How to fix AttributeError: module 'pandas' has no attribute 'dataframe'

When creating a DataFrame object using pandas, you might encounter the following error:

AttributeError: module 'pandas' has no attribute 'dataframe'

This error occurs when Python can’t find a reference to the dataframe attribute in the pandas module.

There are three common causes for this error:

1. Incorrectly typed DataFrame as dataframe
2. You defined a pandas or pd variable somewhere in your code
3. You named a file as pandas.py

This tutorial shows how you can fix the causes of this error in practice.

1. You mistyped the DataFrame attribute

Suppose you try to create a DataFrame object with the following code:

import pandas as pd

df = pd.dataframe({"distance": [3.6, 18.3, 21.5, 25.2]})

You’ll get the following error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "main.py", line 3, in <module>
    df = pd.dataframe({"distance": [3.6, 18.3, 21.5, 25.2]})
AttributeError: module 'pandas' has no attribute 'dataframe'. 
Did you mean: 'DataFrame'?

This error occurs because you incorrectly typed the DataFrame attribute as dataframe with all lower cases.

The typing of the attribute must be exactly camel case as DataFrame to avoid this error:

import pandas as pd

df = pd.DataFrame({"distance": [3.6, 18.3, 21.5, 25.2]})

Once you fixed the typo, the error should now disappear.

2. You declared a pd or pandas variable

When you import the pandas library and alias it as pd, then the name pd becomes a variable that binds to the pandas module:

import pandas as pd

If you then declared a variable named pd below the import statement, then Python will overwrite the bindings, causing an error:

import pandas as pd

pd = "Hello!"

df = pd.DataFrame({"distance": [3.6, 18.3, 21.5, 25.2]})

In the code above, the name pd binds to a string instead of the pandas module, and the error gets triggered when you call pd.DataFrame() below it.

To resolve this error, you need to rename the variable pd to something else as follows:

import pandas as pd

my_str = "Hello!"  # Rename pd as my_str

df = pd.DataFrame({"distance": [3.6, 18.3, 21.5, 25.2]})

Once you renamed the variable, the name pd stays pointed to the pandas module so the error doesn’t occur.

If you didn’t alias the pandas module as pd, then you can’t have a variable named pandas somewhere below the import statement.

3. You have a file named pandas.py

If you have a file named pandas.py, then the statement import pandas will import the pandas.py file you have instead of the pandas library installed using pip.

To resolve this error, you need to make sure you have no file named pandas.py in your Python project.

You can rename the file to anything other than pandas.py, and the error should be resolved.

Conclusion

You’ve now learned the three common causes for the AttributeError: module 'pandas' has no attribute 'dataframe' as well as how to resolve them.

I hope this tutorial helps. Until next time! 🙌