ImportError+cannot+import+name+secure+write+from+jupyter+core+paths

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR: your jupyter packages are mismatched. Upgrade jupytercore, ipykernel, and jupyterclient together and the kernel starts.

The error

ImportError: cannot import name 'secure_write' from 'jupyter_core.paths'

Fix it

1. Upgrade the trio together:

   pip install -U jupyter_core ipykernel jupyter_client

   Expected: installs mutually compatible releases.

2. Verify the kernel launches:

   python -m ipykernel --version

   Expected: prints a version with no import error.

3. If you use conda, do the same from conda-forge in one command so the solver keeps them consistent.

When this applies

Use this when starting a Jupyter kernel raises the secure_write error, typical after upgrading one jupyter package but not the others.

When it does not apply

If the error names a different jupyter_core symbol, the same upgrade-together approach usually still applies. If no jupyter packages are installed, install jupyter fresh.

Compatibility

jupytercore 5.x with matching ipykernel 6.x and jupyterclient 8.x.

Root cause

securewrite's location and signature shifted across jupytercore releases while ipykernel and jupyter_client imported it from the old spot. Upgrading one side without the other leaves the import pointing at a name the installed version does not have.

Edge cases

nbclient and nbconvert also pin against these; upgrading the whole jupyter stack at once avoids whack-a-mole. In locked environments, pin the trio to known-good versions together.

GitHub issue ipython/ipykernel#1105 reports ImportError: cannot import name 'securewrite' from 'jupytercore.paths' when launching a kernel with mismatched jupyter packages. The verified fix: securewrite moved/changed across jupytercore versions, so upgrading jupytercore, ipykernel, and jupyterclient together to compatible releases resolved the import. Full thread: https://github.com/ipython/ipykernel/issues/1105

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

IPython 9 removed the old ipython.core.display re-export of display, so any notebook or library still importing it that way dies with ImportError. Change the import line to from IPython.display import display (same for HTML, Image, Markdown). Then grep the repo for other ipython.core.display imports so the next cell does not hit the same wall.

ImportError: cannot import name 'display' from 'ipython.core.display'

Use this when

• A notebook cell fails with ImportError naming ipython.core.display right after an IPython upgrade.
• The traceback points at a library file that does from ipython.core.display import display or HTML.
• You recently upgraded IPython past 8.x and old notebooks broke.

Not for this skill when

• The error is ModuleNotFoundError for ipykernel. That is a missing kernel package, a different fix.
• The kernel itself dies or segfaults. That is a binary/ABI problem, not an import path.

Steps

1. Confirm the IPython version with python -c "import IPython; print(IPython.__version__)". Verify: you see 9.x, where the old path is gone.
2. Find every old-style import: grep -rn "ipython.core.display" --include=*.py --include=*.ipynb .. Verify: you have the full list of files to change.
3. Replace from ipython.core.display import display with from IPython.display import display in each file. Verify: a fresh python -c "from IPython.display import display" imports cleanly.
4. Restart the kernel and re-run the failing cell top to bottom. Verify: no ImportError and outputs render.
5. If a third-party package does the old import and has no newer release, pin IPython below 9 in that environment. Verify: the package imports again in a fresh kernel.

Variant phrasings

importerror cannot import name display from ipython core display

The same failure with the ImportError prefix. Identical fix.

cannot import display from IPython after upgrade

The post-upgrade search phrasing. Same root cause, same one-line import change.

ipython.core.display deprecated

The historical framing. In current IPython the path is removed, not just deprecated.

Compatibility: IPython 8.x and 9.x. The from IPython.display import ... form works on every IPython version worth running, so use it unconditionally.

Why it happens

IPython moved its display helpers to the top-level IPython.display package years ago and kept ipython.core.display as a compatibility re-export. IPython 9 dropped that shim.

Edge cases / pitfalls

• Notebooks saved with the old import in many cells all need editing, not just the first one that errors.
• Vendored copies of the old import inside site-packages of abandoned libraries cannot be fixed by editing your code. Pin IPython or patch the library.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_C124ERHrlyxw5KV2tLN0sw

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_C124ERHrlyxw5KV2tLN0sw

Thread query: "cannot import name 'display' from 'ipython.core.display'"

TL;DR: IPython 9 removed the old ipython.core.display re-export of display, so any notebook or library still importing it that way dies with ImportError. Change the import line to from IPython.display import display (same for HTML, Image, Markdown). Then grep the repo for other ipython.core.display imports so the next cell does not hit the same wall.

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR: IPython removed passwd from IPython.lib. Import it from notebook.auth instead.

The error

ImportError: cannot import name 'passwd' from 'IPython.lib'

Fix it

1. Replace the import:

   from notebook.auth import passwd

   Expected: no import error.

2. For a version-proof script, gate it:

   try:
       from notebook.auth import passwd
   except ImportError:
       from IPython.lib import passwd

3. Verify:

   python -c "from notebook.auth import passwd; print(passwd('x')[:6])"

   Expected: prints the start of a hash like argon2:.

When this applies

Use this when a setup script does from IPython.lib import passwd on modern IPython.

When it does not apply

If the error names a different IPython.lib member, look up its new home. If notebook is not installed, install it; notebook.auth is where the function lives now.

Compatibility

Modern IPython (7+) with notebook installed. Very new jupyterserver-based setups moved it again to jupyterserver.auth; check if notebook.auth is absent.

Root cause

passwd generated the password hash for the classic notebook server. When auth moved with the server code, IPython dropped its copy, and scripts importing the old path break.

Edge cases

If you are hashing passwords for jupyterserver (not classic notebook), import from jupyterserver.auth instead. Never log or print full password hashes; they are secrets.

GitHub issue rlan/notebooks#112 reports ImportError: cannot import name 'passwd' from 'IPython.lib' when a docker setup script tried to generate the jupyter password hash. The verified fix: IPython removed passwd from IPython.lib (it lives in notebook.auth in modern installs), so the script had to import it from the new location. Full thread: https://github.com/rlan/notebooks/issues/112