importlib-resources

6.5.2 verified Tue May 12 auth: no python install: verified quickstart: stale

A backport of Python's importlib.resources module, providing access to resources within packages. Current version: 6.5.2. Release cadence: Regular updates with recent releases in January 2025.

pip install importlib-resources

Common errors

error ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'importlib.resources' ↓

cause This error occurs when trying to use `importlib.resources` on a Python version older than 3.7. The `importlib.resources` module became part of the standard library in Python 3.7, and for earlier versions, a separate backport library is required.

fix

For Python versions prior to 3.7, install the backport library using pip install importlib-resources and then import it as import importlib_resources. If on Python 3.7 or newer, ensure your Python environment is correctly set up.

error AttributeError: module 'importlib.resources' has no attribute 'files' ↓

cause The `files()` function, and subsequently the `Traversable` API (including methods like `read_text` accessed via `files()`), was introduced in Python 3.9. This error indicates you are using an older Python version (e.g., 3.7 or 3.8) or an outdated version of the `importlib-resources` backport that does not yet include this functionality.

fix

Upgrade your Python version to 3.9 or newer. If you must use an older Python, ensure you have the latest compatible importlib-resources backport installed (pip install --upgrade importlib-resources) and be aware that the files() API might not be available or behave differently in older backport versions, requiring you to use the older importlib.resources.read_text() or importlib.resources.open_binary() functions instead.

error FileNotFoundError: Package has no location <module 'your_package' (namespace)> ↓

cause This error typically arises when `importlib.resources` attempts to locate a resource within a namespace package (PEP 420-style package without an `__init__.py` file) that might not have a single, discernible file system location, or when the resource itself is not properly included in the package distribution. It can also occur if the package cannot resolve its `__spec__.origin` or if the resource is genuinely missing or misconfigured in `setup.py`/`pyproject.toml`.

fix

Ensure that the resource file is correctly included in your package data (e.g., via include_package_data=True and package_data in setup.py or [tool.setuptools.package-data] in pyproject.toml). For namespace packages, verify your packaging configuration. Sometimes ensuring that the package you are referencing is indeed a regular package (with an __init__.py in older Python versions) can resolve this. If running a script directly, try running it as a module (e.g., python -m your_package.your_script) to ensure correct package context.

error UnicodeDecodeError: 'charmap' codec can't decode byte ... in position ...: character maps to <undefined> ↓

cause This error occurs when `importlib.resources.read_text()` (or `open_text()`) tries to decode a resource file using an incorrect character encoding. By default, it often assumes UTF-8, but files saved with different encodings (common on Windows with system-dependent encodings like `cp1252`) will cause this error if not specified correctly.

fix

Explicitly specify the correct encoding when calling read_text() or open_text(). For example, if the file is saved with Latin-1 encoding, use importlib.resources.read_text(package, 'resource.txt', encoding='latin-1') or importlib.resources.files(package).joinpath('resource.txt').read_text(encoding='latin-1').

Warnings

breaking Editable installs may cause issues with importlib_resources.files ↓

fix Use standard installation methods or handle editable installs appropriately

gotcha Accessing resources as file paths may fail when package is bundled in a zip file ↓

fix Use functions like read_text() or read_binary() to access resource contents directly

breaking ModuleNotFoundError indicates the package could not be found or imported. This typically means the package is not installed or not correctly available in the Python path. ↓

fix Ensure the required package is properly installed and accessible in the Python environment (e.g., by running `pip install my_package`).

breaking `importlib_resources` functions, such as `files()`, require the specified package to be discoverable and importable by Python. A `ModuleNotFoundError` indicates that Python cannot find the target package. ↓

fix Ensure the package (e.g., 'my_package' in this case) is correctly installed in the Python environment (e.g., via `pip install my_package` or `pip install .`), or that its location is added to `sys.path` (e.g., using `PYTHONPATH`).

Install compatibility verified last tested: 2026-05-12

python os / libc status wheel install import disk

3.10 alpine (musl) - - 0.04s 18.1M

3.10 slim (glibc) - - 0.03s 19M

3.11 alpine (musl) - - 0.09s 20.0M

3.11 slim (glibc) - - 0.07s 21M

3.12 alpine (musl) - - 0.07s 11.9M

3.12 slim (glibc) - - 0.07s 12M

3.13 alpine (musl) - - 0.06s 11.5M

3.13 slim (glibc) - - 0.06s 12M

3.9 alpine (musl) - - 0.05s 17.8M

3.9 slim (glibc) - - 0.03s 18M

Imports

files
```
from importlib_resources import files
```
Ensure correct import path to access package resources

Quickstart stale last tested: 2026-04-23

Access a text file within the package using importlib-resources

import os
from importlib_resources import files

# Access a text file within the package
resource = files('my_package').joinpath('data', 'example.txt').read_text()
print(resource)