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Accepted
Mostafa Norzade
Asked: 2018-08-27 04:56:17 +0800 CST

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'apt_pkg' error

  • 772

I run below command on ubuntu 16.4 :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:noobslab/apps

of below question:

How to install PlayOnLinux on Ubuntu 16.04

and get below error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/bin/add-apt-repository", line 11, in <module>
    from softwareproperties.SoftwareProperties import SoftwareProperties, shortcut_handler
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/softwareproperties/SoftwareProperties.py", line 27, in <module>
    import apt_pkg
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'apt_pkg'
Error in sys.excepthook:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/apport_python_hook.py", line 63, in apport_excepthook
    from apport.fileutils import likely_packaged, get_recent_crashes
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/apport/__init__.py", line 5, in <module>
    from apport.report import Report
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/apport/report.py", line 30, in <module>
    import apport.fileutils
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/apport/fileutils.py", line 23, in <module>
    from apport.packaging_impl import impl as packaging
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/apport/packaging_impl.py", line 23, in <module>
    import apt
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/apt/__init__.py", line 23, in <module>
    import apt_pkg
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'apt_pkg'

Original exception was:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/bin/add-apt-repository", line 11, in <module>
    from softwareproperties.SoftwareProperties import SoftwareProperties, shortcut_handler
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/softwareproperties/SoftwareProperties.py", line 27, in <module>
    import apt_pkg
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'apt_pkg'

Thanks for help

dpkg add-apt-repository 16.04

8 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    Its very late but could be helpful for others.

    > cd /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages
> sudo cp apt_pkg.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so apt_pkg.so
    • 66

  2. There was a similar question on 2014 (Problem with update-manager: No module named 'apt_pkg' in Ubuntu 13.10, having installed Python 3.4 on /usr/local/lib). The solution worked for me.

    sudo apt-get remove python3-apt
sudo apt-get install python3-apt
    • 22

  3. If you updated with a NEW python (e.g. dist had 3.5 but you installed 3.7), then your /usr/bin/python3 points to a python that does not have apt_pkg.

    edit /usr/bin/add-apt-repository it says

    #! /usr/bin/python3

    Then edit /usr/bin/add-apt-repository to point to

    #! /usr/bin/python3.5

    (insert your distro python version 3.5 for 16.04 & 3.6 if 18.04)

    • 18

  4. Create a symbolic link at apt_pkg.so which references to file apt_pkg.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so.

    cd /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages
sudo ln -s apt_pkg.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so apt_pkg.so
    • 7

  5. The only thing that worked for me was to uninstall python 3.5 and then install the apt tools again:

    sudo apt remove python3.5*
sudo apt install python3-apt
sudo apt install software-properties-common
    • 2

  6. To solve this remove the alternatives

    sudo update-alternatives --remove-all python3

    Then

    sudo ln -sf /usr/bin/python3.6 /usr/bin/python3
    • 2

  7. This is the solution that worked for me for the latest apt_pkg_cpython package on Ubuntu18.04:

    cd /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/
sudo cp apt_pkg.cpython-36m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so apt_pkg.so
sudo apt-get update
    • 2

  8. The following worked for me. Firstly check the target apt_pkg library:

    ls -l /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/apt_pkg*

    it should return the following:

    /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/apt_pkg.cpython-35m-x86_64-linux-gnu.so

    where 35 stands for the python version. Set this version as default for python3:

    sudo update-alternatives --set python3 /usr/bin/python3.5
    • 1