Syntax Error When Running .py File in Jupyter/Colab

[kongranjia]

I'm working through a context expansion tutorial and encountering a syntax error when trying to run the .py file in Jupyter/Colab.

When I execute:

%run 02_expand_context.py

I get this error:

SyntaxError: invalid decimal literal

The error points to line 79 in the file, which appears to contain explanatory text/markdown content rather than executable Python code.

Could you please clarify:

1. What is the intended way to use this .py file?
2. Should it be executed directly, or is it meant to be imported as a module?
3. If it contains both code and documentation, how should I properly run the executable portions?

The file seems to be part of a tutorial series, but the presence of narrative text within a .py file is causing execution issues. Any guidance on the correct approach would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[ShaileshRawat1988]

What actually caused the first syntax errors

1) SyntaxError: unterminated string literal at

Let's first import the necessary libraries:

This happened because your .py file still contained Markdown / notebook text as raw code.

In Python, a plain English line like:

Let's first import the necessary libraries:

is interpreted as Python code.

• Let's contains an apostrophe '
• Python thinks you started a string at Let'
• but you never close it properly
• so it throws unterminated string literal

Fix: Any prose must be either:

• a comment: # Let's first import...
• or inside a string/docstring: """ ... """

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2) SyntaxError: invalid decimal literal at

In the previous notebook (`01_min_prompt.ipynb`), we explored...

This is the same root cause: Markdown in a .py file.

Python sees backticks and the token 01_min_prompt.ipynb and tries to parse pieces of it. The 01_... part can trigger “numeric literal” parsing confusion in some contexts, and the whole line is still not valid Python anyway.

Fix: turn that whole line into a comment:

# In the previous notebook (01_min_prompt.ipynb), we explored...

---

3) Triple backticks inside the file

You had blocks like:

```python
import os
...
```

Those are valid Markdown fences, but invalid in a .py script.

Fix: remove the fences entirely and keep only the code, or convert the surrounding content to comments.

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The real root cause in one line

You pasted a Jupyter notebook / Markdown document into a .py file without converting the Markdown parts into Python-safe comments/strings.

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