Borislav Hadzhiev
Last updated: Apr 18, 2022
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The Python "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'scipy'" occurs when we
forget to install the scipy
module before importing it or install it in an
incorrect environment. To solve the error, install the module by running the
pip install scipy
command.
Open your terminal in your project's root directory and install the scipy
module.
# 👇️ in a virtual environment or using Python 2 pip install scipy # 👇️ for python 3 (could also be pip3.10 depending on your version) pip3 install scipy # 👇️ if you get permissions error sudo pip3 install scipy # 👇️ if you don't have pip in your PATH environment variable python -m pip install scipy # 👇️ for python 3 (could also be pip3.10 depending on your version) python3 -m pip install scipy # 👇️ for Anaconda conda install -c anaconda scipy
After you install the scipy package, try importing it like:
from scipy import stats from scipy.stats import norm print(dir(stats)) print('bounds of distribution lower: %s, upper: %s' % norm.support())
The Python error "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'scipy'" occurs for multiple reasons:
scipy
package installed by running pip install scipy
.scipy.py
which would shadow the official module.scipy
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 scipy package
with pip3.10 install scipy
.
pip3.10 install scipy # 👇️ if you get permissions error use pip3 (NOT pip3.X) sudo pip3 install scipy
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
:
# 👇️ make sure to use your version of Python, e.g. 3.10 python3 -m pip install scipy
If the "No module named 'scipy'" error persists, try restarting your IDE and development server / script.
You can check if you have the scipy
package installed by running the
pip show scipy
command.
# 👇️ check if you have scipy installed pip3 show scipy # 👇️ if you don't have pip setup in PATH python3 -m pip show scipy
The pip show scipy
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.
scipy
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 (⌘
+ 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 scipy
in
your virtual environment and not globally.
You can try creating a virtual environment if you don't already have one.
# 👇️ 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 scipy in virtual environment pip install scipy
Your virtual environment will use the version of Python that was used to create it.
scipy.py
because that would shadow the original scipy
module.You also shouldn't be declaring a variable named scipy
as that would also
shadow the original module.
If the error is not resolved, try to uninstall the scipy
package and then
install it.
# 👇️ check if you have scipy installed pip3 show scipy # 👇️ if you don't have pip setup in PATH python3 -m pip show scipy # 👇️ uninstall scipy pip3 uninstall scipy # 👇️ if you don't have pip setup in PATH python3 -m pip uninstall scipy # 👇️ install scipy pip3 install scipy # 👇️ if you don't have pip setup in PATH python3 -m pip install scipy
Try restarting your IDE and development server / script.
You can also try to upgrade the version of the scipy package.
pip3 install scipy --upgrade # 👇️ if you don't have pip setup in PATH python3 -m pip install scipy --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
: