ImportError: cannot import name path
Third-person routing text. Fixes IPython failing with ImportError cannot import name path: the third-party path.py package shadows what old IPython expects. Uninstall path.py or upgrade IPython. Use when an agent hits this installing or launching old IPython. Not for other IPython import errors.
TL;DR: the third-party path.py package conflicts with IPython's imports. Uninstall path.py, or upgrade IPython past the fragile era.
The error
ImportError: cannot import name pathFix it
Remove the conflicting package:
pip uninstall -y path.pyExpected: reports removal.
Verify:
python -c "import IPython; print(IPython.__version__)"Expected: prints the version, no error.
Alternative: upgrade IPython and notebook to modern releases:
pip install -U ipython notebook
When this applies
Use this when installing or launching old IPython raises the bare cannot-import-name-path error.
When it does not apply
If the error quotes the name ('path' with quotes) or names a from-module, it is a different import. If IPython is modern, this specific conflict does not occur.
Compatibility
Old IPython (5.x era and earlier) with the path.py package installed.
Root cause
Old IPython imported a name called path that the third-party path.py package also provides under a colliding import path. With both installed, Python resolved the wrong one and the expected name was missing.
Edge cases
Some old projects genuinely need path.py; in that case upgrading IPython is the only fix. Modern IPython renamed its internals, so the conflict is extinct there.