Borislav Hadzhiev
Mon Apr 18 2022ยท4 min read
Photo by Marvin Meyer
The Python "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'psutil'" occurs when we
forget to install the psutil
module before importing it or install it in an
incorrect environment. To solve the error, install the module by running the
pip install psutil
command.
Open your terminal in your project's root directory and install the psutil
module.
# ๐๏ธ in a virtual environment or using Python 2 pip install psutil # ๐๏ธ for python 3 (could also be pip3.10 depending on your version) pip3 install psutil # ๐๏ธ if you get permissions error sudo pip3 install psutil # ๐๏ธ if you don't have pip in your PATH environment variable python -m pip install psutil # ๐๏ธ for python 3 (could also be pip3.10 depending on your version) python3 -m pip install psutil # ๐๏ธ for Anaconda conda install -c conda-forge psutil
After you install the psutil package, try importing it like:
import psutil print(psutil.cpu_times()) for x in range(3): psutil.cpu_percent(interval=1)
The Python error "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'psutil'" occurs for multiple reasons:
psutil
package installed by running pip install psutil
.psutil.py
which would shadow the official module.psutil
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.
python --version
For example, my Python version is 3.10.4
, so I would install the psutil
package with pip3.10 install psutil
.
pip3.10 install psutil # ๐๏ธ if you get permissions error use pip3 (NOT pip3.X) sudo pip3 install psutil
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
:
# ๐๏ธ make sure to use your version of Python, e.g. 3.10 python3 -m pip install psutil
If the "No module named 'psutil'" error persists, try restarting your IDE and development server / script.
You can check if you have the psutil
package installed by running the
pip show psutil
command.
# ๐๏ธ check if you have psutil installed pip3 show psutil # ๐๏ธ if you don't have pip setup in PATH python3 -m pip show psutil
The pip show psutil
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.
psutil
package using the incorrect version or your IDE might be setup to use a different version.For example, In VSCode, you can press CTRL + Shift + P
or (โ
+ 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 drop down menu.
If you are using a virtual environment, make sure you are installing psutil
in
your virtual environment and not globally.
You can try creating a virtual environment if you don't already have one.
# ๐๏ธ use correct version of Python when creating VENV python3 -m venv venv # ๐๏ธ activate on Unix or MacOS source venv/bin/activate # ๐๏ธ activate on Windows (cmd.exe) venv\Scripts\activate.bat # ๐๏ธ activate on Windows (PowerShell) venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1 # ๐๏ธ install psutil in virtual environment pip install psutil
Your virtual environment will use the version of Python that was used to create it.
psutil.py
because that would shadow the original psutil
module.You also shouldn't be declaring a variable named psutil
as that would also
shadow the original module.
If the error is not resolved, try to uninstall the psutil
package and then
install it.
# ๐๏ธ check if you have psutil installed pip3 show psutil # ๐๏ธ if you don't have pip setup in PATH python3 -m pip show psutil # ๐๏ธ uninstall psutil pip3 uninstall psutil # ๐๏ธ if you don't have pip setup in PATH python3 -m pip uninstall psutil # ๐๏ธ install psutil pip3 install psutil # ๐๏ธ if you don't have pip setup in PATH python3 -m pip install psutil
Try restarting your IDE and development server / script.
You can also try to upgrade the version of the psutil package.
pip3 install psutil --upgrade # ๐๏ธ if you don't have pip setup in PATH python3 -m pip install psutil --upgrade
This one is for using using virtual environments (VENV) on Windows
:
This one is for using using virtual environments (VENV) on MacOS
and Linux
: