ModuleNotFoundError: No module named — how to fix

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "app.py", line 1, in <module>
    import requests
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'requests'

Quick fix: Install it with the same Python that runs your script: python -m pip install requests (use python3 if that's what you run). In a virtual environment, activate it first.

What it means

Python searched every folder on sys.path for the module and didn't find it. Nine times out of ten the package is installed, just for another Python.

Step 1: find out which Python runs your code

python -c "import sys; print(sys.executable)"

Then install into exactly that interpreter:

python -m pip install requests

Using python -m pip instead of bare pip guarantees the package goes to the same Python.

Step 2: virtual environments

If your project has a .venv or venv folder, activate it before running or installing:

source .venv/bin/activate    # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

In VS Code

The status bar shows the selected interpreter. Use Ctrl+Shift+P → Python: Select Interpreter and choose your project's .venv. The integrated terminal and the Run button can use different interpreters if this is wrong.

In Jupyter

The notebook kernel may be a different Python. Install from inside the notebook:

%pip install requests

The package name differs from the import name

Your own module isn't found

• Run from the project root: python -m package.module instead of python package/module.py.
• A folder you import from needs to be on the path; with packages, make sure you're not running a file from inside the package.
• Don't name your own file after a library (requests.py, random.py). It shadows the real one.

Under sudo

sudo python script.py uses root's environment, which doesn't see packages installed with --user or in your venv. Use the venv's Python path explicitly: sudo .venv/bin/python script.py.

Last updated 2026-10-27.