ImportError: No module named 'pandas.indexes'

Importing pandas didn't throw the error, but rather trying to read a picked pandas dataframe as such:

import numpy as np
import pandas as pd
import matplotlib
import seaborn as sns
sns.set(style="white")

control_data = pd.read_pickle('null_report.pickle')
test_data = pd.read_pickle('test_report.pickle')

The traceback is 165 lines with three concurrent exceptions (whatever that means). Is read_pickle not compatible with pandas version 17.1 I'm running? How do I unpickle my dataframe for use?

Below is a copy of the traceback:

ImportError                               Traceback (most recent call last)
C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\pandas\io\pickle.py in try_read(path, encoding)
     45             with open(path, 'rb') as fh:
---> 46                 return pkl.load(fh)
     47         except (Exception) as e:

ImportError: No module named 'pandas.indexes'

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

ImportError                               Traceback (most recent call last)
C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\pandas\io\pickle.py in try_read(path, encoding)
     51                 with open(path, 'rb') as fh:
---> 52                     return pc.load(fh, encoding=encoding, compat=False)
     53 

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\pandas\compat\pickle_compat.py in load(fh, encoding, compat, is_verbose)
    115 
--> 116         return up.load()
    117     except:

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\pickle.py in load(self)
   1038                 assert isinstance(key, bytes_types)
-> 1039                 dispatch[key[0]](self)
   1040         except _Stop as stopinst:

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\pickle.py in load_stack_global(self)
   1342             raise UnpicklingError("STACK_GLOBAL requires str")
-> 1343         self.append(self.find_class(module, name))
   1344     dispatch[STACK_GLOBAL[0]] = load_stack_global

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\pickle.py in find_class(self, module, name)
   1383                 module = _compat_pickle.IMPORT_MAPPING[module]
-> 1384         __import__(module, level=0)
   1385         if self.proto >= 4:

ImportError: No module named 'pandas.indexes'

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

ImportError                               Traceback (most recent call last)
C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\pandas\io\pickle.py in read_pickle(path)
     59     try:
---> 60         return try_read(path)
     61     except:

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\pandas\io\pickle.py in try_read(path, encoding)
     56                 with open(path, 'rb') as fh:
---> 57                     return pc.load(fh, encoding=encoding, compat=True)
     58 

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\pandas\compat\pickle_compat.py in load(fh, encoding, compat, is_verbose)
    115 
--> 116         return up.load()
    117     except:

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\pickle.py in load(self)
   1038                 assert isinstance(key, bytes_types)
-> 1039                 dispatch[key[0]](self)
   1040         except _Stop as stopinst:

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\pickle.py in load_stack_global(self)
   1342             raise UnpicklingError("STACK_GLOBAL requires str")
-> 1343         self.append(self.find_class(module, name))
   1344     dispatch[STACK_GLOBAL[0]] = load_stack_global

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\pickle.py in find_class(self, module, name)
   1383                 module = _compat_pickle.IMPORT_MAPPING[module]
-> 1384         __import__(module, level=0)
   1385         if self.proto >= 4:

ImportError: No module named 'pandas.indexes'

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

ImportError                               Traceback (most recent call last)
C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\pandas\io\pickle.py in try_read(path, encoding)
     45             with open(path, 'rb') as fh:
---> 46                 return pkl.load(fh)
     47         except (Exception) as e:

ImportError: No module named 'pandas.indexes'

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

ImportError                               Traceback (most recent call last)
C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\pandas\io\pickle.py in try_read(path, encoding)
     51                 with open(path, 'rb') as fh:
---> 52                     return pc.load(fh, encoding=encoding, compat=False)
     53 

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\pandas\compat\pickle_compat.py in load(fh, encoding, compat, is_verbose)
    115 
--> 116         return up.load()
    117     except:

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\pickle.py in load(self)
   1038                 assert isinstance(key, bytes_types)
-> 1039                 dispatch[key[0]](self)
   1040         except _Stop as stopinst:

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\pickle.py in load_stack_global(self)
   1342             raise UnpicklingError("STACK_GLOBAL requires str")
-> 1343         self.append(self.find_class(module, name))
   1344     dispatch[STACK_GLOBAL[0]] = load_stack_global

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\pickle.py in find_class(self, module, name)
   1383                 module = _compat_pickle.IMPORT_MAPPING[module]
-> 1384         __import__(module, level=0)
   1385         if self.proto >= 4:

ImportError: No module named 'pandas.indexes'

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

ImportError                               Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-17-3b05fe7d20a4> in <module>()
      3 # test_data = np.genfromtxt(fh, usecols=2)
      4 
----> 5 control_data = pd.read_pickle('null_report.pickle')
      6 test_data = pd.read_pickle('test_report.pickle')
      7 

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\pandas\io\pickle.py in read_pickle(path)
     61     except:
     62         if PY3:
---> 63             return try_read(path, encoding='latin1')
     64         raise

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\pandas\io\pickle.py in try_read(path, encoding)
     55             except:
     56                 with open(path, 'rb') as fh:
---> 57                     return pc.load(fh, encoding=encoding, compat=True)
     58 
     59     try:

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\site-packages\pandas\compat\pickle_compat.py in load(fh, encoding, compat, is_verbose)
    114         up.is_verbose = is_verbose
    115 
--> 116         return up.load()
    117     except:
    118         raise

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\pickle.py in load(self)
   1037                     raise EOFError
   1038                 assert isinstance(key, bytes_types)
-> 1039                 dispatch[key[0]](self)
   1040         except _Stop as stopinst:
   1041             return stopinst.value

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\pickle.py in load_stack_global(self)
   1341         if type(name) is not str or type(module) is not str:
   1342             raise UnpicklingError("STACK_GLOBAL requires str")
-> 1343         self.append(self.find_class(module, name))
   1344     dispatch[STACK_GLOBAL[0]] = load_stack_global
   1345 

C:\Users\test\Anaconda3\lib\pickle.py in find_class(self, module, name)
   1382             elif module in _compat_pickle.IMPORT_MAPPING:
   1383                 module = _compat_pickle.IMPORT_MAPPING[module]
-> 1384         __import__(module, level=0)
   1385         if self.proto >= 4:
   1386             return _getattribute(sys.modules[module], name)[0]

ImportError: No module named 'pandas.indexes'

I also tried loading the pickle file from pickle directly:

via_pickle = pickle.load( open( 'null_report.pickle', "rb" ) )

and got the same error:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ImportError                               Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-23-ba2e3adae1c4> in <module>()
      1 
----> 2 via_pickle = pickle.load( open( 'null_report.pickle', "rb" ) )
      3 
      4 # control_data = pd.read_pickle('null_report.pickle')
      5 # test_data = pd.read_pickle('test_report.pickle')

ImportError: No module named 'pandas.indexes'

I had this error when I created a pkl file with python 2.7 and was trying to read it with python 3.6 I did:

pd.read_pickle('foo.pkl')

and it worked


I had this problem from trying to open a pickled dataframe made with pandas 0.18.1 using pandas 0.17.1. If you are using pip, upgrade pandas with:

pip install --upgrade pandas

If you are using a library like anaconda, use:

conda upgrade pandas

If you need to have both versions of pandas on your machine, consider using virtualenv


Saving and loading in different versions of pandas using pickle often does not work. Instead, use pandas.HDFStore.

When I needed to update pandas but also needed some data saved with pickle in previous versions, I went back and re-saved that data in HDF format instead, when nothing else would work. No problems anymore.

Works for any sort of pandas data structure it seems, even multi-indexed dataframes! In short, if pickling fails after a version upgrade, try HDFStore; it's more reliable (and more efficient!).


Here is the solution without updating pandas or whatever your using.

If you're using python2

import cPickle
with open('filename.pkl', 'rb') as fo:
        dict = cPickle.load(fo, encoding='latin1’)

If you're using python3

import pickle
with open('filename.pkl', 'rb') as fo:
        dict = pickle.load(fo, encoding='latin1’)