PIP-CONFIG(1)

💖 PIP-CONFIG(1) 💖

okay bestie, welcome to the pip config manual page — yeah it's from the pip manual fam, and it's literally the glow-up your pip setup has been waiting for. sit down, grab a strawberry 🍓, we're doing config.

---

✨ NAME ✨

pip-config — the rundown on the pip config command, aka the place where you tell pip how to behave forever and ever 💅

---

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

Manage local and global configuration. that's the whole vibe. you're writing down rules so pip remembers them later. no cap.

The subcommands, and yes you need to know all of them:

• list: List the active configuration (or from the file specified)
• edit: Edit the configuration file in an editor
• get: Get the value associated with command.option
• set: Set the command.option=value
• unset: Unset the value associated with command.option
• debug: List the configuration files and values defined under them

---

okay so here's the part that actually matters 🫶 — configuration keys should be dot separated command and option name, with the special prefix "global" affecting any command. like, the way that works is:

• pip config set global.index-url https://example.org/ — this would configure the index url for all commands ✨
• pip config set download.timeout 10 — this would configure a 10 second timeout only for pip download commands 👑

so yeah, one little word at the front and it's giving global. iconic.

---

now, the file situation. listen up because this is the plot twist 😭:

If none of --user, --global and --site are passed, a virtual environment configuration file is used if one is active and the file exists. Otherwise, all modifications happen to the user file by default.

so basically: no flags + active venv + file actually exists = venv config gets it. anything else = user file. that's the default, periodt.

---

💅 USAGE 💅

python -m pip config [<file-option>] list
python -m pip config [<file-option>] [--editor <editor-path>] edit

python -m pip config [<file-option>] get command.option
python -m pip config [<file-option>] set command.option value
python -m pip config [<file-option>] unset command.option
python -m pip config [<file-option>] debug

like. it's giving versatility. every subcommand, every mood 🦋

---

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

• --editor <editor> — the editor to use to edit the file. if you don't hand one over, it uses the VISUAL or EDITOR environment variables instead. (environment variable: PIP_EDITOR)
• --global — use the system-wide configuration file only. (environment variable: PIP_GLOBAL)
• --user — use the user configuration file only. (environment variable: PIP_USER)
• --site — use the current environment configuration file only. (environment variable: PIP_SITE)

note the word "only" on those three, bestie — that's not decoration, that's the whole point. no mixing. pick a lane 🚗💨

---

🌈 Author 🌈

pip developers — the collective. the main characters. we stan 👑

---

⭐ Copyright ⭐

The pip developers

---

and that's the page!! 🧚 you now know how to list, edit, get, set, unset and debug your pip config like an absolute legend. go forth and set things. 🔥

version 26.0 · dated Aug 26, 2026 · mwah, bye bestie 💖🎀🦋