pytest-dev/pytest · warning · Skipped

module has version , required is

Q: What causes "module {modname!r} has __version__ {verattr!r}, required is: {minversion!r}" in pytest-dev/pytest?

Upgrade the dependency to meet minversion: pip install -U .

Error message

module {modname!r} has __version__ {verattr!r}, required is: {minversion!r}

What it means

Raised by the import/skip helper (pytest.importorskip with minversion) when the imported module's __version__ is missing or older than the required minversion. At lines 276-285 the helper reads __version__ via getattr; if it is None or Version(verattr) < Version(minversion), a Skipped outcome is raised with allow_module_level=True so the whole module is skipped rather than failed. This is an outcome, not a hard error, used for graceful degradation.

Solutions

Upgrade the dependency to meet minversion: pip install -U <package>.
Lower or correct the minversion argument to match the installed version.
Ensure the module exposes __version__ (set it in the package __init__).
If the version is correct, verify the minversion format is PEP 440 compliant.

Example fix

// before
mod = pytest.importorskip('numpy', minversion='2.0')
// after
mod = pytest.importorskip('numpy', minversion='1.20')

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

import packaging.version
ver = getattr(__import__('numpy'), '__version__', None)
if ver is None or packaging.version.Version(ver) < packaging.version.Version('1.20'):
    pytest.skip('numpy too old')

Type guard

def _version_ok(modname, minversion) -> bool:
    import packaging.version
    ver = getattr(__import__(modname), '__version__', None)
    return ver is not None and packaging.version.Version(ver) >= packaging.version.Version(minversion)

Prevention

Pin compatible dependency versions in requirements.
Ensure packages expose a PEP 440 __version__.

When it happens

Trigger: pytest.importorskip('numpy', minversion='1.20') when numpy is older; module lacks __version__ entirely; minversion string malformed so comparison places it above the installed version.

Common situations: CI environments with pinned older dependency versions; packages that do not set __version__; typos in the minversion argument; version string formats that packaging.Version mis-parses.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pytest-dev/pytest@0d6fbdeffa (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/93c3b228477f5c24. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/_pytest/outcomes.py:282

            importlib.import_module(modname)
        except exc_type as exc:
            # Do not raise or issue warnings inside the catch_warnings() block.
            if reason is None:
                reason = f"could not import {modname!r}: {exc}"
            skipped = Skipped(reason, allow_module_level=True)
    if skipped:
        raise skipped

    mod = sys.modules[modname]
    if minversion is None:
        return mod
    verattr = getattr(mod, "__version__", None)
    if minversion is not None:
        # Imported lazily to improve start-up time.
        from packaging.version import Version

        if verattr is None or Version(verattr) < Version(minversion):
            raise Skipped(
                f"module {modname!r} has __version__ {verattr!r}, required is: {minversion!r}",
                allow_module_level=True,
            )
    return mod

View on GitHub (pinned to 0d6fbdeffa)

module has __version__ , required is