ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'selenium' in Python

# ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'selenium' in Python

The Python "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'selenium'" occurs when we forget to install the selenium module before importing it or install it in an incorrect environment.

To solve the error, install the module by running the pip install selenium command.

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

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

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

# 👇️ if you get permissions error
sudo pip3 install selenium
pip install selenium --user

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

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

# 👇️ using py alias (Windows)
py -m pip install selenium

# 👇️ for Anaconda
conda install -c conda-forge selenium

# 👇️ for Jupyter Notebook
!pip install selenium

After you install the selenium package, try importing it as follows.

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from selenium import webdriver

driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get("http://www.python.org")

driver.close()

If you get an error that the executable needs to be in PATH, you have to install the webdriver-manager module.

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# 👇️ in a virtual environment or using Python 2
pip install webdriver-manager

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

# 👇️ if you get permissions error
sudo pip3 install webdriver-manager
pip install webdriver-manager --user

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

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

# 👇️ using py alias (Windows)
py -m pip install webdriver-manager

# 👇️ for Anaconda
conda install -c conda-forge webdriver-manager

# 👇️ for Jupyter Notebook
!pip install webdriver-manager

If you get the error "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'webdriver_manager'", then you haven't installed the webdriver-manager package in the environment.

You can view the import statement for using the webdriver-manager module with each browser in the official pypi page. Here is an example that uses chrome:

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from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service
from webdriver_manager.chrome import ChromeDriverManager

driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=Service(ChromeDriverManager().install()))

driver.get("http://www.python.org")

driver.close()

The error occurs for multiple reasons:

1. Not having the selenium package installed by running pip install selenium.
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 selenium.py which would shadow the official module.
6. Declaring a variable named selenium 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 selenium package with pip3.10 install selenium.

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pip3.10 install selenium

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

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 selenium

If the error persists, try restarting your IDE and development server/script.

# Check if the package is installed

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

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# 👇️ check if you have selenium installed
pip show selenium

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

The pip show selenium 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.

# Make sure your IDE is using the correct Python version

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.

# Install the package in a Virtual Environment

If you are using a virtual environment, make sure you are installing selenium 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 selenium in virtual environment
pip install selenium

If the python3 -m venv venv command doesn't work, try the following 2 commands:

• python -m venv venv
• py -m venv venv

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

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

# Try reinstalling the package

If the error is not resolved, try to uninstall the selenium package and then reinstall it.

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# 👇️ check if you have selenium installed
pip show selenium

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

# 👇️ uninstall selenium
pip uninstall selenium

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

# 👇️ install selenium
pip install selenium

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

Try restarting your IDE and development server/script.

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

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pip install selenium --upgrade

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

# Import "selenium" could not be resolved from source Pylance

The error "Import "selenium" could not be resolved from source Pylance" occurs when the selenium module is not installed or you have selected the incorrect Python interpreter in your IDE (e.g. Visual Studio Code).

To solve the error, install selenium and select the correct Python interpreter in your IDE.

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Import "selenium" could not be resolved from source Pylance(reportMissingModuleSource) [Ln 1, Col 8]

# Make sure the correct Python interpreter is selected in your IDE

If you have multiple Python versions installed on your machine, you might have installed the selenium package using the incorrect version or your IDE might be set up to use a different version.

For example, In Visual Studio Code you can:

1. Press CTRL + Shift + P or (⌘ + Shift + P on macOS) to open the command palette.

Then type "Python select interpreter" in the search field.

2. Select the correct python version from the dropdown menu.

If the error persists, try restarting your IDE and development server/script. VSCode often glitches and a reboot resolves the issue.

If the error is not resolved, try to use the Visual Studio Code terminal to install the selenium module.

You can press CTRL + ` (Backtick) on your keyboard to open the Visual Studio code terminal.

Once you open the terminal, Visual Studio Code will automatically activate your virtual environment (if you have one).

Run the pip install selenium command.

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pip install selenium

If the error persists, try to select the Python interpreter by specifying the path:

1. Press CTRL + Shift + P or (⌘ + Shift + P on Mac) to open the command palette.
2. Type "Python select interpreter" in the field.

3. Select "Enter interpreter path...".

4. Click on "Find".

5. In the window that opens, navigate to your Python executable:

• If you have a virtual environment on Windows, click on your venv folder, then double-click on the Scripts folder, select the python.exe file and then Select interpreter.

• If you have a virtual environment on macOS or Linux, click on your venv folder, then double-click on the bin folder, select the python file and then Select interpreter.

• If you don't have a virtual environment, use one of the following commands to get your path to your python.exe or python executable, specify the path to the file and select the executable.

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where python

python -c "import sys; print(sys.executable)"

If the error persists, try restarting your IDE and development server/script.

# Alternatively, use a comment to disable the warning

If none of the suggestions helped, you can use a comment to disable the Pylance warning in your IDE.

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import selenium  # type: ignore

print(selenium)

You simply have to add the # type: ignore command on the same line as the import statement to disable the check for the specific import.