PIP-INSTALL(1)

💖 hey bestie, it's PIP-INSTALL(1) time 💖

okay so. this is the manual page for the pip install command — like, the single most iconic thing you will ever type into a terminal. it's the main character of your dev environment, fr fr. let's get into it 🫶

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🌸 NAME 🌸

pip-install — literally just the whole description of the pip install command. that's it. that's the name. slay.

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

bestie, pip install can pull packages in from a bunch of places. like, a whole menu:

• PyPI (and other indexes too, iykyk) using requirement specifiers.
• VCS project urls.
• Local project directories.
• Local or remote source archives.

and on top of all that, pip also supports installing from "requirements files", which are genuinely the easiest way to describe a whole entire environment that you want installed at once. one file, whole vibe, done. 💅

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🌈 USAGE 🌈

here's the shape of it, all five flavors:

python -m pip install [options] <requirement specifier> [package-index-options] ...
python -m pip install [options] -r <requirements file> [package-index-options] ...
python -m pip install [options] [-e] <vcs project url> ...
python -m pip install [options] [-e] <local project path> ...
python -m pip install [options] <archive url/path> ...

pick your fighter. 🎀

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👑 OPTIONS 👑

this is the long part and honestly? every single one of these matters. no skimming, bestie.

• -r, --requirement <file> — Install from the given requirements file. you can use this option multiple times if you're feeling extra. (environment variable: PIP_REQUIREMENT)
• -c, --constraint <file> — Constrain versions using the given constraints file. also usable multiple times. (environment variable: PIP_CONSTRAINT)
• --build-constraint <file> — Constrain build dependencies using the given constraints file. yep, multiple times again. (environment variable: PIP_BUILD_CONSTRAINT)
• --requirements-from-script <file> — Install dependencies of the given script file as defined by PEP 723 inline metadata. (environment variable: PIP_REQUIREMENTS_FROM_SCRIPT)
• --no-deps — Don't install package dependencies. just the one thing, nothing riding along. (environment variable: PIP_NO_DEPS, PIP_NO_DEPENDENCIES)
• -e, --editable <path/url> — Install a project in editable mode (i.e. setuptools "develop mode") from a local project path or a VCS url. the classic "I'm editing this as I go" move. (environment variable: PIP_EDITABLE)
• --dry-run — Don't actually install anything, just print what would be. can be used in combination with --ignore-installed to 'resolve' the requirements. window shopping, basically. (environment variable: PIP_DRY_RUN)
• -t, --target <dir> — Install packages into <dir>. by default this will not replace existing files/folders in <dir>. use --upgrade to replace existing packages in <dir> with new versions. (environment variable: PIP_TARGET)
• --platform <platform> — Only use wheels compatible with <platform>. defaults to the platform of the running system. use this option multiple times to specify multiple platforms supported by the target interpreter. (environment variable: PIP_PLATFORM)
• --python-version <python_version> — The Python interpreter version to use for wheel and "Requires-Python" compatibility checks. defaults to a version derived from the running interpreter. you can specify it with up to three dot-separated integers (e.g. "3" for 3.0.0, "3.7" for 3.7.0, or "3.7.3"). a major-minor version can also be given as a string without dots (e.g. "37" for 3.7.0). (environment variable: PIP_PYTHON_VERSION)
• --implementation <implementation> — Only use wheels compatible with Python implementation <implementation>, e.g. 'pp', 'jy', 'cp', or 'ip'. if not specified, then the current interpreter implementation is used. use 'py' to force implementation-agnostic wheels. (environment variable: PIP_IMPLEMENTATION)
• --abi <abi> — Only use wheels compatible with Python abi <abi>, e.g. 'pypy_41'. if not specified, then the current interpreter abi tag is used. use this option multiple times to specify multiple abis supported by the target interpreter. generally you will need to specify --implementation, --platform, and --python-version when using this option. (environment variable: PIP_ABI)
• --user — Install to the Python user install directory for your platform. typically ~/.local/, or %APPDATA%Python on Windows. (see the Python documentation for site.USER_BASE for full details.) (environment variable: PIP_USER)
• --root <dir> — Install everything relative to this alternate root directory. (environment variable: PIP_ROOT)
• --prefix <dir> — Installation prefix where lib, bin and other top-level folders are placed. note that the resulting installation may contain scripts and other resources which reference the Python interpreter of pip, and not that of --prefix. see also the --python option if the intention is to install packages into another (possibly pip-free) environment. (environment variable: PIP_PREFIX)
• --src <dir> — Directory to check out editable projects into. the default in a virtualenv is "<venv path>/src". the default for global installs is "<current dir>/src". (environment variable: PIP_SRC, PIP_SOURCE, PIP_SOURCE_DIR, PIP_SOURCE_DIRECTORY)
• -U, --upgrade — Upgrade all specified packages to the newest available version. the handling of dependencies depends on the upgrade-strategy used. (environment variable: PIP_UPGRADE)
• --upgrade-strategy <upgrade_strategy> — Determines how dependency upgrading should be handled [default: only-if-needed]. "eager" — dependencies are upgraded regardless of whether the currently installed version satisfies the requirements of the upgraded package(s). "only-if-needed" — upgraded only when they do not satisfy the requirements of the upgraded package(s). (environment variable: PIP_UPGRADE_STRATEGY)
• --force-reinstall — Reinstall all packages even if they are already up-to-date. (environment variable: PIP_FORCE_REINSTALL)
• -I, --ignore-installed — Ignore the installed packages, overwriting them.

⚠️ bestie this one is serious — it can break your system if the existing package is of a different version or was installed with a different package manager! 😭

(environment variable: PIP_IGNORE_INSTALLED)

• --ignore-requires-python — Ignore the Requires-Python information. (environment variable: PIP_IGNORE_REQUIRES_PYTHON)
• --no-build-isolation — Disable isolation when building a modern source distribution. build dependencies specified by PEP 518 must already be installed if this option is used. (environment variable: PIP_NO_BUILD_ISOLATION)
• --check-build-dependencies — Check the build dependencies. (environment variable: PIP_CHECK_BUILD_DEPENDENCIES)
• --break-system-packages — Allow pip to modify an EXTERNALLY-MANAGED Python installation. (environment variable: PIP_BREAK_SYSTEM_PACKAGES)
• -C, --config-settings <settings> — Configuration settings to be passed to the build backend. settings take the form KEY=VALUE. use multiple --config-settings options to pass multiple keys to the backend. (environment variable: PIP_CONFIG_SETTINGS)
• --compile — Compile Python source files to bytecode. (environment variable: PIP_COMPILE)
• --no-compile — Do not compile Python source files to bytecode. (environment variable: PIP_NO_COMPILE)
• --no-warn-script-location — Do not warn when installing scripts outside PATH. (environment variable: PIP_NO_WARN_SCRIPT_LOCATION)
• --no-warn-conflicts — Do not warn about broken dependencies. (environment variable: PIP_NO_WARN_CONFLICTS)
• --require-hashes — Require a hash to check each requirement against, for repeatable installs. this option is implied when any package in a requirements file has a --hash option. (environment variable: PIP_REQUIRE_HASHES)
• --progress-bar <progress_bar> — Specify whether the progress bar should be used. in 'auto' mode, --quiet will suppress all progress bars. [auto, on, off, raw] (default: auto) (environment variable: PIP_PROGRESS_BAR)
• --root-user-action <root_user_action> — Action if pip is run as a root user [warn, ignore] (default: warn) (environment variable: PIP_ROOT_USER_ACTION)
• --report <file> — Generate a JSON file describing what pip did to install the provided requirements. can be used in combination with --dry-run and --ignore-installed to 'resolve' the requirements. when - is used as file name it writes to stdout. when writing to stdout, please combine with the --quiet option to avoid mixing pip logging output with JSON output. (environment variable: PIP_REPORT)
• --group <[path:]group> — Install a named dependency-group from a "pyproject.toml" file. if a path is given, the name of the file must be "pyproject.toml". defaults to using "pyproject.toml" in the current directory. (environment variable: PIP_GROUP)
• --no-clean — Don't clean up build directories. (environment variable: PIP_NO_CLEAN)

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🦋 Author 🦋

pip developers — the collective, the icon, the legend. 🫶

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🌟 Copyright 🌟

The pip developers.

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and that's the whole page bestie!! ✨ this was PIP-INSTALL(1), version 26.0, dated Aug 26, 2026, from the fine folks at pip. go install something cute, and remember: read the flags before you break your system. mwah 💅🎀💖