OpenBB-finance/OpenBB · error · FileNotFoundError

Error: Neither module '{module_path}' could be imported nor

Error message

Error: Neither module '{module_path}' could be imported nor file '{file_path}' exists

What it means

Raised when the app path uses module:colon notation ('pkg.module:app'), the module could not be imported, and the fallback interpretation of the module path as a local .py file also does not exist. It reports both the module import and file-resolution failures.

Source

Thrown at openbb_platform/extensions/platform_api/openbb_platform_api/utils/api.py:259

        spec.loader.exec_module(module)  # type: ignore
        return module

    if _is_module_colon_notation(app_path):
        module_path, name = app_path.rsplit(":", 1)
        try:  # First try to import as a module
            module = import_module(module_path)
        except ImportError:  # If module import fails, try to load as a local file
            if not module_path.endswith(".py"):
                module_path += ".py"

            if not Path(module_path).is_absolute():
                cwd = Path.cwd()
                file_path = str(cwd.joinpath(module_path).resolve())
            else:
                file_path = module_path

            if not Path(file_path).exists():
                raise FileNotFoundError(  # pylint: disable=raise-missing-from
                    f"Error: Neither module '{module_path}' could be imported nor file '{file_path}' exists"
                )

            module = _load_module_from_file_path(file_path)

    # Case 2: File path (e.g., "main.py" or "my_app/main.py")
    else:
        if not Path(app_path).is_absolute():
            cwd = Path.cwd()
            app_path = str(cwd.joinpath(app_path).resolve())

        if not Path(app_path).exists():
            raise FileNotFoundError(f"Error: The app file '{app_path}' does not exist")

        module = _load_module_from_file_path(app_path)

    if not hasattr(module, name):
        raise AttributeError(

View on GitHub (pinned to 3e071fcc2c)

Solutions

Run the command from the project root so the relative .py fallback resolves.
Install the package in editable mode (pip install -e .) so import_module succeeds.
Use an explicit file path instead of module notation: --app main.py (or my_app/main.py).
Verify the module name spelling and that an __init__.py exists for packages.

Example fix

# before
# running from ~/ with app living in /proj
uvicorn-style import_app('myapp.main:app', 'app')

# after
cd /proj && import_app('myapp.main:app', 'app')
# or: import_app('/proj/myapp/main.py', 'app')

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

from importlib.util import find_spec
from pathlib import Path
ok = find_spec(module_path) is not None or Path(f"{module_path}.py").is_file()
assert ok, f"{module_path} is neither importable nor a local file"

Type guard

def module_resolves(module_path: str) -> bool:
    from importlib.util import find_spec
    try:
        return find_spec(module_path) is not None
    except (ImportError, ValueError):
        return False

Try / catch

try:
    app = import_app("myapp.main:app", "app")
except FileNotFoundError as e:
    print(e)  # lists both attempted paths; fix cwd or install package
    raise

Prevention

Install your app package with pip install -e .
Launch from the project root
Prefer absolute file paths in scripts

When it happens

Trigger: Calling import_app('myapp.main:app') where 'myapp.main' is neither installed/importable nor present as ./myapp/main.py relative to the current working directory.

Common situations: Running the API from a different working directory than the project root; missing package installation (pip install -e . not run); misspelled module name; PYTHONPATH not including the package parent.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of OpenBB-finance/OpenBB@3e071fcc2c (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/22284f335ea2e6a6. Report an issue: GitHub.