ImportError: cannot import name 'escape' from 'jinja2'

How to fix ImportError: cannot import name 'escape' from 'jinja2'

jinja2 3.1 removed escape; Flask below 2.2 still imports it from jinja2. Fix: upgrade Flask (pip install -U flask, needs >= 2.2.2), or change your own from jinja2 import escape to from markupsafe import escape. markupsafe is already a jinja2 dependency, so no new install needed.

The exact error

ImportError: cannot import name 'escape' from 'jinja2'

Fix it

1. Your code: from jinja2 import escape -> from markupsafe import escape. Expected: import works

2. Traceback inside flask itself: pip install -U flask (>= 2.2.2). Expected: flask imports escape from markupsafe

3. Stopgap: pip install "jinja2<3.1". Expected: old jinja2 has escape (not recommended)

When this applies

jinja2>=3.1 with old Flask or old direct imports

When this does NOT apply

you want autoescaping in templates (that is a different feature)

Versions

jinja2 >= 3.1 with Flask < 2.2

Why it happens

jinja2 moved escape to markupsafe for separation of concerns in 3.1.

Edge cases

Flask 2.2.2 is the minimum that handles jinja2 3.1; 2.2.0/2.2.1 still break.