Failed to import the required Python library (hcloud-python)

[jobetinfosec]

Bug Report

Current Behavior

When running an Ansible script, an error shows up and the script stops:
"Failed to import the required Python library (hcloud-python) on computer's Python /usr/bin/python3. Please read the module documentation and install it in the appropriate location."

Input Code

- name: Create a basic Hetzner hcloud server with ssh key
  hcloud_server:
    api_token: "{{ hcloud_token }}"
    image: "{{ hcloud_image }}"
    location:  "{{ hcloud_location }}"
    name: "{{ item }}"
    server_type: "{{ hcloud_type }}"
    ssh_keys:
      - "{{ hcloud_ssh }}"
    state: present
  with_inventory_hostnames:
    - webservers
  register: hcloud_info

Expected behavior/code

Virtual server creation

Environment

• Linux Ubuntu Desktop [21.04]
• Python Version: [3.9.5]
• Hcloud-Python Version: [1.13.0]
• Ansible version: [2.11.3]
• Ansible Galaxy hcloud collection version: [1.4.4]

[resmo]

not a bug

I assume you installed ansible with python2 pip. But hcloud is python3 only. You should consider to use python3 venv anyway to be independend of systems python and OS.

apt-get install python3 python3-pip python3-venv
cd to-your-playbooks
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

# you are now in a venv, install python deps
pip install ansible hcloud-python

# to get your PATH updated, leave venv with deactivate and activate again
deactivate
source venv/bin/activate

ansible --version

[jobetinfosec]

Hi resmo,
I didn't install Ansible with pip 2, but directly with Ubuntu's apt manager. I installed hcloud with pip3 (pip3 install hcloud).
I tried once again with 2 differents Ubuntu versions, 20.04 (with Python 3.8) and 21.10 (Python 3.9) but both are throwing the same error: Failed to import the required Python library (hcloud-python) on computer's Python /usr/bin/python3

The only laptop where this is working is on a MacBook Pro (Python 3.9 and hcloud 1.12).
Comparing a bit both installations (Mac and Ubuntu) I noticed something that maybe could be relevant...
running the command which hcloud shows /usr/local/bin/hcloud (in Mac laptop) but nothing shows up in the Ubuntu laptop....

[resmo]

hi @jobetinfosec

Debian packages for ansible used to rely on python2 and that is why it will not use python3 libraries. Install ansible in a venv for python3 as I posted.

[jobetinfosec]

Bonjour @resmo

Now the problem with hcloud is gone, but now a SSH key not found error shows up... ;-)
In my Ansible's hosts file I have this directive: ansible_ssh_private_key_file=~/.ssh/id_rsa

When running Ansible in a virtual environment, does it lookup for files outside the virtual env? or is limited only to it?

[resmo]

@jobetinfosec lookup is not limited to the venv, the venv is only for python dependency it is not a "container" or a "secured environment"

Nevertheless, I tested it and confirm this worked.

- hosts: localhost
  tasks:
  - debug:
      msg: "{{ lookup('file', '~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub') }}"

[psi-4ward]

Same here on arch-linux

Ansible reports Python /usr/bin/python

$ /usr/bin/python --version
Python 3.9.7

$ pip --version
pip 20.3.4 from /usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pip (python 3.9)

$ pip install hcloud-python
Defaulting to user installation because normal site-packages is not writeable
ERROR: Could not find a version that satisfies the requirement hcloud-python
ERROR: No matching distribution found for hcloud-python

$ pip install hcloud
Defaulting to user installation because normal site-packages is not writeable
Requirement already satisfied: hcloud in /home/user/.local/lib/python3.9/site-packages (1.16.0)

SOLVED:
The playbook uses become (root) and the hcloud-pkg was installed for the user.
So become: false in the task solves it. :)

[olegsidokhmetov]

I have the same issue ansible-playbook -vvv server-create-init.yml

my playbook

---

- hosts: localhost 
  gather_facts: false
  become: false 
  vars_files:
    - /etc/ansible/roles/server-create/defaults/main.yml
    - /etc/ansible/roles/server-create/vars/main.yml

  roles:
    - role: "/etc/ansible/roles/server-create"

Task:

---

- name: Create a basic server
  hcloud_server:
    api_token: "{{ token }}"
    name: "{{ item.name }}"
    server_type: "{{ item.server_type }}"
    image: "{{ item.os_image }}"
    state: present
  register: server
  with_items: "{{ server }}"

Can not find any solves of this issue (hcloud-python) . Could you please help with solution?

root@ip-172-31-27-151:/usr/bin# pip install ansible hcloud-python

Requirement already satisfied: ansible in /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages (5.4.0)
ERROR: Could not find a version that satisfies the requirement hcloud-python (from versions: none)
ERROR: No matching distribution found for hcloud-python

root@ip-172-31-27-151:/usr/bin# python3 --version

Python 3.8.10

/etc/ansible/hosts

[Server_hetzner]
localhost ansible_connection=local

[all:vars]
ansible_python_interpreter=/usr/bin/python3

root@ip-172-31-27-151:/usr/bin# cat /etc/os-release

NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="20.04.4 LTS (Focal Fossa)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTS"
VERSION_ID="20.04"
HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/privacy-policy"
VERSION_CODENAME=focal
UBUNTU_CODENAME=focal

[RogelioCodes]

I have the same issue ansible-playbook -vvv server-create-init.yml

my playbook

---

- hosts: localhost 
  gather_facts: false
  become: false 
  vars_files:
    - /etc/ansible/roles/server-create/defaults/main.yml
    - /etc/ansible/roles/server-create/vars/main.yml

  roles:
    - role: "/etc/ansible/roles/server-create"

Task:

---

- name: Create a basic server
  hcloud_server:
    api_token: "{{ token }}"
    name: "{{ item.name }}"
    server_type: "{{ item.server_type }}"
    image: "{{ item.os_image }}"
    state: present
  register: server
  with_items: "{{ server }}"

Can not find any solves of this issue (hcloud-python) . Could you please help with solution?

root@ip-172-31-27-151:/usr/bin# pip install ansible hcloud-python

Requirement already satisfied: ansible in /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages (5.4.0)
ERROR: Could not find a version that satisfies the requirement hcloud-python (from versions: none)
ERROR: No matching distribution found for hcloud-python

root@ip-172-31-27-151:/usr/bin# python3 --version

Python 3.8.10

/etc/ansible/hosts

[Server_hetzner]
localhost ansible_connection=local

[all:vars]
ansible_python_interpreter=/usr/bin/python3

root@ip-172-31-27-151:/usr/bin# cat /etc/os-release

NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="20.04.4 LTS (Focal Fossa)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTS"
VERSION_ID="20.04"
HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/privacy-policy"
VERSION_CODENAME=focal
UBUNTU_CODENAME=focal

I just wanted to check in and say the same thing started happening to me about 4 days ago as well. I was out of office for the weekend and only noticed today(monday)

[github-actions]

This issue has been marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. The bot will close the issue if no further action occurs.

[jimkoen]

Having the same issue here, on Mac OS Monterey with Python/Pip 3.10

EDIT: For anyone encountering this error, while the error message calls the package hcloud-python, when installing it via pip, you do in fact want just want hcloud

pip install hcloud

[cx-networks-gmbh]

Maybe this can help someone in the future:
We had the same issue on ubuntu 22.04. We were moving from an installation without virtual env to an installation with virtual env. The tasks originally executed on an "ansible" group:

# hosts.yml
---
all:
  hosts:
    ansible:
      ansible_host: localhost
      ansible_connection: local

# TestPlaybook.yml
---
- name: Get some infos
  hosts: ansible
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Gather facts about the cloud # <-- Fails
      hetzner.hcloud.hcloud_server_info:
        name: "testhost"
        api_token: "{{ hetzner_cloud_api_token }}"

Therefore ansible set the python3 interpreter to usr/bin/python3 but the python interpreter was in the virtual enviroment ~/venv/bin/python3. Setting the hosts to just localhost fixed it for us.

# TestPlaybook.yml
---
- name: Get some infos
  hosts: localhost
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Gather facts about the cloud # <-- Fails
      hetzner.hcloud.hcloud_server_info:
        name: "testhost"
        api_token: "{{ hetzner_cloud_api_token }}"

Were are wondering about why the python interpreter in the venv does import the library without errors because it is just a symbolic link to /usr/bin/python3 but we did not investigate it further.