Module not found error Python | ModuleNotFoundError

In this article, we are going to deal with another type of problem in python that is Module not found error Python (ModuleNotFoundError). So before going to the main solution you need to learn about the basics of the modules & Python Error Types, because sometimes basic itself fix the error.

What is Module in Python?

Python has libraries that make it more popular and syntactically easy. Python libraries are a collection of modules. Modules are prespecified python or C code which help the user to interact with input/output easily. You can say that functions or instructions are already written by someone in the form of the module and you are using it to reduce the difficultly of the program, getting access to all the instructions by importing that module.

There are two types of modules. One is in-built modules (modules that are already present in the library. To can get access to use them by just importing them into your program). To get access to the module you have to write import then, the name of the module you want to import and it will get imported. There is another way also to import a module, you have to write from then module name then import * symbol if you want to import the whole module but, if you want to use only one property of the module then this * symbol can be replaced by writing the name of the feature you want to import. Look at the figure below to get more clarity:

Module not found error Python
Module not found error Python

Another type of module in python is those which you have to download into your python IDLE (workspace for python). There are three always-to-download modules. If you using PyCharm as your idle for python then go to setting then on the project you are currently working on then go to the python interpreter then clicks on the + (add) symbol, on the screen which will display the screen where you can type any module name you want to download.

The second way to install a module is to go to the command prompt and write pip install and the name of the module. The third way is through the terminal in PyCharm. Open the terminal in PyCharm and type pip install and the name of the module and it will download the module. In the figure below you can see the downloading process of the module through PyCharm and through command prompt and through the terminal in PyCharm:

Through PyCharm:

PyCharm
PyCharm Interpreter

Via command prompt:

command prompt

Through terminal:

 terminal

Now that we have seen what are modules in python? You have got a little bit of idea about what module not found error means. There are many ways how this error can occur? How to solve this type of error? you will get all answers to these questions in this article.

Module not found error Python

What is a module not found error Python (ModuleNotFoundError)?

Let’s discuss this error. If you are using any module in your program and you getting a module not found error this means the interpreter is getting an error because the module you are trying to access is not installed or there is some problem regarding your module. So, the functions you want to access from the module can’t be accessed because the module is not installed and you get an error. Module not defined error always occur due to user-defined module because the problem can only occur during the installation of the module. And in the built-in module, there are zero cases that you can get module not found error because modules are already installed. So, you just need to import them into your program. Module not found error comes under the category of built-in exceptions.

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How module not found error can occur in Python?

Module not found error can occur in Python because you haven’t downloaded any dependencies related to the module which you are trying to access. So, to get all the dependencies related to the module you have to download the module into your idle. For this, you must check the version of your python first. If it’s python 3 then write pip install and name to module you want to use. But  if it’s python 2 then write pip3 install and then specify the name of the module            

Now, if you have installed the module then also you are getting a module not found error in your python code. Let’s see how this can happen? In the case you are installing or using PyCharm for the first time then select create a new project then by default PyCharm will select a new environment which is completely a new virtual environment. So, PyCharm by selecting this option creates the folder named VENV and in this folder, you will have a python interpreter and all the packages related to the virtual environment. And no global package inherits to this folder by default. When this virtual environment is created you have to activate it and then install all the packages. But someone who is using PyCharm for the first time will not be aware of all these things that you have to install all the packages by yourself and if you don’t install then module not found error can occur.

To get rid of all this long process always select the existing environment to get all the existing packages. So, you won’t get any module not found error because the existing environment can easily install and access the module we want. And if by chance you have made a virtual environment and you are getting this module not found error then you can delete the VENV folder to solve this error.

There are two types of import methods in python. One is absolute and the other is relative.

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 Absolute import means if you want to import something from the root directory take the whole path and reach the file you want and then import whatever you want to import. In relative import, you have a parameter as the dot (.) which specifies the path of the file if you want to import a file you don’t have to write the whole path. However, in absolute import, the path deals with the built-in path. In relative import say that path provided should be correct or you can say that package you are accessing should be in the program. So, that no module not found error can occur.

How to handle module not found an error in python?

The first, solution is to install the module you want to use. To install the module, go to the terminal in your PyCharm idle and type pip install and the name of the module you want to install then press enter. The module will get installed. Here, pip is the package manager. You can also do the same thing outside your PyCharm virtual environment; inside the command window or command prompt which is the bigger system.

If you get an error while using pip, try to install the module by using pip3 then also you get an error. and your python is also above 3.3 then your computer has pip but it does not know how to use pip?

To solve this, you have to check your path. Open another command prompt and type echo %PATH% then press enter it will give you the whole path and in this path you all the virtual variables. You can also see the python version path you are currently using. This is a path where pip is present. If you can’t see the path you have to add the path by typing setx path and then the whole path where pip exists then press enter. And once again to check the whole path write echo %PATH% then, after this you can surely see the path.

And then if you go and see the command prompt which you opened while installing the module you should have got the message that your module is successfully installed.

Summary

So, in this article, you have seen all the aspects of how module not found error can occur in python and how to solve those issues. Module not found is a very easy error and you can solve it easily whenever this error occurs you just have to download the module which you are trying to use in your program. And if some other problem occurs after installing the module too then in this article you can get the solution, we have discussed all the circumstances in which you might face regarding module not found error. So, this is all about module not found error in Python.

FAQ (frequently asked question)

Question 1 – which are the modules python can access?

Answer 1 – to access the module in python it should be present in the current directory you are working on.

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Question 2 – how to check if the module is installed or not?

Answer 2 – to check the module which is already installed to can use the command pip list this will show the list of all the modules which you have in your idle. 

Question 3 – how to get all the details of the installed module in python?

Answer 3 – if you want to check the details of the modules or packages you have installed using the command pip show this will show all the details of the module.

Question 4 – how to find the path of the module installed?

Answer 4 – to get the location of the module python provides a variable called PYTHONPATH which can provide a path of the module you want.

Question 5 – how to check whether modules are outdated or not?

Answer 5 – if you want to check whether a module is outdated or not. Then, you can use command pip list –outdated to get the list of outdated modules.

Question 6 – how modules can be updated in python?

Answer 6 – to update a module you can type sudo pip install (module name you want to update) –upgrade this command will upgrade your module. sudo is used to confirm that you want to upgrade the module by asking for the root password. But if you want to upgrade the list of modules or packages then this command will take a lot of time. So, to automatically upgrade all the list of modules, use this command – sudo pip install $(pip list –outdated | awk ‘{print $1}’) –upgrade.

Question 7 – can I install all the packages at one time?

Answer 7 – yes, all the packages or modules can be installed at a time. You have to make a requirements.txt file enlisting all the modules you require. Then, go to command prompt and type pip install -r requirements.txt this will install all the modules which you have specified in the requirements.txt file.

 Question 8 – can we open any module?

Answer 8 – yes you can open any module you want. You just have to open the input panel (alt+shift+o) and type python import and the path of the package you want to open.

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