ImportError: No module named matplotlib.pyplot

Question

pip will make your life easy!

Step 1: Install pip - Check if you have pip already simply by writing pip in the python console. If you don't have pip, get a python script called get-pip.py , via here: https://pip.pypa.io/en/latest/installing.html or directly here: https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py (You may have to use Save As ..)

Step 2: Take note of where the file got saved and cd the directory from command prompt. Run the get-pip.py script to install pip. You can write in cmd this line within quotes: "python .\get-pip.py"

Step 3: Now in cmd type: pip install matplotlib

And you should be through.

You have two pythons installed on your machine, one is the standard python that comes with Mac OSX and the second is the one you installed with ports (this is the one that has matplotlib installed in its library, the one that comes with macosx does not).

/usr/bin/python

Is the standard mac python and since it doesn't have matplotlib you should always start your script with the one installed with ports.

If python your_script.py works then change the #! to:

#!/usr/bin/env python

Or put the full path to the python interpreter that has the matplotlib installed in its library.

If you are using Python 2, just run

sudo apt-get install python-matplotlib

The best way to get matplotlib is :

pip install matplotlib

cause the previous way may give you a old version of matplotlib

This worked for me, inspired by Sheetal Kaul

pip uninstall matplotlib
python3 -m pip install matplotlib

I knew it installed in the wrong place when this worked:

python2.7
import matplotlib

First check the version of Python

For python2:

sudo apt-get install python-matplotlib

For python3:

sudo apt-get install python3-matplotlib

If you mismatch the Matplotlib installation and the Python version you will get the no-module-error because no module for that version exits.