attributeerror: module 'jwt' has no attribute 'encode': you installed jwt instead of PyJWT

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

attributeerror: module 'jwt' has no attribute 'encode' means Python imported the wrong package: the abandoned jwt distribution on PyPI shadows the real one, PyJWT, and it has no encode function. Fix it by running pip uninstall -y jwt PyJWT and then pip install PyJWT. Also check you do not have a local file named jwt.py shadowing the installed package, then verify with a one-line jwt.encode call.

AttributeError: module 'jwt' has no attribute 'encode'

Use this when

• import jwt succeeds but jwt.encode raises AttributeError: module 'jwt' has no attribute 'encode'
• pip show jwt reports an installed distribution (that is the wrong one)
• jwt.__file__ points at a small package with no encode or decode in it
• The code worked on another machine or in another virtualenv with the same requirements file

Not for this skill when

• The error is ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'jwt'. Nothing is installed at all; see the related skill below
• The error names a different module or a different missing attribute (for example module 'jwt' has no attribute 'decode' after a PyJWT 1.x to 2.x upgrade is a different, API-change problem)
• jwt.encode exists but raises a type or algorithm error. Import is fine then; the call arguments are the problem

Steps

1. See which distribution you actually have. Run:

pip show jwt
pip show PyJWT
python -c "import jwt; print(jwt.__file__)"

Expected: if pip show jwt finds a package, that is the wrong one. PyJWT alone should be the only jwt provider.

2. Remove both distributions and install the right one:

pip uninstall -y jwt PyJWT
pip install PyJWT

Expected: pip reports PyJWT installed and no jwt distribution remaining.

3. Rule out a shadowing local file:

ls jwt.py

If a jwt.py exists in your working directory, rename it and delete the pycache folder next to it, because Python imports the local file before site-packages.

Expected: no jwt.py in the working directory, or the renamed file no longer shadows the import.

4. Verify the fix in the same environment that raised the error:

python -c "import jwt; print(jwt.encode({'a': 1}, 'secret', algorithm='HS256'))"

Expected: a three-part token string prints, with no AttributeError.

Variant phrasings

module 'jwt' has no attribute 'encode'

The short form of the same error, often pasted without the AttributeError prefix. Same wrong-package cause and the same uninstall-then-PyJWT fix in steps 1 to 2.

pyjwt encode attributeerror

Usually the same collision seen from the other side: the code expects PyJWT (import jwt, jwt.encode) but the environment has the jwt distribution installed. Work steps 1 to 2.

jwt has no attribute encode after pip install jwt

Installing with pip install jwt is exactly how the wrong package gets in. The package you want is named PyJWT even though it imports as jwt.

attributeerror module jwt has no attribute decode

Same collision, hit on the decode call instead of encode. The abandoned jwt package lacks both; steps 1 to 2 fix decode too.

Root cause

PyPI hosts two different distributions that both import as jwt: the real PyJWT and an unrelated, long-abandoned jwt package. Installing the wrong one is common because pip install jwt looks right, and the symptom is always this AttributeError: import succeeds, encode is missing. A local file named jwt.py causes the identical symptom by shadowing the installed package.

Edge cases

• Virtualenv mismatch: pip and python point at different environments, so the fix lands where the code does not run. Re-run step 1 with the exact python that raises the error.
• Both distributions installed at once: uninstall both (step 2) before reinstalling, or leftover files from the wrong one can survive a plain pip install PyJWT.
• Pinned requirements: if a requirements file lists jwt, change the line to PyJWT or the wrong package comes back on the next install.

Tool compatibility

PyJWT 2.x on Python 3. The squatter jwt distribution is unmaintained and should never be installed. Steps shown for pip; with conda or uv, uninstall and install the same two distribution names.

Related skills

• ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'jwt' (nothing installed at all, the neighbouring failure): https://vectle.com/skills/sklxlSmzgPDYhERSmqcvsU-Q
• ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'Crypto' (the same wrong-or-missing package shape in pycryptodome): https://vectle.com/skills/skl_yYUlQSrr4W6sVcUbM3piAQ
• importerror: import openpyxl failed (a missing companion package rather than a wrong one): https://vectle.com/skills/skl_tju-YKpJbVtEA6pRwyCBUw

Provenance

Built from the itsourcecode fix guide and the project reports linked in the evidence.

PyPI hosts two different distributions that both import as jwt: the real PyJWT and an unrelated, long-abandoned jwt package. Installing the wrong one is extremely common because pip install jwt looks right, and the symptom is always this AttributeError. The itsourcecode fix guide documents the exact uninstall-both-then-install-PyJWT remedy, the officecurtains project hit it in production with the same fix, and a Medium build log describes losing 45 minutes to it. A local file named jwt.py causes the identical symptom by shadowing the installed package.