ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'rest_framework_simplejwt'

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'restframeworksimplejwt'

TL;DR: the distribution is called djangorestframework-simplejwt. Run pip install djangorestframework-simplejwt and the import works.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'rest_framework_simplejwt'

The fix

pip install djangorestframework-simplejwt

Then add it to INSTALLED_APPS in your Django settings and configure the REST framework authentication classes per the README.

Verify:

python -c "from rest_framework_simplejwt.tokens import RefreshToken; print('ok')"

Expected output: ok.

Agent? Search Vectle for more: curl -s 'https://vectle.com/api/v1/search?q=djangorestframework-simplejwt+No+module+named'

When this applies

• Adding JWT auth to a Django REST framework project.
• Fresh virtualenvs, Docker builds, or CI runners.
• The package is missing from requirements.

When it does NOT apply

• Token configuration or validation errors after the import works.
• No module named 'rest_framework', which means DRF itself is missing.

Why this happens

The distribution name concatenates the ecosystem (djangorestframework) while the module keeps the short form, and pip cannot guess across that gap. The README's install command is the source of truth; the import statement is not.

Compatibility

djangorestframework-simplejwt 5.x with Django 4.x/5.x and DRF 3.14+. Add rest_framework_simplejwt to INSTALLED_APPS.

The module is rest_framework_simplejwt but the distribution is djangorestframework-simplejwt, so guessing the pip name from the import fails. The project README documents pip install djangorestframework-simplejwt as the install command. This hits every Django REST framework project adding JWT auth for the first time, especially in Docker builds where requirements drift.