Solving Kivy Installation Error: Installing Kivy in Python 3.8 or Any Version – Fixing “No Module Named Kivy” Error

Kivy is an open-source Python library for developing multi-touch applications. It allows you to create cross-platform applications that run on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. Installing Kivy can sometimes be a bit tricky, especially if you encounter errors during the installation process.

In this tutorial, I will guide you through the process of installing Kivy in Python 3.8 or any other version of Python and help you resolve the "No module named kivy" error that you may encounter.

Step 1: Check Python Version
Before installing Kivy, make sure you have Python installed on your system. You can check the Python version by opening a terminal or command prompt and typing the following command:

python --version

If you don’t have Python installed, download and install it from the official website (https://www.python.org/).

Step 2: Install Dependencies
Before installing Kivy, you need to install some dependencies. These dependencies vary depending on your operating system. For Windows, you can download the dependencies from the following link: https://kivy.org/doc/stable/installation/installation-windows.html. For Mac, you can use Homebrew to install the dependencies:

brew install pkg-config sdl2 sdl2_image sdl2_ttf sdl2_mixer gstreamer

For Linux, you can use the following command to install the dependencies:

sudo apt-get install -y 
python3-pip python3-setuptools python3-dev 
git-core gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad 
gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good 
gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly gstreamer1.0-libav 
gstreamer1.0-python3-gi gstreamer1.0-pulseaudio 
gstreamer1.0-tools libgstreamer1.0-dev 
libssl-dev libsdl2-dev libsdl2-image-dev 
libsdl2-mixer-dev libsdl2-ttf-dev 
libportmidi-dev libswscale-dev 
libavformat-dev libavcodec-dev 
zlib1g-dev

Step 3: Install Kivy
Once you have installed the dependencies, you can proceed to install Kivy. You can use pip to install Kivy by running the following command:

pip install kivy

If you encounter an error during the installation process, it may be due to compatibility issues with the Python version you are using. In that case, you can try installing a specific version of Kivy that is compatible with your Python version:

pip install kivy==2.0.0

Step 4: Resolve "No module named kivy" Error
If you encounter the "No module named kivy" error when importing the Kivy module in your Python script, it may be due to an issue with the Python path or environment variables. You can try the following steps to resolve this error:

1. Check if Kivy is installed correctly by running the following command in the terminal:

pip show kivy

This command will display information about the installed Kivy package. If Kivy is installed correctly, you should see the package details.

1. Check the Python path in your system settings to ensure that the Python executable and the pip executable are in the system path. You can add the Python path to the system path manually if necessary.

2. Restart the terminal or command prompt after installing Kivy to update the system variables.

3. If you are using an IDE such as PyCharm or VS Code, make sure to set the Python interpreter to the correct Python version that has Kivy installed.

By following these steps, you should be able to install Kivy in Python 3.8 or any other version of Python and resolve the "No module named kivy" error. Kivy is a powerful library for developing multi-touch applications, and with the right installation process, you can start building cross-platform applications with ease.