Use Python’s str.rfind() to get the index of a substring’s final occurrence. It returns the highest matching index, or -1 if there is no match. Use str.rindex() instead when a missing match should raise ValueError.
Find the final match with rfind()
Call rfind(sub) on the string you want to search. The returned number is the starting index of the rightmost match, using Python’s zero-based indexing.
text = "spam, spam, spam"
needle = "spam"
last_index = text.rfind(needle)
if last_index == -1:
print("not found")
else:
print(last_index) # 12
Here, the last "spam" begins at index 12. The official Python built-in types reference documents that rfind() returns the highest index where the substring is found, or -1 when it is absent.
Choose between rfind() and rindex()
- Use
rfind()when not finding the substring is an ordinary possibility and you want to check for-1. - Use
rindex()when a missing substring should be treated as an error. It searches for the final match likerfind(), but raisesValueErrorif none exists.
For example, handle the exception when you prefer a value such as None for the no-match case:
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try:
last_index = text.rindex(needle)
except ValueError:
last_index = None
For most straightforward searches, rfind() makes the no-match case explicit in the return value.
Limit the search to part of a string
rfind() and rindex() accept optional start and end arguments. These restrict the search range, with bounds interpreted in the same way as slice notation.
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text = "spam, spam, spam"
index = text.rfind("sp", 0, 10)
print(index) # 6
This searches the portion bounded by 0 and 10; the rightmost "sp" in that range begins at index 6. The bounds apply to where matches can be found, not to a new string returned from the search.
Get the text around the last separator with rpartition()
If you need the pieces around the final separator rather than its numeric position, use rpartition(sep). It returns a three-item tuple: the text before the last separator, the separator itself, and the text after it.
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path = "reports/2026/final.txt"
before, separator, after = path.rpartition("/")
print(before) # reports/2026
print(separator) # /
print(after) # final.txt
If the separator is absent, rpartition() returns ("", "", original_string). See the official string method documentation for the method’s behavior.
What the returned index means
rfind() returns one position, not a count. If you need the number of non-overlapping occurrences, use str.count() instead; it answers a different question. For an empty substring, count("") returns the string’s length plus one.
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These methods operate on Python str values, which represent Unicode text. For binary data held in a bytes object, use its corresponding methods or decode the data before searching it as text. The built-in types reference documents both text and binary sequence methods.
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