Python Module Not found error (Requests)

Question

I am relatively new to Python and I was installing a couple of modules - BeautifulSoup and Requests (learning how to scrape). So I installed Requests

$ pip install requests
Requirement already satisfied: requests in /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages (2.19.1)
Requirement already satisfied: certifi>=2017.4.17 in /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages (from requests) (2018.4.16)
Requirement already satisfied: idna<2.8,>=2.5 in /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages (from requests) (2.7)
Requirement already satisfied: urllib3<1.24,>=1.21.1 in /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages (from requests) (1.23)
Requirement already satisfied: chardet<3.1.0,>=3.0.2 in /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages (from requests) (3.0.4)

But then I when I run my file, I keep getting this error message

$ python test5.py
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "test5.py", line 1, in <module>
    import requests

Could you help me with why I am having this issue?

On a separate note, all of a sudden BBEdit started asking me when I save a .py file "BBEDIT is trying to install a helper tool" and asking for a PW. Then it asks again "BBEDIT is trying to make modifications, allow it"? WHy is it doing that? Is it safe?

Thanks everyone and sorry for basic questions

Answer 1

A Stack Overflow answer can only cover one specific answer, not give a complete tutorial. But you probably actually want a complete tutorial. Also, if you're reading this from the distant future, whatever is written below may be as out-of-date as laptops that only do video and sound without smellovision. So, you should read the Python Packaging Authority's tutorial on installing packages .

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You have (at least) two Python installations:

• A Python 3.6 that you probably installed with a python.org installer, which lives in /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.6/ .
• A Python 2.7 that Apple included as part of the OS, which lives in /System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/ .

If you just run python , you get the Apple 2.7, not your 3.6. But you installed your packages for your Python 3.6, not your 2.7. ¹ (Plus, you don't want to run 2.7 anyway.)

You're supposed to run python3 , as explained in PEP 394 —or, better, use a virtual environment —when you have both Python 2.x and Python 3.x on the same system. ²

Either will solve your problem.

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If you're curious why pip installed for 3.6 instead of 2.7… well, it shouldn't work that way. But Apple's Python 2.7 is a bit out of date (I mean, even out of date for 2.7), so it doesn't even include pip . Which means the only pip on your system is the 3.6 one. So, even though python runs python2.7 instead of python3.6 , pip runs pip3.6 instead of pip2.7 . Which is very confusing, and pretty much unavoidable on current Macs.

This is a part of the reason current recommendations suggest never running pip directly; instead, run it like this:

python3 -m pip install requests

That guarantees that the Python installation you're installing requests into is the same on that you get when you run your script with python3 test5.py .

As things currently stand, as long as you don't ever touch Apple's 2.7, you can get away with just using pip3 , or even pip . But that could easily change in, say, macOS 10.14, so better to get into the right habit.

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_{1. You can tell because of, eg, the paths in those "Requirement already satisfied" lines.}

_{2. Well, the same non-Windows system, but you don't want to learn the different ways in which Windows is messed up, just stick to macOS here…}