Tkinter module not found on Ubuntu

Question

Python 2.7.1+ (r271:86832, Apr 11 2011, 18:05:24) 
[GCC 4.5.2] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import Tkinter
>>>

on the other hand...

Python 3.2 (r32:88445, Mar 25 2011, 19:28:28) 
[GCC 4.5.2] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import Tkinter
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
ImportError: No module named Tkinter

I checked synaptic, Tkinter is installed. Then I found this--

If it fails with "No module named _tkinter", your Python configuration needs to be modified to include this module (which is an extension module implemented in C). Do not edit Modules/Setup (it is out of date). You may have to install Tcl and Tk (when using RPM, install the -devel RPMs as well) and/or edit the setup.py script to point to the right locations where Tcl/Tk is installed. If you install Tcl/Tk in the default locations, simply rerunning "make" should build the _tkinter extension.

I am guessing that tkinter is still associated with the old python in my pc. How do I change that so python3 can use tkinter?

"sudo apt-get install python3-tk" installs tkinter for Python3+ — markfknight, Oct 16 '12 at 21:15
Does this answer your question? [Difference between tkinter and Tkinter](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17843596/difference-between-tkinter-and-tkinter) — Karl Knechtel, Apr 26 '23 at 15:19
"Then I found this" - that describes a different failure from what is actually seen in the code. — Karl Knechtel, May 03 '23 at 01:42

score 327 · Answer 1 · edited Jan 20 '18 at 00:18

327

What worked for me in Ubuntu was actually just:

sudo apt-get install python3-tk

For python 3.6:

sudo apt-get install python3.6-tk

I didn't read anywhere, I simply tried it, as onteria_'s method didn't seem to work for me.

edited Jan 20 '18 at 00:18

bdoubleu

19
5

answered Aug 09 '13 at 08:42

Pinna_be

4,517
2
18
34

8

This package was indeed needed for me, but keep in mind that the name of `Tkinter` is now `tkinter` in Python3, so other answers are still relevant. – Luke Marlin Mar 02 '15 at 18:17
first command I get connection failed, the second one works fine though – Lost Crotchet Aug 27 '18 at 11:54
1

I don't know what happened, `sudo apt-get install python3-tk` did not work for me (tkinter still not found), but installing `python3-tk` via synaptic did work. (Ubuntu 16.04 with python 3.6) – Georg Nov 25 '18 at 14:22
It still works. Well done – Dominiksr Jun 11 '22 at 09:59
1

Perhaps quite late, but I checked the output of ``apt-cache policy python3*-tk`` , it gave me `python3-tk` as the viable one, the entries for 3.10-tk and 3.11-tk were blank. Installing `python3-tk` worked for me. (Ubuntu22.04, Python 3.10.6) – Luce Jan 26 '23 at 02:30

score 39 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 09 '22 at 17:47

39

The answer to your question is that Tkinter is renamed to tkinter in python3.

That is with lowercase t.

edited Jul 09 '22 at 17:47

Mad Physicist

107,652
25
181
264

answered May 24 '11 at 14:35

Nils Nyman

399
2
2

This is the actually correct answer based on what is actually shown in the original question. Everything else is making assumptions and solving a common problem, but not engaging with the issue actually shown in OP's actual attempt. – Karl Knechtel Apr 25 '23 at 18:15

score 20 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 10 '13 at 14:38

20

In python 3 Tkinter renamed tkinter

answered Jul 10 '13 at 14:38

user2569010

201
2
2

This is the answer to the question. PS: If you run your script with a shebang, don't forget to use "#!/usr/bin/python3". On Ubuntu 12.04 for example default version of Python is 2.7.3 so "Tkinter" will work with "#!/usr/bin/python" but not with Python 3. – rbaleksandar Sep 28 '13 at 12:43
Second that this is the best and simplest answer to the question – Hamman Samuel Jun 15 '15 at 17:41

score 17 · Answer 4 · edited Feb 14 '18 at 05:32

17

Use the following command:

sudo apt-get install python3-tk

The following commands do not work:

sudo apt-get install python3-tkinter
sudo apt-get install python3-Tkinter
pip3 install Tkinter
pip3 install tkinter

edited Feb 14 '18 at 05:32

galoget

722
9
15

answered Apr 09 '17 at 10:56

Kishan Kishore

451
6
12

score 14 · Answer 5 · edited Nov 07 '15 at 14:09

14

sudo apt-get install python3-tk

edited Nov 07 '15 at 14:09

Tunaki

132,869
46
340
423

answered Nov 07 '15 at 13:50

Roberto Júnior

149
1
3

onteria_ · Accepted Answer · 2011-05-22T00:07:38.140

11

Since you mention synaptic I think you're on Ubuntu. You probably need to run update-python-modules to update your Tkinter module for Python 3.

EDIT: Running update-python-modules

First, make sure you have python-support installed:

sudo apt-get install python-support

Then, run update-python-modules with the -a option to rebuild all the modules:

sudo update-python-modules -a

I cannot guarantee all your modules will build though, since there are some API changes between Python 2 and Python 3.

edited May 22 '11 at 00:07

answered May 21 '11 at 21:09

onteria_

68,181
7
71
64

22

"sudo apt-get install python-support" leads to the following error "E: Package 'python-support' has no installation candidate" – jason Dec 09 '16 at 01:04
6

I also had the same error as @jason `E: Package 'python-support' has no installation candidate` though I am running it from a docker (tensorflow image). Did anyone know how to fix it? – Charlie Parker Apr 03 '17 at 21:09
18

@CharlieParker On Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, I was able to fix this by `apt-get install python3-tk` – rohitmohta Dec 03 '17 at 19:44
For those of you with the `E: Package 'X' has no installation candidate`, you should run `sudo apt-get update` first. – Daniel Patrick Aug 01 '18 at 10:01
is there a way I can do this in a gitpod too? it doesnt let me use sudo nor lets me do without it – Aakanksha Choudhary Feb 07 '21 at 06:24
@AakankshaChoudhary You ___hav___ to use sudo for this, it's not possible without – TheEagle Apr 06 '21 at 22:19

score 9 · Answer 7 · edited Apr 05 '20 at 09:01

9

If you are using Ubuntu 18.04 along with Python 3.6, then pip or pip3 won't help. You need to install tkinter using following command:

sudo apt-get install python3-tk

edited Apr 05 '20 at 09:01

TheTechRobo the Nerd

1,249
15
28

answered Oct 17 '18 at 13:40

abhimanyu singh

103
1
7

This merely seems to repeat multiple earlier answers from 2015-2017 – tripleee Mar 03 '23 at 21:34

score 5 · Answer 8 · answered May 25 '18 at 11:56

I had the same problem. I tried to use:

sudo apt-get install python3-tk

It gave an error stating blt(>=2.4z-7) is not present and is not installable.

I went here and manually installed it. (For Ubuntu 14.04)

Then I used apt again and it worked.

I concluded that python3.4 in Ubuntu didn't come with the .so file required to carry on installation. And blt was required to download it.

score 4 · Answer 9 · answered Jul 16 '12 at 00:27

4

this works for me:

from tkinter import *
root = Tk()
l = Label(root, text="Does it work")
l.pack()

answered Jul 16 '12 at 00:27

user1497423

707
7
3

score 2 · Answer 10 · answered Mar 16 '17 at 04:13

2

I found this looking for a fix for python 3.5.

In my case I was building python from source, here is what I did to help fix:

Add the tkinter headers with and rebuild python

sudo apt-get install tk8.6-dev
sudo make

answered Mar 16 '17 at 04:13

parsethis

7,998
3
29
31

score 2 · Answer 11 · answered Sep 06 '18 at 12:20

2

Adding solution for CentOs 7 (python 3.6.x)

yum install python36-tkinter

I had tried about every version possible, hopefully this helps out others.

answered Sep 06 '18 at 12:20

l Steveo l

516
3
11

score 1 · Answer 12 · edited Feb 14 '18 at 11:38

1

Adding the solution that I faced with python 3.4 on Fedora 21. Hope this will help those facing a similar issue.

Any of these commands will install tkinter:

sudo yum install python3-tkinter
OR
sudo dnf install python3-tkinter

edited Feb 14 '18 at 11:38

galoget

722
9
15

answered Oct 10 '17 at 12:43

MaNKuR

2,578
1
19
31

score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Dec 31 '20 at 08:05

0

requirement for tkinter:

python 3.6+

and go to shell write the test code like :

from tkinter import *

root = Tk()

root.mainloop()

answered Dec 31 '20 at 08:05

Sarvesh

95
1
13

score -1 · Answer 14 · answered Dec 26 '22 at 13:19

-1

For Ubuntu 20.04 this works for me.

sudo apt-get install python3.6-tk

answered Dec 26 '22 at 13:19

IS_Eagle_NG

21
1
7

1

This solution has already been provided. – AlexK Dec 27 '22 at 02:26
@AlexK but not for 20.04 – IS_Eagle_NG Jan 03 '23 at 14:56
1

If an existing answer is still valid for a newer release, there is no need to post another answer. – AlexK Jan 03 '23 at 21:55

Tkinter module not found on Ubuntu

14 Answers14

Linked