ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'twisted'

Scrapy is built on Twisted for its async networking, and if Twisted is not installed Scrapy cannot even import. Run python -m pip install twisted (or just reinstall Scrapy with python -m pip install --force-reinstall scrapy, which pulls Twisted back in). import scrapy then works.

The error

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'twisted'

Fix it

1. Install Twisted into the running environment

python -m pip install twisted

Expected: Successfully installed twisted-....

1. Confirm the Scrapy import

python -c "import scrapy; print(scrapy.__version__)"

Expected: prints the Scrapy version with no ModuleNotFoundError.

1. If it still fails, reinstall Scrapy so its dependency set is complete

python -m pip install --force-reinstall scrapy

Expected: pip reinstalls scrapy and all of its declared dependencies, including twisted.

When this applies

• import scrapy or scrapy crawl fails naming twisted
• Twisted was uninstalled or never pulled in by a partial install
• a minimal Docker image or venv where only some requirements got installed

When it does NOT apply

• No module named 'scrapy' means Scrapy itself is missing
• No module named 'win32api' is the Windows pywin32 gap
• Twisted installs fine but scrapy still fails on something else

Compatibility

All Scrapy 2.x versions depend on Twisted. Twisted publishes wheels for CPython 3.8+ on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Why it happens

Scrapy does import twisted (via twisted.internet) at module import time, not lazily. Dependency resolvers normally install Twisted alongside Scrapy, but a --no-deps install, a botched uninstall, or a requirements file that lists scrapy without letting pip resolve dependencies can leave Twisted out while Scrapy itself is present.

Edge cases

• If you installed with pip install --no-deps scrapy, reinstall normally. The --no-deps flag is the usual culprit.
• Twisted on Windows needs the Visual C++ build tools only for source builds; wheels make this a non-issue on supported Pythons.
• After installing, run scrapy version (not just the import) to confirm the CLI entry point works too.