[Python] Importing a library from (or near) a script with the same name raises...

I have a script named requests.py that needs to use the third-party requests package. The script either can't import the package, or can't access its functionality.

Why isn't this working, and how do I fix it?

Trying a plain import and then using the functionality results in an AttributeError:

import requests

res = requests.get('http://www.google.ca')
print(res)


Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/Users/me/dev/rough/requests.py", line 1, in <module>
import requests
File "/Users/me/dev/rough/requests.py", line 3, in <module>
requests.get('http://www.google.ca')
AttributeError: module 'requests' has no attribute 'get'


In more recent versions of Python, the error message instead reads AttributeError: partially initialized module 'requests' has no attribute 'get' (most likely due to a circular import).

Using from-import of a specific name results in an ImportError:

from requests import get

res = get('http://www.google.ca')
print(res)


Traceback (most recent call last):
File "requests.py", line 1, in <module>
from requests import get
File "/Users/me/dev/rough/requests.py", line 1, in <module>
from requests import get
ImportError: cannot import name 'get'


In more recent versions of Python, the error message instead reads ImportError: cannot import name 'get' from partially initialized module 'requests' (most likely due to a circular import) (/Users/me/dev/rough/requests.py).

Using from-import for a module inside the package results in a different ImportError:

from requests.auth import AuthBase


Traceback (most recent call last):
File "requests.py", line 1, in <module>
from requests.auth import AuthBase
File "/Users/me/dev/rough/requests.py", line 1, in <module>
from requests.auth import AuthBase
ImportError: No module named 'requests.auth'; 'requests' is not a package


Using a star-import and then using the functionality raises a NameError:

from requests import *

res = get('http://www.google.ca')
print(res)


Traceback (most recent call last):
File "requests.py", line 1, in <module>
from requests import *
File "/Users/me/dev/rough/requests.py", line 3, in <module>
res = get('http://www.google.ca')
NameError: name 'get' is not defined


From Python 3.13 onwards the error message becomes very clear, from the documentation:

A common mistake is to write a script with the same name as a standard library module. When this results in errors, we now display a more helpful error message:

$ python random.py Traceback (most recent call last): File
"/home/me/random.py", line 1, in <module>
import random File "/home/me/random.py", line 3, in <module>
print(random.randint(5))
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ AttributeError: module 'random' has no attribute 'randint' (consider renaming '/home/me/random.py' since it
has the same name as the standard library module named 'random' and
prevents importing that standard library module)


Similarly, if a script has the same name as a third-party module that it attempts to import and this results in errors, we also display a more helpful error message:

$ python numpy.py Traceback (most recent call last): File
"/home/me/numpy.py", line 1, in <module>
import numpy as np File "/home/me/numpy.py", line 3, in <module>
np.array([1, 2, 3])
^^^^^^^^ AttributeError: module 'numpy' has no attribute 'array' (consider renaming '/home/me/numpy.py' if it has the same name as a
library you intended to import)​

For cases where you name your module the same as an existing one on purpose and want to handle that situation, see How can I import from the standard library, when my project has a module with the same name? (How can I control where Python looks for modules?)

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