huggingface/smolagents · error · InterpreterError

Module {expression.module} has no attribute {alias.name}

Error message

Module {expression.module} has no attribute {alias.name}

What it means

A `from module import name` succeeded in importing the module, but the module has no attribute with that name — the interpreter's equivalent of ImportError: cannot import name.

Source

Thrown at src/smolagents/local_python_executor.py:1337

        return None
    elif isinstance(expression, ast.ImportFrom):
        if check_import_authorized(expression.module, authorized_imports):
            raw_module = __import__(expression.module, fromlist=[alias.name for alias in expression.names])
            module = get_safe_module(raw_module, authorized_imports)
            if expression.names[0].name == "*":  # Handle "from module import *"
                if hasattr(module, "__all__"):  # If module has __all__, import only those names
                    for name in module.__all__:
                        state[name] = getattr(module, name)
                else:  # If no __all__, import all public names (those not starting with '_')
                    for name in dir(module):
                        if not name.startswith("_"):
                            state[name] = getattr(module, name)
            else:  # regular from imports
                for alias in expression.names:
                    if hasattr(module, alias.name):
                        state[alias.asname or alias.name] = getattr(module, alias.name)
                    else:
                        raise InterpreterError(f"Module {expression.module} has no attribute {alias.name}")
        else:
            raise InterpreterError(
                f"Import from {expression.module} is not allowed. Authorized imports are: {str(authorized_imports)}"
            )
        return None


def evaluate_generatorexp(
    genexp: ast.GeneratorExp,
    state: dict[str, Any],
    static_tools: dict[str, Callable],
    custom_tools: dict[str, Callable],
    authorized_imports: list[str],
) -> Generator[Any]:
    def generator():
        for gen in genexp.generators:
            iter_value = evaluate_ast(gen.iter, state, static_tools, custom_tools, authorized_imports)
            for value in iter_value:

View on GitHub (pinned to 30bb116109)

Solutions

1. Check the module's actual attributes (dir(module) outside sandbox) and fix the name
2. For hallucinated names, guide the model with better tool/prompt descriptions or few-shot examples
3. If the name exists in another module, import from the correct one

Example fix

# before
from math import pie
# after
from math import pi

import importlib
mod = importlib.import_module('math')
assert hasattr(mod, name_to_import), f'{name_to_import!r} missing in math'

try:
    evaluate_python(code, ...)
except InterpreterError as e:
    if 'has no attribute' in str(e):
        # check dir(module), fix the imported name, retry

When it happens

Trigger: from math import pie (typo), from collections import OrderedDict in a version where it moved, from json import loads_extra.

Common situations: Agent hallucinates a function/class name that doesn't exist in the module; version differences where a name was removed or moved; typo in the imported name.

Related errors

• Import of {alias.name} is not allowed. Authorized imports ar
• Import from {expression.module} is not allowed. Authorized i
• Object {obj} has no attribute {func_name}
• Cannot unpack non-dict value in **kwargs: {type(starred_dict
• super() needs at least one argument

AI-assisted analysis of huggingface/smolagents@30bb116109 (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/39e003fb409e733f. Report an issue: GitHub.