When using Keras for deep learning in TensorFlow, you might encounter the following error:
ImportError: cannot import name 'to_categorical' from 'keras.utils'
This error occurs when Python can’t find the to_categorical function from the keras.utils module.
The common cause for this error is that you imported to_categorical from keras directly as follows:
import keras
from keras.utils import to_categorical
This code works in TensorFlow version 1, but starting in TensorFlow version 2, the keras module is now bundled with tensorflow.
You need to change the import statement to this:
from tensorflow.keras.utils import to_categorical
So that Python can find the to_categorical() function and you won’t receive this error.
Note that Keras is now the recommended library for deep learning in Python, and in TensorFlow version 2 Keras is no longer a standalone module. You need to change some import statements that utilize this library.
For example, the Adam optimizer has also been moved from keras.optimizers to tensorflow.keras.optimizers, so you may need to adjust your code accordingly.
I hope you find this tutorial useful. Until next time! 👋
