Celery Getting Started has Circular Import Issue (Fix)

The Fix

pip install celery==5.3.5

Based on closed celery/celery issue #8561 · PR/commit linked

Production note: This usually shows up under retries/timeouts. Treat it as a side-effect risk until you can verify behavior with a canary + real traffic.

Jump to Verify Open PR/Commit

@@ -26,9 +26,10 @@ Our Project
 Project layout::
 
-    proj/__init__.py
-        /celery.py
-        /tasks.py

repro.py

I cannot get this to work - how can you import `Celery` from the `celery` module in a file also called `celery` - won't that create a circular import? 

Also the error from running `celery -A proj worker -l INFO` in the project root is

verify

Re-run the minimal reproduction on your broken version, then apply the fix and re-run.

fix.md

Option A — Upgrade to fixed release\npip install celery==5.3.5\nWhen NOT to use: This fix is not applicable if the project structure is already correctly set up.\n\n

Why This Fix Works in Production

Trigger: Error: Invalid value for '-A' / '--app':
Mechanism: The documentation example creates a circular import issue due to naming conflicts
Why the fix works: Improved the documentation to clarify the project structure in the 'Next steps' section, addressing the circular import issue. (first fixed release: 5.3.5).

Production impact:

If left unfixed, the same config can fail only in production (env differences), causing startup failures or partial feature outages.

Why This Breaks in Prod

The documentation example creates a circular import issue due to naming conflicts
Surfaces as: Error: Invalid value for '-A' / '--app':

Proof / Evidence

GitHub issue: #8561
Fix PR: https://github.com/celery/celery/pull/8600
First fixed release: 5.3.5
Reproduced locally: No (not executed)
Last verified: 2026-02-09
Confidence: 0.85
Did this fix it?: Yes (upstream fix exists)
Own content ratio: 0.73

Discussion

High-signal excerpts from the issue thread (symptoms, repros, edge-cases).

Jump to Sources Open on GitHub

“This problem is mentioned in the documentation”

@frolenkov-nikita · 2023-11-02 · source

Failure Signature (Search String)

Error: Invalid value for '-A' / '--app':

Error Message

Stack trace

error.txt

Error Message
-------------
Error: Invalid value for '-A' / '--app':

Minimal Reproduction

repro.py

I cannot get this to work - how can you import `Celery` from the `celery` module in a file also called `celery` - won't that create a circular import? 

Also the error from running `celery -A proj worker -l INFO` in the project root is

What Broke

Users encounter import errors when trying to run the Celery worker with the provided example.

Why It Broke

The documentation example creates a circular import issue due to naming conflicts

Fix Options (Details)

Option A — Upgrade to fixed release Safe default (recommended)

pip install celery==5.3.5

When NOT to use: This fix is not applicable if the project structure is already correctly set up.

Use when you can deploy the upstream fix. It is usually lower-risk than long-lived workarounds.

Fix reference: https://github.com/celery/celery/pull/8600

First fixed release: 5.3.5

Last verified: 2026-02-09. Validate in your environment.

When NOT to Use This Fix

This fix is not applicable if the project structure is already correctly set up.

Verify Fix

verify

Re-run the minimal reproduction on your broken version, then apply the fix and re-run.

Did This Fix Work in Your Case?

Quick signal helps us prioritize which fixes to verify and improve.

Prevention

Capture the exact failing error string in logs and tests so you can reproduce via a minimal script.
Pin production dependencies and upgrade only with a reproducible test that hits the failing path.

Version Compatibility Table

Version	Status
5.3.5	Fixed

Related Issues

No related fixes found.

Cluster: celery:configuration-error Celery hub Celery best practices All hubs All clusters

Related clusters: Data consistency Duplicates Duplicate processing

Sources

We don’t republish the full GitHub discussion text. Use the links above for context.