Fix ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'PIL' in Python

Quick fix

Install the package called Pillow using the same interpreter that runs your code, then import it as PIL:

python -m pip install --upgrade Pillow

On Windows use py -m pip install --upgrade Pillow. Never run pip install PIL: that package does not exist on PyPI.

What the error looks like

We reproduced it by running a one-line script in a fresh virtual environment that does not have Pillow:

app.py

from PIL import Image

img = Image.open("photo.jpg")

Tested on ✓ Linux ✓ Windows ✓ macOS

Traceback

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "example.py", line 1, in <module>
    from PIL import Image
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'PIL'

The name is confusing for a reason. The original Python Imaging Library (PIL) stopped being developed in 2011 and never supported Python 3. Pillow is the maintained fork. It is installed as Pillow but keeps the old import name PIL so existing code keeps working.

Cause 1: Pillow is installed, but for a different Python

This is the most common cause, especially if you are sure you already installed Pillow. Your machine can have several Pythons: the system one, one from python.org or Homebrew, a conda base, and one per virtual environment. A bare pip command installs into whichever Python that particular pip belongs to, which is not necessarily the one your editor or terminal runs.

Ask the Python that fails which interpreter it is. Add this at the top of the failing script, or run it in the same notebook or terminal:

which_python.py

import sys

print(sys.executable)          # the interpreter running this code
print(sys.version.split()[0])

Tested on ✓ Linux ✓ Windows ✓ macOS

Output

/home/you/.venv/bin/python
3.13.16

Then ask pip which Python it installs into:

terminal

python -m pip --version

Tested on ✓ Linux ✓ Windows ✓ macOS

Output

pip 26.2.1 from /home/you/.venv/lib/python3.13/site-packages/pip (python 3.13)

If the two paths point to different Pythons, you found the problem. The cure is to always invoke pip through the interpreter itself, python -m pip, so the install goes where the code runs. If sys.executable printed a path you did not expect, use that exact path: /that/path/python -m pip install Pillow.

Cause 2: Pillow is simply not installed

terminal

python -m pip install --upgrade Pillow

Then pick the line for your setup:

Setup	Command or action
Virtual environment (venv)	Activate it first (`source .venv/bin/activate`, or `.venv\Scripts\activate` on Windows), then `python -m pip install Pillow`.
Windows, python.org installer	`py -m pip install Pillow`. The `py` launcher picks the newest installed Python. Add a version to target another one, e.g. `py -3.12 -m pip install Pillow`.
macOS (python.org or Homebrew)	`python3 -m pip install Pillow`. Plain `python` may not exist on macOS. With Homebrew Python, install inside a venv (see the next row).
Debian, Ubuntu, Homebrew: `error: externally-managed-environment`	Your OS protects its own Python (PEP 668). Create a venv: `python3 -m venv .venv && . .venv/bin/activate && python -m pip install Pillow`. Or, for the system Python only, `sudo apt install python3-pil`.
Anaconda / Miniconda	`conda install -c conda-forge pillow` in the activated environment. Avoid mixing conda and pip installs of Pillow in one environment.
Jupyter / JupyterLab	Run `%pip install Pillow` in a cell. The `%pip` magic installs into the kernel's Python. Then restart the kernel.
Google Colab	Pillow is preinstalled. If you see this error, a previous cell probably uninstalled it. Run `%pip install Pillow` and restart the runtime.
VS Code	Command Palette, then Python: Select Interpreter, then pick the environment where Pillow is installed (or install into the one shown in the status bar).
PyCharm	Settings, Project, Python Interpreter: check the selected interpreter, then add Pillow with the + button.
Docker	Add `RUN python -m pip install --no-cache-dir Pillow` to the Dockerfile. Pillow ships prebuilt wheels for the official `python:3.x-slim` images, so no compiler is needed.

Cause 3: you ran pip install PIL

There is no installable package called PIL on PyPI. This is what pip prints when you try:

terminal

python -m pip install PIL

Tested on ✓ Linux ✓ Windows ✓ macOS

Output

ERROR: Could not find a version that satisfies the requirement PIL (from versions: none)
ERROR: No matching distribution found for PIL

Install Pillow instead. Also uninstall any look-alike packages you may have tried along the way (for example python -m pip uninstall image), since they do not provide PIL.

Cause 4: old code that imports Image directly

Scripts written for PIL 1.1.x on Python 2 often used import Image instead of from PIL import Image. Pillow never supported that style, so the error mentions Image rather than PIL:

old_script.py

import Image   # PIL 1.1.x style, from the Python 2 era

img = Image.open("photo.jpg")

Tested on ✓ Linux ✓ Windows ✓ macOS

Traceback

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'Image'

Change the import. The rest of the old code usually works unchanged:

old_script.py

from PIL import Image

img = Image.open("photo.jpg")
print(img.format, img.size)

Tested on ✓ Linux ✓ Windows ✓ macOS

Output

JPEG (1600, 1067)

The same goes for import ImageDraw, import ImageFont and friends: use from PIL import ImageDraw, ImageFont.

If Pillow is installed but you get an ImportError that names a file in your project, a file or folder called PIL is hiding the real library. We reproduced it with an empty PIL.py next to the script:

app.py

from PIL import Image

Tested on ✓ Linux ✓ Windows ✓ macOS

Traceback

ImportError: cannot import name 'Image' from 'PIL' (/home/you/project/PIL.py)

The path in brackets is the culprit. Written as import PIL.Image, the same problem produces a different message:

app.py

import PIL.Image

Tested on ✓ Linux ✓ Windows ✓ macOS

Traceback

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'PIL.Image'; 'PIL' is not a package

Rename or delete your PIL.py (and any __pycache__/PIL.*.pyc next to it). Avoid naming your own files after libraries you import, such as PIL.py, pillow.py or image.py.

Confirm the fix

check_pillow.py

import PIL
from PIL import Image

print(PIL.__version__)
print(PIL.__file__)

Tested on ✓ Linux ✓ Windows ✓ macOS

Output

12.3.0
/home/you/.venv/lib/python3.13/site-packages/PIL/__init__.py

If this prints a version and a path inside the environment you expect, you are done. For a full report of which image formats and libraries your install supports, run python -m PIL --report.

Still failing after installing? If the error changed to cannot import name '_imaging' from 'PIL', the compiled part of Pillow does not match your Python (often after upgrading Python, or copying a venv between machines). Reinstall it cleanly: python -m pip uninstall -y Pillow then python -m pip install --no-cache-dir Pillow.

The outputs and images on this page are the real results of running every example with Pillow 12.3.0 on Python 3.13 (Linux) on 2026-10-15. Every example is also re-run automatically on macOS (Darwin 25.6.0, Pillow 12.3.0), Linux (Linux 6.17.0-1022-azure, Pillow 12.3.0), Windows (Windows 2025Server, Pillow 12.3.0); the line under each example shows the result per operating system. The DejaVu Sans font files sit next to each script so font examples behave the same everywhere. Sample photos: NASA/Sam Lott, public domain. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.

What the error looks like

Cause 1: Pillow is installed, but for a different Python

Cause 2: Pillow is simply not installed

Cause 3: you ran pip install PIL

Cause 4: old code that imports Image directly

Related: cannot import name 'Image' from 'PIL'

Confirm the fix

Related