TypeError: 'module' object is not callable — how to fix

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "app.py", line 3, in <module>
    now = datetime()
TypeError: 'module' object is not callable

Quick fix: Call the object inside the module: datetime.datetime.now() or from datetime import datetime; from tqdm import tqdm; glob.glob('*.txt'). If it's your own file, import mymodule then mymodule.MyClass(), or from mymodule import MyClass. Check you didn't name a file the same as the package.

What it means

import x binds the name x to a module object. Modules are containers; you can't call them with (). When you write x(), Python raises this error. Since Python 3.12 the message often adds a hint, e.g. Did you mean: 'datetime.datetime(...)'?.

Check what a name refers to:

print(type(datetime), datetime)
# <class 'module'> <module 'datetime' from '...'>

Cause 1: module and class/function have the same name

Very common in the standard library and popular packages:

import datetime
datetime.now()          # AttributeError
datetime()              # TypeError: 'module' object is not callable

Either import the object:

from datetime import datetime
now = datetime.now()

or qualify it:

import datetime
now = datetime.datetime.now()

Other pairs that trip people up:

Cause 2: your own module and class

You have user.py containing class User, and wrote:

import user
u = user()          # TypeError

Fix:

from user import User
u = User()
# or
import user
u = user.User()

Same in packages: if models/__init__.py doesn't import Model, then from models import Model won't work and models() fails. Import from the submodule: from models.model import Model.

Cause 3: a name got shadowed by an import later on

from tqdm import tqdm
...
import tqdm           # rebinds tqdm to the module
for x in tqdm(rows):  # TypeError

Search the file for a second import (or import *) that reuses the name. Keep one style per module.

Cause 4: your file has the same name as the library

If your script is called tqdm.py, requests.py or random.py, import tqdm imports your file, not the library. Rename it (and delete any __pycache__ folder next to it). Check with:

import tqdm
print(tqdm.__file__)

Cause 5: callable expected by a framework

Passing a module where a function or class is expected gives the same error from deep inside a library, e.g. Thread(target=mytask) where mytask is a module, or a Django URL pattern pointing at views instead of views.home. Pass the function: path("", views.home).

Last updated 2026-11-01.