Fix Python ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'setuptools_rust'

Python shows the ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'setuptools_rust' message when it cannot find the package setuptools_rust in your Python environment.

To fix this error, you need to install the package explicitly using pip. This tutorial will show you how to resolve this error.

Installing setuptools_rust

Suppose you add the following import statement to your code:

import setuptools_rust

And you see the following error message:

This means Python can’t find the setuptools_rust package under the current Python environment.

The solution is to install the package using pip, which is the package installer for Python.

If you don’t have pip installed, follow the pip installation guide to make it available on your computer.

Next, use one of the following commands to get setuptools_rust on your computer or server:

# Upgrade pip to the latest version first
pip install --upgrade pip

# Use pip to install setuptools_rust
pip install setuptools_rust

# Or pip3
pip3 install setuptools_rust

# If pip isn't available in PATH
python -m pip install setuptools_rust

# Or with python3
python3 -m pip install setuptools_rust

# For Windows without pip in PATH
py -m pip install setuptools_rust

# for Anaconda
conda install -c anaconda setuptools_rust

# for Jupyter Notebook
!pip install setuptools_rust

For Linux-based OS like CentOS, you may need to use the sudo command to install the package:

sudo pip3 install --upgrade pip
sudo pip3 install setuptools-rust

# or
sudo pip install --upgrade pip
sudo pip install setuptools-rust

Once you installed setuptools-rust successfully, you should be able to run the code with the import statement with no error.

If that doesn’t work, then you might have one of the following scenarios happen:

1. You have multiple versions of Python installed on your system, and you are using a different version of Python than the one where setuptools-rust is installed.
2. You might have setuptools-rust installed in a virtual environment, and you are not activating the virtual environment before running your code.
3. Your IDE uses a different version of Python from the one that has setuptools-rust

Let’s see how to fix these errors.

Issue with multiple versions of Python

If you have multiple versions of Python installed on your system, you need to make sure that you are using the specific version where the setuptools-rust package is installed.

You can test this by running the which -a python or which -a python3 command from the terminal:

$ which -a python3
/opt/homebrew/bin/python3
/usr/bin/python3

In the example above, there are two versions of Python installed on /opt/homebrew/bin/python3 and /usr/bin/python3.

Suppose you run the following steps in your project:

1. Install setuptools-rust with pip using /usr/bin/ Python version
2. Install Python using Homebrew, now you have Python in /opt/homebrew/
3. Then add import setuptools-rust in your code

The steps above will cause the error because setuptools-rust is installed in /usr/bin/, and your code is probably executed using Python from /opt/homebrew/ path.

To solve this error, you need to run pip install setuptools-rust command again so that the package is installed and accessible by the new Python version.

Next, you can also have the package installed in a virtual environment.

Issue with Python virtual environment

Python venv package allows you to create a virtual environment where you can install different versions of packages required by your project.

If you are installing setuptools-rust inside a virtual environment, then the module won’t be accessible outside of that environment.

You can see if a virtual environment is activated or not by looking at your command prompt.

When a virtual environment is activated, the name of that environment will be shown inside parentheses as shown below:

In the picture above, the name of the virtual environment (base) appears when the Conda virtual environment is activated.

Python IDE like Anaconda and PyCharm usually create their own virtual environment when you create a Python project with them.

To solve this, you can either:

1. Turn off the virtual environment so that pip installs to your computer
2. Install the required package in that virtual environment with pip

You can choose the solution that works for your project.

When your virtual environment is created by Conda, run the conda deactivate command. Otherwise, running the deactivate command should work.

For more detail on creating, running, and deactivating Python virtual environment, you can read this venv introduction article.

Issue with IDE using a different Python version

Finally, the IDE from where you run your Python code may use a different Python version when you have multiple versions installed.

For example, you can check the Python interpreter used in VSCode by opening the command palette (CTRL + Shift + P for Windows and ⌘ + Shift + P for Mac) then run the Python: Select Interpreter command.

You should see all available Python versions listed as follows:

You need to use the same version where you installed setuptools-rust so that the module can be found when you run the code from VSCode.

Once done, you should be able to import setuptools-rust into your code.

Conclusion

In summary, the ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'setuptools-rust' error occurs when the setuptools-rust packages are not available in your Python environment.

To fix this error, you need to install setuptools-rust using pip.

If you already have the module installed, make sure you are using the correct version of Python, deactivate the virtual environment if you have one, and check for the Python version used by your IDE.

By following these steps, you should be able to import setuptools-rust modules in your code successfully.