Sometimes when you run a Python code that has maplotlib in it, it give modulenotfounderror no module named matplotlib error. This error is because either the module is not installed on your system or the version is not updated. In this short article, we will learn how we can solve modulenotfounderror: no module named matplotlib in Python using various methods. Moreover, we will also discuss how to interpret and understand errors in Python taking modulenotfounderror no module named matplotlib as an example.
Solve Modulenotfounderror no module named matplotlib in Python
There can be many reasons for getting modulenotfounderror: no module named matplotlib error while running matplolib code. Some of the well-known reasons for the error are:
- Module not installed on your system
- Module installed in a different location
- The module is not updated
- Maybe you need to restart the PC
- and many more reasons
We will try to find the solutions for different reasons and hopefully if you are getting the error because of any given reasons, after these steps you will be able to solve the problem.
Solution-1: Installing the matplotlib module on your system
Make sure that you have installed the matplotib module on your system, if not you can use any of the following methods to install the matplotlib on your system.
Open the terminal line and type the following command.
# using the pip command
pip install matplotlibIf you are using pip3 version then you need to type the following commands:
# using the pip3 command
pip3 install matplotlibIf you are using anaconda environment, then you can install the matplotlib module using the conda command as shown below:
# conda installtion
conda install matplotlibIf you are using jupyter-notebook, then you don’t need to open conda or terminal. You can directly install the matplotlib module in the Jupyter notebook.
# installing in jupyter notebook
!pip install matplotlibThe process of installation takes some time and hopefully after installing the module the matplotlib error will not appear anymore.
Solution-2: Alternative methods of installation
If the above-mentioned solutions are not able to install the Matplotlib module, then you can use any of the following commands.
python3 -m pip install matplotlib
python3 -m pip install matplotlib --user
# using an anaconda environment:
conda install -c conda-forge matplotlib
#Linux user
sudo apt-get install python3-matplotlib
sudo yum install python3-matplotlib
sudo pacman -S python-matplotlibHopefully, any of the above-mentioned methods will help you to install the matplotlib module on your system and you will get rid of modulenotfounderror: no module named matplotlib error.
Solution-3: Activate Conda or Venv Python environment
Another important thing to do is to use an isolated environment when developing something in Python. The reason is that a common mistake many Python developers make is they don’t activate the correct environment before running the Python script.
So, make sure that your correct environment is running. If not then you can use the following commands to run the correct environment:
Activating the environment in conda.
conda activate MY_ENVIf you are using virtual environment, then you can use the following commands:
source MY_ENV/bin/activatesource MY_ENV/bin/activateHopefully, this will solve the problem.
Solution-4: Create a new Python environment with matplotlib installed
Sometimes, updating the existing modules on the different environments may cause conflicts and errors such as modulenotfounderror. One way to solve this issue is to create a new environment with only the packages that you need for the specific project.
If you are using an anaconda, then you can type the following commands to create a new environment:
# Create the new environment with the desired packages
conda create -n MY_ENV python=3.10 matplotlib
# Activate the new environment
conda activate MY_ENV
# Check to see if the packages you require are installed
conda listYou can type the following commands for the virtual environment:
# Navigate to your project directory
cd MY_PROJECT
# Create the new environment in this directory
python3 -m venv MY_ENV
# Activate the environment
source MY_ENV/bin/activate
# Install matplotlib
python3 -m pip install matplotlibHopefully, this will solve all the issues and you will be able to run the Matplotlib module on your system.
Understanding the modulenotfounderror no module named matplotlib error
Let us now understand how to interpret and figure out errors in Python by taking modulenotfounderror: no module named ‘matplotlib’ as an example. In Python, the errors usually have two main parts. The first part of the error gives information about the category of the error while the second part of the error gives more specific information about the error which helps us to figure out the actual error. In our case, the category of the error is ModuleNotFoundError and the second part helps us to figure out which module was not imported.
Summary
In this short article, we learned how we can solve the error using various methods. There can be many reasons for this error so depending on the reason, we have tried to find different solutions so that you can use any of them to run the Matplotlib on your system. We discussed 4 different methods to solve the error. Moreover, we also discussed how to interpret and understand errors in Python.
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