Pip Install not installing into correct directory?

Question

I can't seem to use sudo pip install correctly so that it installs into the following directory:

/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/

so that I can then import the module using python

I've run

sudo pip install scikit-learn --upgrade

Result

Requirement already up-to-date: scikit-learn in /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages
Cleaning up...

However, it's not in the correct directory

How do I get sudo pip install to install into correct directory?

In addition, I've tried

sudo pip install Scrappy

I get the following message

new-host-2:site-packages Chris$ sudo pip install Scrapy
Password:
Requirement already satisfied (use --upgrade to upgrade): Scrapy in /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages
Requirement already satisfied (use --upgrade to upgrade): Twisted>=10.0.0 in /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages (from Scrapy)
Requirement already satisfied (use --upgrade to upgrade): w3lib>=1.8.0 in /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages (from Scrapy)
Requirement already satisfied (use --upgrade to upgrade): queuelib in /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages (from Scrapy)
Requirement already satisfied (use --upgrade to upgrade): lxml in /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages (from Scrapy)
Requirement already satisfied (use --upgrade to upgrade): pyOpenSSL in /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages (from Scrapy)
Requirement already satisfied (use --upgrade to upgrade): cssselect>=0.9 in /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages (from Scrapy)
Requirement already satisfied (use --upgrade to upgrade): six>=1.5.2 in /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages (from Scrapy)
Requirement already satisfied (use --upgrade to upgrade): zope.interface>=3.6.0 in /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages (from Twisted>=10.0.0->Scrapy)
Requirement already satisfied (use --upgrade to upgrade): cryptography>=0.2.1 in /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages (from pyOpenSSL->Scrapy)
Requirement already satisfied (use --upgrade to upgrade): setuptools in /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages (from zope.interface>=3.6.0->Twisted>=10.0.0->Scrapy)
Requirement already satisfied (use --upgrade to upgrade): cffi>=0.8 in /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages (from cryptography>=0.2.1->pyOpenSSL->Scrapy)
Requirement already satisfied (use --upgrade to upgrade): pycparser in /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages (from cffi>=0.8->cryptography>=0.2.1->pyOpenSSL->Scrapy)

Both these instances demonstrate that it's been installed but not correctly. For example, when I run the following import in python:

import scrapy
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ImportError                               Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-6-51c73a18167b> in <module>()
----> 1 import scrapy

ImportError: No module named scrapy

I've tried the following:

sudo ln -s /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/

Answer 1

I totally agree with the guys, it's better to use virtualenv so you can set a custom environment for every project. It ideal for maintenance because it's like a different world for every project and every update of an application you make won't interfere with other projects.

Here you can find a nutshell of virtualenv related to installation and first steps.

Answer 2

1 - Something that might work

The pip executable is actually a Python script.

By default it contains (on Linux):

#!/usr/bin/python
# EASY-INSTALL-ENTRY-SCRIPT: 'pip==1.5.6','console_scripts','pip'
__requires__ = 'pip==1.5.6'
import sys
from pkg_resources import load_entry_point

if __name__ == '__main__':
    sys.exit(
        load_entry_point('pip==1.5.6', 'console_scripts', 'pip')()
    )

So if you got the same in MacOS, pip would always use /usr/bin/python.

But this is a default. You can still provide the version of python you want either by editing the file or by using python explicitly.

If which python returns /usr/bin/python then something went wrong when you installed your own version. If it is /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/bin/python, you can directly call:

sudo python `which pip` install scikit-learn --upgrade

However, chances are high that it won't work. The reason is that sudo is resetting all your environment variables. To make it work, the easiest would be to use:

sudo -E pip install scikit-learn --upgrade

or

sudo -E python `which pip` install scikit-learn --upgrade

depending on your setup.

2 - What you should do

pip was not thought of as something that root should execute. The actual best way to use it is to install a local, non-root, python version. You just have to make sure that you use it by default by setting up the correct environment variables (such as PATH on Linux) and then install pip without sudo using that python version.

An even better way would be to setup virtualenvs from your root install.

This way, you can install/update whatever you want without root privileges and never bother again about why sudo pip is not working. You would also avoid to provide root privileges to whatever is on Pypi and that would warrant that you don't mix system libs with your own.

Answer 3

This is what worked for me on Windows. The cause being multiple python installations

1. update path with correct python
2. uninstall pip using python -m pip uninstall pip setuptools
3. restart windows didn't work until a restart