Python update a key in dict if it doesn't exist

You do not need to call d.keys(), so

if key not in d:
    d[key] = value

is enough. There is no clearer, more readable method.

You could update again with dict.get(), which would return an existing value if the key is already present:

d[key] = d.get(key, value)

but I strongly recommend against this; this is code golfing, hindering maintenance and readability.

Use dict.setdefault():

>>> d = {1: 'one'}
>>> d.setdefault(1, '1')
'one'
>>> d    # d has not changed because the key already existed
{1: 'one'}
>>> d.setdefault(2, 'two')
'two'
>>> d
{1: 'one', 2: 'two'}

Since Python 3.9 you can use the merge operator | to merge two dictionaries. The dict on the right takes precedence:

new_dict = old_dict | { key: val }

For example:

new_dict = { 'a': 1, 'b': 2 } | { 'b': 42 }

print(new_dict} # {'a': 1, 'b': 42}

Note: this creates a new dictionary with the updated values.