urllib3 Deprecate urllib3.request module (Fix)

The Fix

pip install urllib3==1.26.7

Based on closed urllib3/urllib3 issue #2269 · PR/commit linked

Production note: Most teams hit this during upgrades or environment changes. Roll out with a canary and smoke critical endpoints (health, OpenAPI/docs) before 100%.

Jump to Verify Open PR/Commit

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Removed the ``urllib3.request`` module. ``urllib3.request.RequestMethods`` has been made a private API.
+
+This change was made to ensure that ``from urllib3 import request`` imported the top-level ``request()``

repro.py

>> import urllib3
>> resp = urllib3.request("GET", "https://httpbin.org/robots.txt")
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: 'module' object is not callable

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 urllib3==1.26.7\nWhen NOT to use: This fix should not be applied if backward compatibility with the `request` module is required.\n\n

Why This Fix Works in Production

Trigger: >> import urllib3
Mechanism: The presence of both a `request` module and a `request` function caused import conflicts
Why the fix works: Removed the `urllib3.request` module and made `urllib3.request.RequestMethods` a private API to improve import behavior. (first fixed release: 1.26.7).

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 presence of both a `request` module and a `request` function caused import conflicts
Surfaces as: >> import urllib3

Proof / Evidence

GitHub issue: #2269
Fix PR: https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/pull/2398
First fixed release: 1.26.7
Reproduced locally: No (not executed)
Last verified: 2026-02-09
Confidence: 0.95
Did this fix it?: Yes (upstream fix exists)
Own content ratio: 0.62

Discussion

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

Jump to Sources Open on GitHub

“Probably it's the same issue but following the instructions from the website: Not a good first-user experience. At least update the documentation.”

@atodorov · 2021-06-24 · source

“@atodorov Sorry that happened! Where did you find the link to those docs btw? We just recently fixed URLs on the 1.26.x Github branch to…”

@sethmlarson · 2021-06-24 · confirmation · source

“@atodorov As mentioned by @sethmlarson above, we know that latest points to the unreleased v2, while https://urllib3.readthedocs.io/en/stable/ and https://urllib3.readthedocs.io/en/1.26.x/ will show you the docs of…”

@pquentin · 2021-06-25 · confirmation · source

“This is all very true, unfortunately urllib3 painted itself into a corner by documenting its internals as public APIs.”

@pquentin · 2021-06-17 · source

Failure Signature (Search String)

>> import urllib3

Error Message

Stack trace

error.txt

Error Message
-------------
>> import urllib3
>> resp = urllib3.request("GET", "https://httpbin.org/robots.txt")
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: 'module' object is not callable

Minimal Reproduction

repro.py

>> import urllib3
>> resp = urllib3.request("GET", "https://httpbin.org/robots.txt")
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: 'module' object is not callable

What Broke

Users experienced TypeErrors when attempting to call the `request` function due to import issues.

Why It Broke

The presence of both a `request` module and a `request` function caused import conflicts

Fix Options (Details)

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

pip install urllib3==1.26.7

When NOT to use: This fix should not be applied if backward compatibility with the `request` module is required.

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

Fix reference: https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/pull/2398

First fixed release: 1.26.7

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

When NOT to Use This Fix

This fix should not be applied if backward compatibility with the `request` module is required.

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

Add a CI check that diffs key outputs after upgrades (OpenAPI schema snapshots, JSON payload shapes, CLI output).
Upgrade behind a canary and run integration tests against the canary before 100% rollout.

Version Compatibility Table

Version	Status
1.26.7	Fixed

Related Issues

No related fixes found.

Cluster: urllib3:configuration-error urllib3 hub urllib3 best practices All hubs All clusters

Related clusters: Data consistency SSL handshake Other

Sources

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