keras-team/keras · error · TypeError

Invalid type for argument `axes`: it should be a list or an

Error message

Invalid type for argument `axes`: it should be a list or an int. Received: axes={axes}

What it means

Error "Invalid type for argument `axes`: it should be a list or an int. Received: axes={axes}" thrown in keras-team/keras.

Source

Thrown at keras/src/layers/merging/dot.py:246

            corresponding to the desired axis from the first input and the
            desired axis from the second input, respectively. Note that the
            size of the two selected axes must match, and that
            axis `0` (the batch axis) cannot be included.
        normalize: Whether to L2-normalize samples along the dot product axis
            before taking the dot product. If set to `True`, then
            the output of the dot product is the cosine proximity
            between the two samples.
        **kwargs: Standard layer keyword arguments.

    Returns:
        A tensor, the dot product of the samples from the inputs.
    """

    def __init__(self, axes, normalize=False, **kwargs):
        super().__init__(**kwargs)
        if not isinstance(axes, int):
            if not isinstance(axes, (list, tuple)):
                raise TypeError(
                    f"Invalid type for argument `axes`: it should be "
                    f"a list or an int. Received: axes={axes}"
                )
            if len(axes) != 2:
                raise ValueError(
                    f"Invalid format for argument `axes`: it should contain "
                    f"two elements. Received: axes={axes}"
                )
            if not isinstance(axes[0], int) or not isinstance(axes[1], int):
                raise ValueError(
                    f"Invalid format for argument `axes`: list elements should "
                    f"be integers. Received: axes={axes}"
                )
        self.axes = axes
        self.normalize = normalize
        self.supports_masking = True
        self._reshape_required = False

View on GitHub (pinned to 7a34a03db6)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at keras/src/layers/merging/dot.py:246 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of keras-team/keras@7a34a03db6 (2026-08-25). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0871b744fd2ef668. Report an issue: GitHub.