deepinsight/insightface · critical · ImportError

Could not load %s.

Error message

Could not load %s.

What it means

LibraryLoader.__call__ tried every candidate path for libname (from getpaths) and either found no readable file or every ctypes load attempt failed; each underlying error is printed, then the final ImportError 'Could not load %s.' is raised. It is the top-level failure of dynamic library resolution in the bundled ctypes shim.

Source

Thrown at cpp-package/inspireface/python/inspireface/modules/core/native.py:630

        def __getattr__(self, name):
            return getattr(self.access["cdecl"], name)

    def __init__(self):
        self.other_dirs = []

    def __call__(self, libname):
        """Given the name of a library, load it."""
        paths = self.getpaths(libname)

        for path in paths:
            # noinspection PyBroadException
            try:
                return self.Lookup(path)
            except Exception as err:  # pylint: disable=broad-except
                print(err)

        raise ImportError("Could not load %s." % libname)

    def getpaths(self, libname):
        """Return a list of paths where the library might be found."""
        if os.path.isabs(libname):
            yield libname
        else:
            # search through a prioritized series of locations for the library

            # we first search any specific directories identified by user
            for dir_i in self.other_dirs:
                for fmt in self.name_formats:
                    # dir_i should be absolute already
                    yield os.path.join(dir_i, fmt % libname)

            # check if this code is even stored in a physical file
            try:
                this_file = __file__
            except NameError:

View on GitHub (pinned to 7fadd420c2)

Solutions

1. Read the printed preceding errors — they name the real cause (missing file vs dlopen symbol/dependency failure)
2. If dlopen deps are missing, install system runtimes: apt-get install -y libstdc++6 libgomp1 (or equivalent)
3. Confirm the library file exists at the expected path (see get_lib_path logic) and matches your arch
4. Reinstall the package from a wheel built for your platform so symbols/deps line up

Example fix

# before: ImportError: Could not load inspireface.
# stderr shows: libstdc++.so.6: cannot open shared object file
# after
apt-get update && apt-get install -y libstdc++6 libgomp1
python -c "import inspireface"

import pathlib
lib = pathlib.Path(inspireface.__file__).parent
assert any(lib.rglob('*.so*')) or any(lib.rglob('*.dll')), 'bundled libs absent'

try:
    import inspireface
except ImportError as e:
    if 'Could not load' in str(e):
        # inspect printed dlopen errors; install missing system runtimes
        raise

When it happens

Trigger: Calling the loader with a library name whose file exists in none of the searched paths, or where the file exists but dlopen fails (undefined symbols, wrong architecture, missing runtime deps like libc++/OpenCV shared libs).

Common situations: System missing the C++ runtime the .so was linked against; mixing a library built for a different Python/arch; LD_LIBRARY_PATH not including bundled dependencies; container without libgomp/libstdc++ installed.

Related errors

• Unsupported platform: system={system}, machine={machine}
• Library not found at {lib_path}. System: {system}, Architect
• Unknown calling convention '{}' for function '{}'
• OpenCV is required for video face swap: {exc}

AI-assisted analysis of deepinsight/insightface@7fadd420c2 (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3f7c9cd4743828ca. Report an issue: GitHub.