AttributeError module 'tkinter' has no attribute 'Tk'

# AttributeError module 'tkinter' has no attribute 'Tk'

The Python "AttributeError module 'tkinter' has no attribute 'Tk'" occurs when we have a local file named tkinter.py and try to import from the tkinter module.

To solve the error, make sure to rename any local files named tkinter.py.

Here is an example of how the error occurs in a file called tkinter.py.

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import tkinter as tk

from tkinter import ttk

# ⛔️ AttributeError: module 'tkinter' has no attribute 'Tk'
root = tk.Tk()
frm = ttk.Frame(root, padding=10)
frm.grid()

ttk.Label(frm, text="Hello World!").grid(column=0, row=0)
ttk.Button(frm, text="Quit", command=root.destroy).grid(column=1, row=0)

root.mainloop()

If you get the error "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'tkinter'", click on the following article.

# Make sure you don't have a local file called tkinter.py

The most likely cause of the error is having a local file named tkinter.py which shadows the tkinter module from the standard library.

Make sure to rename your local file to something other than tkinter.py to solve the error.

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import tkinter as tk

from tkinter import ttk

# ✅ Works
root = tk.Tk()
frm = ttk.Frame(root, padding=10)
frm.grid()

ttk.Label(frm, text="Hello World!").grid(column=0, row=0)
ttk.Button(frm, text="Quit", command=root.destroy).grid(column=1, row=0)

root.mainloop()

You can name your file main.py or use any other name that doesn't clash with a module.

If you have issues importing tkinter or using the module, check out my ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'tkinter' article.

# Make sure you use the correct import statement

Make sure you haven't mistyped the import statements as that also causes the error.

You can access the __file__ property on the imported module to see whether it is shadowed by a local file.

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import tkinter

print(tkinter.__file__)


# ⛔️ The result is shadowed by a local file
# /home/borislav/Desktop/bobbyhadz_python/tkinter.py

# ✅ The result is pulling in the correct module
# /usr/lib/python3.10/tkinter/__init__.py

A good way to start debugging is to print(dir(your_module)) and see what attributes the imported module has.

Here is what printing the attributes of the tkinter module looks like when I have a file tkinter.py in the same directory.

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import tkinter

# ⛔️ ['__builtins__', '__cached__', '__doc__', '__file__',
#  '__loader__', '__name__', '__package__', '__spec__']
print(dir(tkinter))

If you pass a module object to the dir() function, it returns a list of names of the module's attributes.

We can see that the imported tkinter module doesn't have a Tk attribute, which makes it evident that we are shadowing the official tkinter module with our local tkinter.py file.

You can use the sys module to print all of the built-in module names if you ever wonder if your local modules are clashing with built-in ones.

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import sys

# 👇️ Print all built-in module names
print(sys.builtin_module_names)