ImportError: cannot import name 'sync_playwright' from 'playwright'

Nine times out of ten you have a file named playwright.py in your working directory shadowing the real package. Rename it (and clear __pycache__) and the import works. If there is no such file, the install is broken: python -m pip install --force-reinstall playwright restores the missing names.

The error

ImportError: cannot import name 'sync_playwright' from 'playwright'

Fix it

1. Check what got imported as playwright

python -c "import playwright; print(playwright.__file__)"

Expected: a site-packages path ending in playwright/__init__.py. A path in your project ending in playwright.py is the shadowing file.

1. Rename the shadowing file

Rename your playwright.py to something like playwright_demo.py, delete the __pycache__ folder next to it, then:

python -c "from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright; print('ok')"

Expected: prints ok. The script directory beats site-packages in import order, so your file always won.

1. If nothing shadows it, reinstall

python -m pip install --force-reinstall playwright

Expected: the import from step 2 now works. A partial install can leave a playwright directory without the sync_api subpackage.

When this applies

• from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright (or async_api) raises ImportError naming the function
• your script sits next to a file called playwright.py
• the import works everywhere except your project folder

When it does NOT apply

• ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'playwright' means nothing installed
• Executable doesn't exist happens later, at browser launch
• cannot import name 'stealth_sync' from 'playwright_stealth' is the separate stealth package

Compatibility

playwright 1.x Python, all versions. The shadowing trap is pure import semantics and version-independent.

Variant phrasings

ImportError: cannot import name 'async_playwright' from 'playwright'

The async twin. Same cause, same fix.

ImportError: cannot import name 'sync_playwright' from 'playwright' (unknown location)

The (unknown location) suffix means Python found a namespace package with no code, typical of a broken or namespace-shadowed install. Reinstall per step 3.

Why it happens

Python imports from the script's directory before site-packages. A file named playwright.py next to your script becomes the playwright module, and it naturally contains no sync_playwright. The less common variant is a genuinely broken install where the sync_api subpackage is missing from site-packages.

Edge cases

• Check for playwright/ directories too, not just playwright.py. A stray folder shadows the same way.
• In notebooks, the kernel's working directory matters, not the notebook's folder. os.getcwd() tells you where to look.
• If you installed with pip install playwright while a conda env was active but run the script with system Python, that is the two-interpreter problem, not shadowing.