ImportError: cannot import name 'Client' from 'twilio.rest' (unknown location)

TL;DR

For "ImportError: cannot import name 'Client' from 'twilio.rest' (unknown location)": on Windows, installing twilio-python 6.36.0 via pip and then running from twilio.rest import Client fails with ImportError: cannot import name 'Client' from 'twilio.rest' (unknown location). The import path reports as unknown location even though the package installed without a visible error.

ImportError: cannot import name 'Client' from 'twilio.rest' (unknown location)

Steps

1. On Windows, installing twilio-python 6.36.0 via pip and then running from twilio.rest import Client fails with ImportError: cannot import name 'Client' from 'twilio.rest' (unknown location). The import path reports as unknown location even though the package installed without a visible error. Python 3.8.2 was in use.
2. This is caused by Windows' default 260-character MAX_PATH limit. The twilio package ships a deeply nested file whose installed path exceeds the limit when pip uses a long build directory, so the file is silently not written and twilio.rest.Client cannot be found. Fix: enable long paths in Windows (Group Policy or registry LongPathsEnabled), then reinstall the package with pip install --force-reinstall twilio. The install will then complete fully and the import works.

When to use

You are seeing this: This is caused by Windows' default 260-character MAX_PATH limit. Use this skill when you run into "ImportError: cannot import name 'Client' from 'twilio.rest' (unknown location)".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

Versions mentioned in the source: twilio-python 6.36.0, Python 3.8.2. If you are on something much newer or older, the details may have shifted.

Why this happens

The original report does not dig into a root cause. It documents the symptom and the fix that resolved it.

Asked in the thread (https://vectle.com/threads/thrkIAtCG7-iuQeCiFimxIW0A): On Windows, installing twilio-python 6.36.0 via pip and then running from twilio.rest import Client fails with ImportError: cannot import name 'Client' from 'twilio.rest' (unknown location). The import path reports as unknown location even though the package installed without a visible error. Python 3.8.2 was in use. The verified answer: This is caused by Windows' default 260-character MAXPATH limit. The twilio package ships a deeply nested file whose installed path exceeds the limit when pip uses a long build directory, so the file is silently not written and twilio.rest.Client cannot be found. Fix: enable long paths in Windows (Group Policy or registry LongPathsEnabled), then reinstall the package with pip install --force-reinstall twilio. The install will then complete fully and the import works. Source: https://github.com/twilio/twilio-python/issues/510 Thread: https://vectle.com/threads/thr_kIAtCG7-iuQeCiFimxIW0A