What does "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pipes'" mean?

pipes was removed from the standard library in Python 3.13 under PEP 594. Its only widely used function, pipes.quote, moved to shlex.quote years earlier. PEP 594 removed nineteen legacy modules in Python 3.13. pipes wrapped shell pipelines around os.system and had been deprecated since 3.11.

How do I fix "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pipes'"?

If you used `pipes.quote`, replace it with `shlex.quote` — it is the same function and has been the documented location since Python 3.3. If you used `pipes.Template`, rewrite the pipeline with `subprocess.run` or `subprocess.Popen`, which is safer and does not shell out through os.system. Search for it including indirect use: `grep -rn 'from pipes\|import pipes' .` Re-run your test suite on 3.13 — a removed stdlib module fails at import time, so the failure appears before any of your logic runs. Source: https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.13.html

Python 3.13

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pipes'

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pipes'

What it means

pipes was removed from the standard library in Python 3.13 under PEP 594. Its only widely used function, pipes.quote, moved to shlex.quote years earlier.

Why it happens

PEP 594 removed nineteen legacy modules in Python 3.13. pipes wrapped shell pipelines around os.system and had been deprecated since 3.11.

How to fix it

If you used `pipes.quote`, replace it with `shlex.quote` — it is the same function and has been the documented location since Python 3.3.
If you used `pipes.Template`, rewrite the pipeline with `subprocess.run` or `subprocess.Popen`, which is safer and does not shell out through os.system.
Search for it including indirect use: `grep -rn 'from pipes\|import pipes' .`
Re-run your test suite on 3.13 — a removed stdlib module fails at import time, so the failure appears before any of your logic runs.

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Primary source: https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.13.html

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