my_list)

The following code will output the following list:

[1, 2, 3, 4]

Inserting an element

In a scenario where you may not want to add the element to the end of the list, you can insert it somewhere in the list using insert. This method takes 2 parameters: list.insert(index, element) 

For example:

my_list = [1, 2, 3]

# Insert "hello" the 1st index
my_list.insert(1, "hello")
print(my_list)

This will print the following:

[1, "hello", 2, 3]

Popping an element

Sometimes, we want to return an element at a given position inside of the list. For instance, if we want to remove 3 from our list:

my_list = [1, 2, 3]

# Pop the 2nd index (where the 3 is located)
my_list.pop(2)

Note that this does return the value that you popped at the index. This is a distinctive difference between this and the next method: remove.

Removing an element

Popping an element is index-based, whereas removing is element-based. remove finds the first instance of the value that you pass in and it removes it from the list.

So deviating a bit from our previous list, if we create a list that has duplicate elements (we’ll use 1 for this), then remove an element 1:

my_list = [0, 1, 2, 3, 1, 4]

# Remove the first instance of 1
my_list.remove(1)

print(my_list) # -> [0, 2, 3, 1, 4]

Retrieving index of an element

One of the pitfalls of remove is that it does not return the index where it removed that element. However, a slight work-around can be done using index :

my_list = [0, 1, 2, 3, 1, 4]

# See where the first instance of 1 is
index = my_list.index(1)

print(index) # => Value: 1 (the index, not element)

Counting elements

But what if you want to see how many 1’s there are in the above list? Sure, you can iterate through it and count:

my_list = [0, 1, 2, 3, 1, 4]

target_element = 1
n_found = 0
for element in my_list:
    if target_element == element:
         n_found += 1

print(n_found) 

But this seems like a bit much. Instead, use count :

my_list = [0, 1, 2, 3, 1, 4]

# Count the number of 1's
n_found = my_list.count(1)

print(n_found) # => 2

Sorting the list

In certain scenarios, you’re going to want to sort the list. While you can call sorted, lists also provide a sort method:

my_list = [4, 1, 2, 8, 0]

# Sort it
sorted_list = my_list.sort()

print(sorted_list) # => [0, 1, 2, 4, 8]

Reversing the list

There’s also scenarios where you’re going to want to reverse the list:

my_list = [4, 1, 2, 8, 0]

# Reverse it
reversed_list = my_list.reverse()

print(reversed_list) # => [0, 8, 2, 1, 4]

Copying the list

On a more advanced topic, you’re not going to want to copy lists by using = (this is on the topic of deep copies vs shallow copies, which we’re not discussing here).

Instead, use .copy:

my_list = [1, 2, 3]

copied = my_list.copy()

print(copied) # => [1, 2, 3]

Clearing the list

Maybe you want to clear the list:

my_list = [1, 2, 3]

# Clear it
my_list.clear()

… or you can use re-instantiate the list as the same variable (again, a topic that I won’t discuss here).

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