Hey everyone, I’m facing a really annoying problem with my Python code. It keeps giving me an import error for the mysql.connector module. I went ahead and installed the package using pip install mysql-connector-python, and the installation went smoothly. Yet, when I try to execute my script, the same import error pops up. I’ve double-checked my Python environment, and everything seems fine. Has anyone dealt with this issue before? I’m trying to connect to a database, and this is really slowing me down. I’d appreciate any advice or solutions you might have. Thanks a lot for your help!
Check if the package is installed globally vs locally in your project. Had this exact issue with a Flask app - mysql-connector-python was installed system-wide but my virtual environment didn’t have it. Run pip freeze | grep mysql to see what’s actually in your current environment. Sometimes installs work but end up in site-packages for a different Python version. Also, old pycache folders can mess things up with stale bytecode. Delete any pycache directories in your project and try importing again - those cached files stick to old import paths even after you fix the install.
maybe you’re using python3 but installed with pip2? try python3 -m pip install mysql-connector-python instead. this caught me off guard last time - system had both python versions but i was mixing the commands.
I faced a similar issue while working on a client database project. The root cause was that I had both conda and pip managing packages, which led to conflicts. To resolve this, I first checked whether I was using conda by running conda list | grep mysql. If it appeared, I uninstalled it with conda before reinstalling the package using pip. Additionally, I discovered that having the old MySQL-python package installed alongside mysql-connector-python could disrupt imports. Running pip list | grep -i mysql was also helpful to see what was present. In some instances, removing all mysql-related packages and starting anew can be the most effective solution.
Had this exact frustration during a production deployment. The issue was my IDE using a different Python interpreter than my terminal. If you’re running Python through PyCharm or VSCode, they often have their own interpreter settings that override system defaults. Go to your IDE’s interpreter settings and manually point it to the Python installation where you installed the package. Run pip show mysql-connector-python in terminal to verify the correct path, then make sure your IDE uses that same Python executable. This solved my connection issues immediately - no reinstalling needed.
Check your PYTHONPATH - this bit me during a database migration once. The install works fine, but Python can’t find the module because the path’s messed up. Run echo $PYTHONPATH (Linux/Mac) or echo %PYTHONPATH% (Windows) to see what directories Python’s actually searching. If it’s empty or wrong, you’ll need to manually add your site-packages directory. I’ve also hit permission issues where the package installs but you can’t access it. Try running your script with elevated permissions to see if that fixes it. One more thing - make sure you don’t have a local mysql.py file in your project folder that’s hijacking the real module.
try import mysql.connector as mysql instead. the module structure sometimes gets messed up after installation & this fixes it. also, restart ur IDE/terminal - sounds dumb but it worked for me when nothing else did.
same thing happened to me last week! first run pip uninstall mysql-connector-python, then reinstall it. also check ur not mixing up package names - mysql-connector and mysql-connector-python are totally different packages. the import can get confused if u have both.
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