PIP3-HELP(1)

📦
version 26.1.2 · 7 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 NAME 💖

pip3-help — bestie, this is the glow-up guide to the pip3 help command, aka the little angel that tells you how to use everything else. Lives in the pip manual (section 1), and yes she's iconic for it. 👑

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

Show help for commands. That's it, that's the vibe. You ask, it answers. Main character energy, no drama.

🌸 USAGE 🌸

python -m pip help <command>
Feed her a <command> and she'll spill everything you need to know about it. 🫶

💅 OPTIONS 💅

  • -h, --help — Show help. The classic. The blueprint. The one you literally just typed to get here. 😭 (environment variable: PIP_HELP)
  • --debug — Let unhandled exceptions propagate outside the main subroutine, instead of logging them to stderr. So instead of quietly tucking the mess into stderr, the error gets to walk out the front door and be seen. Fr fr. 🚪 (environment variable: PIP_DEBUG)
  • --isolated — Run pip in an isolated mode, ignoring environment variables and user configuration. No outside opinions, she's in her own little bubble. 🫧 (environment variable: PIP_ISOLATED)
  • --require-virtualenv — Allow pip to only run in a virtual environment; exit with an error otherwise. If there's no venv, bestie is not doing it. 🚫 (environment variable: PIP_REQUIRE_VIRTUALENV, PIP_REQUIRE_VENV)
  • --python <python> — Run pip with the specified Python interpreter. Pick your fighter. 🥊 (environment variable: PIP_PYTHON)
  • -v, --verbose — Give more output. Option is additive, and can be used up to 3 times. Stack it, queen. ⭐ (environment variable: PIP_VERBOSE)
  • -V, --version — Show version and exit. Quick peek, then she's gone. 👋 (environment variable: PIP_VERSION)
  • -q, --quiet — Give less output. Option is additive, and can be used up to 3 times (corresponding to WARNING, ERROR, and CRITICAL logging levels). Shhh. The louder levels literally fall away one by one — WARNING, then ERROR, then CRITICAL. 🤫 (environment variable: PIP_QUIET)
  • --log <path> — Path to a verbose appending log. Everything goes in the diary, and the diary only grows. 📓 (environment variable: PIP_LOG, PIP_LOG_FILE, PIP_LOCAL_LOG)
  • --no-input — Disable prompting for input. Nope, no questions asked, no typing back. 🙈 (environment variable: PIP_NO_INPUT)
  • --keyring-provider <keyring_provider> — Enable the credential lookup via the keyring library if user input is allowed. Specify which mechanism to use [auto, disabled, import, subprocess]. (default: auto) (environment variable: PIP_KEYRING_PROVIDER)
  • --proxy <proxy> — Specify a proxy in the form scheme://[user:passwd@]proxy.server:port. Yes, that exact shape, copy it exactly. 🧚 (environment variable: PIP_PROXY)
  • --retries <retries> — Maximum attempts to establish a new HTTP connection. (default: 5) She will try five whole times before she gives up on you. 💪 (environment variable: PIP_RETRIES)
  • --timeout <sec> — Set the socket timeout (default 15 seconds). Don't we all need a lil timeout. ⏰ (environment variable: PIP_TIMEOUT, PIP_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT)
  • --exists-action <action> — Default action when a path already exists: (s)witch, (i)gnore, (w)ipe, (b)ackup, (a)bort. Five whole choices, pick your coping mechanism. 💀 (environment variable: PIP_EXISTS_ACTION)
  • --trusted-host <hostname> — Mark this host or host:port pair as trusted, even though it does not have valid or any HTTPS. Trusting with no receipt, bestie. Be careful out there. 💖 (environment variable: PIP_TRUSTED_HOST)
  • --cert <path> — Path to PEM-encoded CA certificate bundle. If provided, overrides the default. See 'SSL Certificate Verification' in pip documentation for more information. (environment variable: PIP_CERT)
  • --client-cert <path> — Path to SSL client certificate, a single file containing the private key and the certificate in PEM format. One file, both secrets, very efficient of her. 🔐 (environment variable: PIP_CLIENT_CERT)
  • --cache-dir <dir> — Store the cache data in <dir>. Tell her where to keep her stuff. 🎀 (environment variable: PIP_CACHE_DIR)
  • --no-cache-dir — Disable the cache. No hoarding today. 🧹 (environment variable: PIP_NO_CACHE_DIR)
  • --disable-pip-version-check — Don't periodically check PyPI to determine whether a new version of pip is available for download. Implied with --no-index. She stops peeking at PyPI for updates. ✨ (environment variable: PIP_DISABLE_PIP_VERSION_CHECK)
  • --no-color — Suppress colored output. A beige moment, if you must. 🌈 (environment variable: PIP_NO_COLOR)
  • --use-feature <feature> — Enable new functionality, that may be backward incompatible. Fresh off the runway, might break your old stuff. ⚠️ (environment variable: PIP_USE_FEATURE)
  • --use-deprecated <feature> — Enable deprecated functionality, that will be removed in the future. On her way out the door, hun. Enjoy it while it lasts. 🕰️ (environment variable: PIP_USE_DEPRECATED)
  • --resume-retries <resume_retries> — Maximum attempts to resume or restart an incomplete download. (default: 5) Quitters never win, and five tries is the rule. 🔥 (environment variable: PIP_RESUME_RETRIES)

👑 Author 👑

pip developers — the whole squad, no cap.

The pip developers. Respect the icon. 🫶

And that's the whole page, bestie!! This was pulled straight from the pip manual, version 26.1, dated Jun 02, 2026 — and if you flip back to where you started, the header says PIP3-HELP(1) in the pip section of the manual. Slay, go help yourself. 💅✨

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