Modulenotfounderror: no module named ‘_ssl’

What is modulenotfounderror: no module named ‘_ssl’?

The ModuleNotFoundError: No module named ‘_ssl’ error message typically occurs when the Python interpreter is unable to locate the _ssl module.

This error can occur because of some reasons:

• If you’ve built Python from source and didn’t enable the SSL option during the build process.
• If your system doesn’t have OpenSSL installed, which is needed by the _ssl module.
• This issue might also arise if OpenSSL isn’t installed on your system.

In those cases, Python can’t find the necessary resources to load the _ssl module, leading to the ModuleNotFoundError.

What is an SSL module?

This module, which is included in the standard library, enables the use of Transport Layer Security (also commonly referred to as “Secure Sockets Layer”) for encryption and peer authentication in network sockets.

How to fix modulenotfounderror: no module named ‘_ssl’?

Here are some general steps to fix this issue:

Solution 1: Install OpenSSL and libssl-dev

You can set up OpenSSL and libssl-dev on your system using package managers.

For Ubuntu, you can use aptitude, while for CentOS, yum is the preferred choice.

sudo aptitude install openssl
sudo aptitude install libssl-dev

Solution 2: Recompile Python with SSL support

If you’re compiling Python from the source code, it’s necessary to activate the SSL feature.

Although the –with-ssl option is no longer in use, you can designate the OpenSSL path during the configuration process.

./configure prefix=/usr/local/share/python3 --with-openssl=$HOME/openssl

Solution 3: Modify Setup.dist file

If the previous solutions aren’t successful, consider modifying the Setup.dist file located in the Modules folder of your Python source directory.

You’ll need to remove the comment markers from the lines related to SSL.

Please note that you have to replace $HOME/openssl with the actual path to your OpenSSL installation.

Please note that these are general steps and might not work for all systems or Python versions.

Additional Solutions:

• Downgrade your Python Version.

Or you can do the following solutions to fix the No module named ‘_ssl’:

1. Search for a different server that shares the same architecture (i386 or x86_64) and Python version (for instance, 2.7.5).
   This might be challenging.

If you’re unable to locate a server with an identical Python version, consider installing Python from its source code on a different server.

2. On this alternate server, verify if the command import _ssl executes successfully, and it should be.

If successful, proceed to locate the _ssl library using the following command:

[root@myserver]# find / -iname _ssl.so
/usr/local/python27/lib/python2.7/lib-dynload/_ssl.so

3. Transfer this file to the original server, ensuring it’s placed in the same directory:

 /usr/local/python27/lib/python2.7/lib-dynload/

4. Next, confirm the owner and permissions of the file:

[root@myserver]# chown root:root _ssl.so
[root@myserver]# chmod 755 _ssl.so

At this point, you should be able to execute import ssl without any issues.

Conclusion

The ModuleNotFoundError: No module named ‘_ssl’ error message typically occurs when the Python interpreter is unable to locate the _ssl module.

By following the solutions provided above, you should be able to resolve this error quickly.

Please note that the steps given are general, and the exact solution might vary depending on the specifics of your project and environment.

If you encounter another ModuleNotFoundError, it’s important to analyze it before troubleshooting.

We hope that this guide has helped you resolve the error. Thank you for reading, and enjoy your coding journey!