ImportError: cannot import name 'run' from 'fabric.api'

TL;DR: fabric.api existed only in Fabric 1.x. Fabric 2 deleted it. Either rewrite using Connection (c = Connection('[host]'); c.run('[command]')) or pin fabric<2 to keep the old fabfile working.

ImportError: cannot import name 'run' from 'fabric.api'

Fix it

1. Check the version: pip show fabric. Expected: 2.x/3.x if you hit this.
2. Rewrite (recommended): from fabric import Connection; c = Connection(host='[host]', user='[user]'); c.run('uname -a'). Expected: runs remotely.
3. Or pin legacy: pip install "fabric<2". Expected: fabric.api imports again, but you stay on unmaintained 1.x.
4. Convert env.roledefs and task decorators to the new @task(c) style if you rewrite fully.

When this applies

• The code imports anything from fabric.api and fabric is 2+.

When it doesn't

• fabric is 1.x and the import fails: reinstall fabric; the module exists there.
• You already use Connection: something else is wrong.

Compatibility

• Fabric 1.x has fabric.api; 2.x/3.x removed it.

Why it happens

Fabric 2 was a full rewrite around invoke. The 1.x API was not carried over, so old fabfiles fail at the first import.

Edge cases

• fab (the CLI) in v2 only discovers tasks written in the new style.
• Password handling changed: use connect_kwargs={'password': [your password]} on Connection.

Reported in GitHub (gh:tankywoo/simiki#109): from fabric.api import ... fails on fabric 2.x: ImportError / No module named api. The verified fix: Asked on Stack Overflow by developers whose fabfile broke after pip install fabric pulled v2. The verified answer: Fabric 2 removed fabric.api entirely; the new API is fabric.Connection with run(), or pin fabric<2 for legacy fabfiles. Source: the linked Stack Overflow thread. Source: https://github.com/tankywoo/simiki/issues/109 Thread ref: gh:tankywoo/simiki#109