Tag: pip

Update Python Packages (PIP)

We’ve had a run of Python packages recently and you can tell that I’m a fan because today we will discuss how to update Python packages that were installed via PIP. This should be a pretty easy article to follow along with.

Before diving into the world of installing Python packages from a centralized repository (via PIP), you should probably be familiar with the entire process. So, read these two articles before proceeding:

Install Python’s PIP Part One

And then follow up with this article:

Install Python’s PIP Part Two

It’s important to upgrade the packages you’ve installed with PIP. All software requires updates. Bugs are fixed with newer software but, more importantly, security issues are addressed with updates. This doesn’t just apply to Python. It applies to your whole computer. Software gets updated and you need to apply those updates.

So, today we’re going to do some maintenance and we’re going to update Python packages. Rather than waste time with a long intro, let’s get started!

Update Python Packages:

Just so you know, Python packages are installed in the terminal. So, it stands to reason that updates are also done in the terminal. To follow along in this article, you will need an open terminal. So, if you want to update Python packages you should start by opening a terminal. You can usually just CTRL + ALT + T to open your default terminal emulator.

With your terminal open, let’s first ensure PIP is installed with this command:

Next, make sure PIP is updated to the newest version:

With PIP upgraded to the most current version, you can check to see which Python packages you have previously installed. That’s done like this:

Now, you can see which packages can be updated to newer packages:

That will give you an output similar to this:

Now, you can update the packages, like so:

You can also do multiple packages at the same time:

By doing this, you can update your Python packages, at least those installed via PIP. That is indeed pretty easy.

However, I have a command that I certainly didn’t come up with. This is a command I found in my notes and I do not see a reference URL – or I’d cite the source. Doing some searching, I saw that this command is referenced at multiple sites. So, finding the source is problematic for me.

If you want to upgrade all the Python packages at once, try this command:

I tested this and it appears to work well enough. PIP does love to throw errors in the terminal but generally works okay. That command should update all the packages you’ve installed with PIP – including any Python dependencies that were installed at the same time.

See? It’s pretty easy to update Python packages…

Closure:

Well, now you know how to update Python packages. I figured that this was an important article to write. If you’re going to use PIP to install Python packages, you might as well know how to keep yourself secure and how to keep yourself updated. That seemed reasonable.

However, my Python skills aren’t that great. I can do a Hello World program and that’s about it. I haven’t even done that in a while. So, don’t go asking me detailed Python questions! I probably won’t have an answer. My use is pretty limited to things I can trivially install with PIP.

Also, you may not want to ask me questions. While I’ll be polite, my time is constrained these days. I’m just as likely to refer you to a forum or two. You can ask questions. If they’re good, I’ll maybe answer them in an article. I’m just pointing out that you shouldn’t expect too much from me.

“If you don’t expect too much from me, you might not be let down.”

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Install Python’s PIP Part Two

This article may also seem a bit unusual because I covered how to install Python’s PIP in the last article. This article is the second part of that. This is something that seemed like it should be two articles, so it is two articles.

Additionally, I share this information so that I can write future articles. So, by themselves, these two articles won’t accomplish much by themselves. They will come in handy for future reference and that’s the point of this.

In the previous article about how to install Python’s PIP, you learned the basics. In that article, you learned how to install PIP. That’s all well and good, but then you might be confused when you go to install a package installed by PIP.

During the package installation, you may see a warning that looks like this:

This is because PIP installs the packages somewhere like your ~/local/.bin directory. If you then try to run the package from the terminal, it won’t be found. 

For the record, this is for people using Bash. I’m not sure about other shells.

You can still use PIP packages just fine, you just have to specify the path. That’s a pain in the butt and not something you should have to do. Instead, we’re going to add the path as suggested. If you’ve done that, you can just type the package name into the terminal to run your PIP-installed Python applications.

So, let’s do that…

Install Python’s PIP Part Two:

By now it should be obvious that this requires an open terminal. You did read the first article, right? As such, you can usually open your terminal with your keyboard, simply press CTRL + ALT + T, and your default terminal should open.

With your terminal open, we need to add some text to your ~/.bashrc file that sets the path. It’s pretty straightforward and we’ll be using Nano for this. Click that link if you’re not sure if you have Nano installed.

Let’s open the file for editing with this command:

Then scroll to the bottom.

At the bottom, add a new line.

Copy and paste the following:

Next, we save the changes and exit Nano by pressing CTRL + X, then Y, and then ENTER on your keyboard.

No changes will have been made just yet. You could reboot or reload your desktop session if you wanted, but you can tell the shell to reload the file and thus have the changes take effect. To do that, you’d enter this:

At that point, you can install PIP packages and have them run when you just type the command into the terminal. There’s no need to add anything else to the command. This sets the path that PIP was complaining about.

And now you’re ready to install Python PIP packages. This is an important step after you install Python’s PIP. It should serve you well, assuming you want Python packages installed in a pretty simple manner.

IMPORTANT: Read Part 1 to install Python’s PIP.

Closure:

As you can tell by the length, there’s a reason that this is a second article. I’ll have to remember to edit the first article when this article gets published. It’s not that it’s complicated, it’s just long.

So, it seemed best to turn this into a second article – especially because it’s not technically a necessary step. You can comfortably run Python packages by using the file path, but this is much easier.

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Install Python’s PIP Part One

At first blush, today’s article may seem a bit weird – but I am writing this article to write future articles, so let’s install Python’s PIP. Yes, it may seem strange, but there’s a madness to my method! Yes, yes there is. 

Also, there’s going to be a second part to this article. I’ll link to it when it’s time.

This is something many of you may want to do, even if it doesn’t seem appropriate at this point. There are likely to be several future articles that refer back to this article. You’ll likely guess why after reading this article.

Python is a “high-level” programming language. To some of us, it’s one of the ‘new kids on the block’ but it has been around since 1991. It didn’t gain a lot of popularity until fairly recently, which might be why it seems more modern than it is. Well, to be fair, Python is modern. The language has been upgraded consistently.

So, what is PIP? It stands for PIP Installs Python, or maybe PIP Installs Packages. It depends on who you ask. Much like your regular Linux software, there are applications (written in Python) that can be installed from a central repository. This is, of course, done in the terminal – though I’m sure someone’s authored a GUI PIP installer. (Is ‘installer’ redundant?)

Now, here’s the thing… You can install PIP on pretty much every Linux distro out there. There are a zillion (and three) Python applications that can be trivially installed with PIP. This is a pretty good start at making some new and interesting software immediately available for your use.

So, this article is just going to cover how to install Python’s PIP in a variety of Linux distros. This will, of course, be in the terminal!

IMPORTANT: Read Part 2 to finish installing Python’s PIP.

Install Python’s PIP:

PIP is a terminal-based tool – to me.

Some searching sent me to this package to install Python’s PIP in a GUI. I’ve never tried it, so I can’t speak about the quality. Click the following link to learn more about using PIP in a GUI.

Use a GUI to Manage Python Packages.

Edit: I can’t actually make the above work. It also requires PIP to install it.

For the rest of you, it’s time to crack open your default terminal emulator. The majority of you can open the terminal simply by pressing CTRL + ALT + T. If that’s not an option, the shortcut to open your terminal will be in your application menu. 

Now, the syntax to install Python’s PIP is a bit varied. I can only cover those distros that I know about. If your distro isn’t covered, figure it out and let me know. If I make a mistake for your distro, you should also let me know that too!

I’m going to assume that you’re using a modern distro. There’s an older Python 2 PIP. Your modern distro should require Python 3’s PIP. So, we’ll make that assumption and run with it.

Installation Instructions for Python PIP:

Debian/Ubuntu/etc:

SUSE/OpenSUSE/etc:

Fedora/etc:

Arch/Manjaro/etc:

RHEL/CentOS/etc:

There are other ways to install Python’s PIP, I’m sure. Those directions should cover most of the more popular distros. I did a bunch of searching and that’s what I came up with to fill in what was already in my notes.

I hope the information I found is accurate because I tested only one of those commands and ran that command long ago. If you are a regular reader, you might want to go ahead with the installation at this point. You can be reasonably sure that other articles will reference this one – plus you get to enjoy the warm embrace of Python packages even without my help! (You can find ’em on your own.)

By the way, the installation syntax for Python applications via PIP is simple:

It’s that easy to install Python packages (via the terminal) when you have PIP installed. There are so many packages available and we’ll explore some of my favorites in the future.

Right now, I just wanted to prepare you for the task – and to write an article that I can refer back to, which will save me so much time. Can you imagine if I had to include this information in every article that referred to installing Python packages? Man, don’t underestimate my laziness!

IMPORTANT: Read Part 2 to finish installing Python’s PIP.

Closure:

Today’s article didn’t do a whole lot by itself. You didn’t end up with anything new, other than the ability to install Python’s PIP packages. (That ‘packages’ bit seems rather redundant!) Trust me when I say this will come in handy at some point in your Linux journey. Well, it’ll come in handy if you know about it and use it… It otherwise won’t come in handy. So, make it handy!

If you don’t want to wait for future articles, you can start exploring right now! Head to your nearest search engine and look for packages that can be installed with PIP. I’m almost certain that you’ll find at least some system utility that can be installed. You might even find some games that can be installed via PIP. You never know!

Seriously! Don’t wait for me! If you’re new to Python’s PIP, have fun with it! You can look around and find information on your own. I just facilitate things. Every article on my site could at least be figured out by reading other articles (and some documentation). You don’t need me for anything!

Thanks for reading! If you want to help, or if the site has helped you, you can donate, register to help, write an article, or buy inexpensive hosting to start your site. If you scroll down, you can sign up for the newsletter, vote for the article, and comment.

How To: Install PIP In Linux

Today’s article is going to teach you how to install PIP in Linux. PIP is a reverse acronym meaning ‘PIP Installs Packages” and it’s a handy tool for the installation and management of Python applications. This article should be pretty short and easy for anyone to understand. 

This article is going to be pretty basic, merely telling you how to install PIP and not a whole lot more. The reason I write this article is because it needs to be written. I should also point out that Python is a programming language, though I’d expect most visitors to know that already. But, yes, this article needed to be written.

See, I wanted to tell you about a lovely piece of software (or three), but they all need to be installed with PIP. So, rather than write out the long installation instructions for various distros and package managers each time, I figured I’d make a single article that told you how to install PIP.

That’ll save some time and effort. I can refer back to this when those articles are written. There are many Python applications that can be installed with relative ease – just like you’re installing from your regular Linux repositories. PIP’s Python applications can be installed and uninstalled in the terminal while using PIP, so it’s quite easy.

So then, let’s learn how to…

Install PIP In Linux:

Installing PIP requires a terminal. If you don’t know how to open the terminal, you can do so with your keyboard – just press CTRL + ALT + T and your default terminal should open.

Once you have the terminal open, you can install the appropriate PIP. Most folks will be using Python 3, but a smattering of people will still be using Python 2. I will list the installation instructions, where applicable, with Python 2’s instructions first.

Debian/Ubuntu/derivatives:

SUSE/openSUSE/derivatives:

Fedora/derivatives:

RHEL/CentOS/derivatives:

Arch/Manjaro/derivatives:

Slackware:

Read Install PIP For Slackwaare Instructions.

The basic usage of PIP is pip install <package>, pip uninstall <package>, and pip search <package>. My readers are smart enough to understand that without further instructions. You can also learn a lot by using man pip. Now you know how to install PIP in Linux.

Closure:

And there you have it. You have an article telling you how to install PIP in Linux, enabling you to install Python packages/programs quickly and easily inside the Linux terminal. It’s also one more article in my series of articles. I’m now well within a month of when the project is allowed to end and I still have a lot of articles left in me, so I’d expect it to keep going for long into the future. Or at least until someone steps up and takes the site over for me.

Thanks for reading! If you want to help, or if the site has helped you, you can donate, register to help, write an article, or buy inexpensive hosting to start your own site. If you scroll down, you can sign up for the newsletter, vote for the article, and comment.

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