ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'bs4' in Python

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'bs4' in Python #

The Python "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'bs4'" occurs when we forget to install the beautifulsoup4 module before importing it or install it in an incorrect environment. To solve the error, install the module by running the pip install beautifulsoup4 command.

Open your terminal in your project's root directory and install the beautifulsoup4 module.

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# 👇️ in a virtual environment or using Python 2
pip install beautifulsoup4

# 👇️ for python 3 (could also be pip3.10 depending on your version)
pip3 install beautifulsoup4

# 👇️ if you get permissions error
sudo pip3 install beautifulsoup4

# 👇️ if you don't have pip in your PATH environment variable
python -m pip install beautifulsoup4

# 👇️ for python 3 (could also be pip3.10 depending on your version)
python3 -m pip install beautifulsoup4

# 👇️ alternative for Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install python3-bs4

# 👇️ for Anaconda
conda install -c anaconda beautifulsoup4

After you install the beautifulsoup4 package, try importing it like:

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from bs4 import BeautifulSoup

soup = BeautifulSoup("<p>Some<b>bad<i>HTML")

print(soup.prettify())

The Python error "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'bs4'" occurs for multiple reasons:

1. Not having the beautifulsoup4 package installed by running pip install beautifulsoup4.
2. Installing the package in a different Python version than the one you're using.
3. Installing the package globally and not in your virtual environment.
4. Your IDE running an incorrect version of Python.
5. Naming your module bs4.py which would shadow the official module.
6. Declaring a variable named bs4 which would shadow the imported variable.

If the error persists, get your Python version and make sure you are installing the package using the correct Python version.

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python --version

For example, my Python version is 3.10.4, so I would install the beautifulsoup4 package with pip3.10 install beautifulsoup4.

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pip3.10 install beautifulsoup4

# 👇️ if you get permissions error use pip3 (NOT pip3.X)
sudo pip3 install beautifulsoup4

Notice that the version number corresponds to the version of pip I'm using.

If the PATH for pip is not set up on your machine, replace pip with python3 -m pip:

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# 👇️ make sure to use your version of Python, e.g. 3.10
python3 -m pip install beautifulsoup4

If the "No module named 'bs4'" error persists, try restarting your IDE and development server/script.

You can check if you have the beautifulsoup4 package installed by running the pip show beautifulsoup4 command.

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# 👇️ check if you have beautifulsoup4 installed
pip3 show beautifulsoup4

# 👇️ if you don't have pip set up in PATH
python3 -m pip show beautifulsoup4

The pip show beautifulsoup4 command will either state that the package is not installed or show a bunch of information about the package, including the location where the package is installed.

If the package is not installed, make sure your IDE is using the correct version of Python.

For example, In VSCode, you can press CTRL + Shift + P or (⌘ + Shift + P on Mac) to open the command palette.

Then type "Python select interpreter" in the field.

Then select the correct python version from the dropdown menu.

If you are using a virtual environment, make sure you are installing beautifulsoup4 in your virtual environment and not globally.

You can try creating a virtual environment if you don't already have one.

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# 👇️ use correct version of Python when creating VENV
python3 -m venv venv

# 👇️ activate on Unix or MacOS
source venv/bin/activate

# 👇️ activate on Windows (cmd.exe)
venv\Scripts\activate.bat

# 👇️ activate on Windows (PowerShell)
venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

# 👇️ install beautifulsoup4 in virtual environment
pip install beautifulsoup4

Your virtual environment will use the version of Python that was used to create it.

You also shouldn't be declaring a variable named bs4 as that would also shadow the original module.

If the error is not resolved, try to uninstall the beautifulsoup4 package and then install it.

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# 👇️ check if you have beautifulsoup4 installed
pip3 show beautifulsoup4

# 👇️ if you don't have pip set up in PATH
python3 -m pip show beautifulsoup4

# 👇️ uninstall beautifulsoup4
pip3 uninstall beautifulsoup4

# 👇️ if you don't have pip set up in PATH
python3 -m pip uninstall beautifulsoup4

# 👇️ install beautifulsoup4
pip3 install beautifulsoup4

# 👇️ if you don't have pip set up in PATH
python3 -m pip install beautifulsoup4

Try restarting your IDE and development server/script.

You can also try to upgrade the version of the beautifulsoup4 package.

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pip3 install beautifulsoup4 --upgrade

# 👇️ if you don't have pip set up in PATH
python3 -m pip install beautifulsoup4 --upgrade

This one is for using virtual environments (VENV) on Windows:

This one is for using virtual environments (VENV) on MacOS and Linux:

Conclusion #

The Python "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'bs4'" occurs when we forget to install the beautifulsoup4 module before importing it or install it in an incorrect environment. To solve the error, install the module by running the pip install beautifulsoup4 command.