Python modules can't be loaded in text editors (but work in the command line) on Linux Mint

Question

I'm a Linux Mint user who's been trying to import bs4 and nltk in VSCode and Sublime Text, but the error ImportError: No module named nltk [or bs4] always pops up. I've tried:

importing them in the terminal, which somehow always works.
Have tried changing the python path settings to python3.5 and python3.7, which doesn't fix the problem.
I've also tried importing them in Sublime Text and the Reticulate package in R, both of which have resulted in failure.

But despite hours of trying and searching, it just does not seem to be working. Any help on the matter would be appreciated, thank you!

Maybe these are packages that are installed systemwide, but you are running your script in a clean virtualenv? — Matteo Italia, Sep 23 '18 at 11:45
Oh I see what you mean, but no, I've also installed them while within the virtual environment, still without success — user9006908, Sep 23 '18 at 11:50

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 23 '18 at 21:38

Python search the modules in a series of locations, stored in sys.path. To know these locations, ① from the command line issue this command

$ python -c 'import sys ; [print(p) for p in sys.path]'

and ② into your editor enter the following text

import sys
for p in sys.path: print(p)

and execute it using the editor facilities.

Compare the outputs. If they are different you can try to understand why. Maybe a totally different interpreter, maybe a virtual environment, maybe you must come back to SO with the outputs and seek for further help. If they are equal... I couldn't guess what is happening.

Thank you for your answer, that did solve the problem! – user9006908 Sep 24 '18 at 06:13 — user9006908, Sep 24 '18 at 06:13

Python modules can't be loaded in text editors (but work in the command line) on Linux Mint

1 Answers1