How to Fix – NameError: name ‘zipfile’ is not defined

If you are a Python developer, you might have encountered the error message “NameError: name ‘zipfile’ is not defined” at some point in your coding journey. This error occurs when you try to use the zipfile module in your code, but Python cannot find it.

In this tutorial, we will discuss common causes of this error and how to fix it.

Why does the NameError: name 'zipfile' is not defined error occur?

This error occurs when you try to use the zipfile module in your Python code, but Python cannot find the zipfile module in its namespace. The following are some of the scenarios in which this error usually occurs.

1. You have not imported the zipfile module.
2. You have imported only specific functions from the zipfile module but you’re trying to access the entire zipfile module.

How to fix the NameError: name 'zipfile' is not defined?

The zipfile module in Python provides tools to create, read, write, append, and list a ZIP file. It allows you to compress and decompress files and directories in ZIP format, which is a popular archive format used for data compression and archiving.

Since this module is part of the Python Standard Library, you don’t need to separately install it. You can simply import it and start using it. Let’s now look at the above scenarios that may result in the above error in detail.

The zipfile module is not imported

It can happen that you are trying to use the zipfile module without even importing it. This is because Python does not recognize a library and its functions until it is imported into the code.

For example, let’s try to use the zipfile module without importing it and see what we get.

# note that the zipfile module is not imported

# create a new zip file
with zipfile.ZipFile('example.zip', 'w') as z:
    # add files to the zip file
    z.write('file1.txt')
    z.write('file2.txt')

Output:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

NameError                                 Traceback (most recent call last)

Cell In[1], line 4
      1 # note that the zipfile module is not imported
      2 
      3 # create a new zip file
----> 4 with zipfile.ZipFile('example.zip', 'w') as z:
      5     # add files to the zip file
      6     z.write('file1.txt')
      7     z.write('file2.txt')

NameError: name 'zipfile' is not defined

We get a NameError stating that the name zipfile is not defined. To use the zipfile library, you need to import it first.

import zipfile

# create a new zip file
with zipfile.ZipFile('example.zip', 'w') as z:
    # add files to the zip file
    z.write('file1.txt')
    z.write('file2.txt')

Output:

Here, we are importing the zipfile module to create a zip file called ‘example.zip’ containing the files ‘file1.txt’ and ‘file2.txt’ that are present in the current working directory. You can see that we did not get any errors here.

Only specific functions are imported from the zipfile module

If you are importing only specific functions from the zipfile module and then trying to access the entire zipfile module or its other functions, you may also encounter the above error.

Let’s look at an example.

from zipfile import ZipFile

# create a new zip file
with zipfile.ZipFile('example.zip', 'w') as z:
    # add files to the zip file
    z.write('file1.txt')
    z.write('file2.txt')

Output:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

NameError                                 Traceback (most recent call last)

Cell In[1], line 4
      1 from zipfile import ZipFile
      3 # create a new zip file
----> 4 with zipfile.ZipFile('example.zip', 'w') as z:
      5     # add files to the zip file
      6     z.write('file1.txt')
      7     z.write('file2.txt')

NameError: name 'zipfile' is not defined

We get a NameError: name 'zipfile' is not defined. This is because we have imported only the ZipFile() function from the zipfile module but we are trying to use the ZipFile() function using zipfile.ZipFile().

To fix this error, you can either import the entire zipfile module using import zipfile or just use the ZipFile() function directly.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the “NameError: name ‘zipfile’ is not defined” error can be frustrating when trying to run Python code that uses the zipfle module. However, by following the steps outlined in this tutorial, you should now better understand what causes this error and how to fix it. Remember to always import the necessary modules at the beginning of your code and to check for typos or syntax errors. With these tips in mind, you should be able to overcome this error and continue coding with confidence.

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