modulenotfounderror: no module named ‘apt_pkg’

Python is a versatile language that can be used for a variety of purposes from developing small scripts to creating entire applications. One of the advantages of Python is the large number of modules that are available for download from the Python Package Index (PyPI), a repository of software for the Python programming language. However, on occasion, you may encounter an error message indicating that a particular module is not found. In this blog post, we will show how to solve the error message “No module named apt_pkg” in Python.

What is python3-apt ?

Python3-apt is a library that provides a wrapper around the apt package manager. It allows Python programs to query and install software packages from the Debian package repositories. Python3-apt is a library which provides a wrapper for the apt package manager. It provides a number of benefits, including:

1. Simplified package management – Python3-apt provides a simplified interface for managing packages, making it easier to find and install new packages.

2. Automatic dependency resolution – Python3-apt automatically resolves dependencies between packages, making it easier to install multiple packages at once.

3. Automatic updates – Python3-apt automatically updates packages when new versions are released, ensuring that you always have the latest features and security updates.

How to solve the modulenotfounderror: no module named ‘apt_pkg’ error in python?

If you are trying to install a python module and you get the error: “No module named ‘apt_pkg‘”, there are a few things you can do:

Step 1:

sudo apt-get install python3-apt --reinstall

Step 2: Replace {your-version-number of python} appropriately.

cd /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages


sudo ln -s apt_pkg.cpython-{your-version-number}-x86_64-linux-gnu.so apt_pkg.so


CAUTION, the following will create a symlink from apt_pkg37m to apt_pkg36m. make sure you are linking to the correct, or at least to an existing version by ll apt_pkg.cpython-*, and see which one(s) you have installed.

sudo ln -s apt_pkg.cpython-{36m,37m}-x86_64-linux-gnu.so

So, python3-apt checks the highest python version, instead of the current python version in use.

Also, read Python Tutorials.