How to Install `idna` in Python

v3.11 CLI & Utilities Python >=3.8

Internationalized Domain Names in Applications (IDNA)

Install pip install idna

What is idna?

Internationalized Domain Names in Applications (IDNA)

Support for `Internationalized Domain Names in Applications (IDNA) ` and `Unicode IDNA Compatibility Processing `.

The latest versions of these standards supplied here provide more comprehensive language coverage and reduce the potential of allowing domains with known security vulnerabilities. This library is a suitable replacement for the “encodings.idna” module that comes with the Python standard library, but which only supports an older superseded IDNA specification from 2003.

PyPI page → Author: Kim Davies <kim+pypi@gumleaf.org>

Quick Start

Minimal example to get started with idna:

import idna

print(idna.__version__)

Installation

pip (standard)

pip install idna

Virtual environment (recommended)

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

pip3

pip3 install idna

conda

conda install -c conda-forge idna

Poetry

poetry add idna

Verify the Installation

After installing, confirm the package is available:

python -c "import idna; print(idna.__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 idna with pip.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'idna'

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

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

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'idna' (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 idna to install into the interpreter you are running.

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

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

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

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 idna. 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 idna

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 idna

Recent Releases

Version	Released
`3.11` latest	2025-10-12
`3.10`	2024-09-15
`3.9`	2024-09-14
`3.8`	2024-08-23
`3.7`	2024-04-11

Full release history on PyPI →

Manage idna

Upgrade to latest version

pip install --upgrade idna

Install a specific version

pip install idna==3.11

Uninstall

pip uninstall idna

Check what is installed

pip show idna

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

How to Install idna in Python