“pip install” and “python -m pip install” difference. (2024)

FAQs

“pip install” and “python -m pip install” difference.? ›

That is: if pip.exe is running, Windows will not allow replacing the pip.exe file on disk. This means that pip install --upgrade pip can't work. But python -m pip install --upgrade pip (or py -m pip install --upgrade pip ) can work, because now python.exe is running instead.

-m means "run this module". And pip is the module that it's running.

The difference between pip install and !pip install in Python lies in their execution context: pip install is a command run in a terminal or command prompt to install Python packages. ! pip install is used inside a Jupyter notebook to run the pip install command from within the notebook.

Pip is not only a program that comes with Python, but a piece of Python code that comes with Python. (The program works by starting a Python interpreter to run that code.) It's usually recommended to use Python to run Pip; that also helps with managing multiple versions of Python on the same computer.

Using python -m pip is recommended because, as long as everything is setup properly, it will use the Pip that belongs to which ever Python python means.

In conclusion, both python -m pip install and pip install achieve the same result, but python -m pip install is a more flexible and portable option, while pip install is more convenient but may not work in all scenarios.

Alternatives to Pip include Rye, Pipenv, Conda, and Poetry. Alternatives provide more robust dependency management, platform independence, and a better integrated workflow for Python package management. The blog post Python Has Too Many Package Managers provides a good overview.

pip download does the same resolution and downloading as pip install , but instead of installing the dependencies, it collects the downloaded distributions into the directory provided (defaulting to the current directory).

Can I use pip without Python? ›

To check the PIP status, type the following command in Command Prompt. If there is a response, then PIP is already installed. An error message saying 'this program could not be found' will come if it isn't. PIP is a tool for Python, and you cannot install PIP without Python.

Checking for pip on Windows

The output of pip --version tells you which version of pip is currently installed, and which version of Python it's set up to install packages for. This is especially helpful if you have more than one version of Python installed on your system.

pip (also known by Python 3's alias pip3) is a package-management system written in Python and is used to install and manage software packages. The Python Software Foundation recommends using pip for installing Python applications and its dependencies during deployment.

TL;DR: You can install a specific version of a Python package using Pip by running the pip install <package_name>==<version> command. For example, to install version 1.3. 4 of Pandas, execute the pip install pandas==1.3. 4 command from the Terminal.

Ensure you can run pip from the command line

Run python get-pip.py . [2] This will install or upgrade pip. Additionally, it will install Setuptools and wheel if they're not installed already.

With pip3 the version for Python3 and not Python2 is installed. pip3 always operates on the Python3 environment only, as pip2 does with Python2. pip operates on whichever environment is appropriate to the context. For example if you are in a Python3 venv, pip will operate on the Python3 environment.

The -m switch in Python is a command-line option that allows you to run a module as a script. This means you can execute Python code directly from the command line without the need for an external script file.

PIP is a recursive acronym for “Preferred Installer Program” or PIP Installs Packages. It is a command-line utility that installs, reinstalls, or uninstalls PyPI packages with one simple command: pip.

You can check what "-r" means by running the command below: pip install --help. -r, --requirement Install from the given requirements file. This option can be used multiple times.