ImportError: cannot import name 'colors'

7 Dec 2025

1 min read

ImportError: cannot import name ‘colors’

$ python -c "from matplotlib import colors"
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
ImportError: cannot import name 'colors' from 'matplotlib'

Why this happens

colors is a submodule: matplotlib.colors.

Fix

Import the correct submodule.

Wrong code

from matplotlib import colors
colors.to_rgb('red')

Fixed code

import matplotlib.colors as colors
colors.to_rgb('red')