How to Install `filelock` in Python

v3.25.2 General Purpose Python >=3.10

A platform independent file lock.

Install pip install filelock

What is filelock?

A platform independent file lock.

For more information checkout the official documentation.

PyPI page →

Quick Start

Minimal example to get started with filelock:

import filelock

print(filelock.__version__)

Installation

pip (standard)

pip install filelock

Virtual environment (recommended)

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate   # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install filelock

pip3

pip3 install filelock

conda

conda install -c conda-forge filelock

Poetry

poetry add filelock

Verify the Installation

After installing, confirm the package is available:

python -c "import filelock; print(filelock.__version__)"

If this prints a version number, installation succeeded. If you see a ModuleNotFoundError, see the errors section below.

Installation Errors

Common errors when installing filelock with pip.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'filelock'

Cause: The package is not installed in the current Python environment.

Fix: Run pip install filelock. If using a virtual environment, ensure it is activated first.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'filelock' (installed but still failing)

Cause: pip installed the package into a different Python than the one running your script.

Fix: Use python -m pip install filelock to install into the interpreter you are running.

ImportError: cannot import name 'X' from 'filelock'

Cause: The function or class does not exist in the installed version.

Fix: Check the version with pip show filelock and upgrade with pip install --upgrade filelock.

pip: command not found

Cause: pip is not in PATH or Python was not added to PATH during installation.

Fix: Try python -m pip install filelock. On macOS/Linux try pip3.

PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied

Cause: No write access to the system Python package directory.

Fix: Use a virtual environment, or add --user: pip install --user filelock

SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED

Cause: pip cannot verify PyPI's SSL certificate — common behind corporate proxies.

Fix: Try: pip install --trusted-host pypi.org --trusted-host files.pythonhosted.org filelock

Recent Releases

Version	Released
`3.25.2` latest	2026-03-11
`3.25.1`	2026-03-09
`3.25.0`	2026-03-01
`3.24.3`	2026-02-19
`3.24.2`	2026-02-16

Full release history on PyPI →

Manage filelock

Upgrade to latest version

pip install --upgrade filelock

Install a specific version

pip install filelock==3.25.2

Uninstall

pip uninstall filelock

Check what is installed

pip show filelock

Last updated: 2026-04-11 • Data from PyPI

How to Install filelock in Python