xtekky/gpt4free · error · ImportError

Cannot find submodule '{name}' in workspace module '{base}'.

Error message

Cannot find submodule '{name}' in workspace module '{base}'.

What it means

Raised by the sandbox import hook when a dotted import's top-level module resolves to a sibling workspace .py file, but a later path component is missing as an attribute on that module. Example: 'import mypkg.helpers' where workspace contains mypkg.py but mypkg.py defines no 'helpers'. The sandbox first loads the sibling file via _load_workspace_module, then walks the remaining dotted parts with getattr and fails on the first missing attribute.

Source

Thrown at g4f/mcp/pa_provider.py:478

                    raise ImportError(
                        f"'{name}' is not available in the restricted os shim."
                    )
            return obj
        if base not in allowed:
            # Before rejecting, check if it's a workspace module (sibling .py file).
            workspace = get_workspace_dir()
            ws_module = _load_workspace_module(
                base, workspace, globals, fromlist, level
            )
            if ws_module is not None:
                # Handle submodule imports (e.g. "pkg.sub")
                if name != base:
                    # Try to resolve the full dotted path from the loaded module
                    obj = ws_module
                    for part in name.split(".")[1:]:
                        obj = getattr(obj, part, None)
                        if obj is None:
                            raise ImportError(
                                f"Cannot find submodule '{name}' in workspace module '{base}'."
                            )
                    return obj
                return ws_module
            raise ImportError(
                f"Import of '{name}' is not allowed in safe execution mode.\n"
                f"Allowed top-level modules: {', '.join(sorted(allowed))}"
            )
        # Explicit allowlist takes priority over the blocklist below.
        # This permits e.g. "g4f.Provider.helper" even though "g4f.Provider"
        # is blocked.
        for allowed_sub in _ALLOWED_G4F_SUBPATHS:
            if name == allowed_sub or name.startswith(allowed_sub + "."):
                return original(name, globals, locals, fromlist, level)
        # Block sensitive g4f submodules even though g4f itself is allowed.
        if name in _BLOCKED_SUBMODULES:
            raise ImportError(
                f"Import of '{name}' is not allowed inside a .pa.py sandbox "

View on GitHub (pinned to 973504e177)

Solutions

1. Verify the exact attribute name exists in the sibling workspace module (no typo, correct case)
2. Import only the top-level module and access the member via attribute: 'import util; util.format_msg'
3. Move the needed function/class into the top-level workspace .py file instead of a dotted path
4. Ensure module-level definitions in the sibling file are unconditional (not inside try/except that swallows errors)

Example fix

# before
import helpers.format

# after (helpers.py is a flat sibling module)
import helpers
helpers.format(...)

# before executing, verify the sibling module exposes the submodule name
import importlib.util, pathlib
ws = get_workspace_dir()
mod_file = ws / (base + ".py")
if mod_file.exists():
    spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(base, mod_file)
    m = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec); spec.loader.exec_module(m)
    assert hasattr(m, submodule_name), f"{base} lacks attribute {submodule_name}"

try:
    import mypkg.sub
except ImportError as e:
    if "Cannot find submodule" in str(e):
        import mypkg  # fall back to top-level import + attribute access

When it happens

Trigger: A .pa.py file imports 'X.sub' where X.py exists in the workspace directory but X does not define/assign 'sub' (no submodule, class, or variable with that name). Also triggered when X.py conditionally defines 'sub' and the defining branch did not run during sandbox execution.

Common situations: Splitting a helper across several files with dotted imports as if the workspace were a package; typos in the submodule name; helper module whose import-time code raised earlier so attributes were never set.

Related errors

• Syntax error in workspace module '{name}' ({source_path}):\n
• Failed to load workspace module '{name}' ({source_path}):\n{
• Relative imports are not allowed inside a .pa.py sandbox.
• '{name}' is not available in the restricted os shim.
• Import of '{name}' is not allowed in safe execution mode.\nA

AI-assisted analysis of xtekky/gpt4free@973504e177 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5c39763f80d6d847. Report an issue: GitHub.