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I'm confused by the intended pip usage. Pip comes installed with Python, which is great, but I get the following warnings when new versions come out:

WARNING: You are using pip version 21.1.1; however, version 21.1.3 is available.
You should consider upgrading via the '/usr/local/opt/[email protected]/bin/python3.8 -m pip install --upgrade pip' command.

I follow the instructions to install it using the command they gave. But then it uninstalls my existing pip and is not able to install the new version.

Installing collected packages: pip
  Attempting uninstall: pip
    Found existing installation: pip 21.1.1
    Uninstalling pip-21.1.1:
ERROR: Could not install packages due to an OSError: Cannot move the non-empty directory '/usr/local/lib/python3.8/site-packages/pip-21.1.1.dist-info/': Lacking write permission to '/usr/local/lib/python3.8/site-packages/pip-21.1.1.dist-info/'.

The pip command is now unrecognized, and the official documentation for upgrading pip suggests running:

python -m pip install -U pip

which gives the same permission error.

I Google this error, and found that the community highly advises to not sudo from these questions (this and this). They also advised pip3 install --upgrade pip --user which also gave the same error. The common consensus is to only install pip packages inside virtual environments, but I'm hesitant to have pip completely uninstalled.

So I got pip to install using sudo, but it's unclear whether I've inadvertently affected (or will affect future) system-wide installations, or how I'd check for these.

I don't understand why installing pip inside /usr/local/ requires sudo, and whether I should only be using pip exclusively inside virtual environments and never outside it

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  • Because the /usr/local folder is owned by root. You aren't allowed to change it. As a rule, I tend to install most packages with sudo, just so they're available everywhere.
    – Tim Roberts
    Commented Jul 15, 2021 at 19:55
  • In general, /usr/local is a root owned area. It is better to keep permissions strict because you install a lot less frequently than you run. If you are using a system-wide python that all users can use, then it makes sense not to allow users to install whatever package they want. Any user can install packages / libraries locally with user. All that being said, it is fine to upgrade pip with sudo.
    – d_kennetz
    Commented Jul 15, 2021 at 19:56
  • What installed pip under /usr/local/opt in the first place? That's the only thing that should be upgrading pip. If you want a more up-to-date version without touching /usr/local/opt, create a virtual environment first.
    – chepner
    Commented Jul 15, 2021 at 20:01
  • pip is not part of the standard Python distribution; it's a 3rd-party tool that some particular distribution installed along with Python.
    – chepner
    Commented Jul 15, 2021 at 20:08
  • Did the Python you're using come with your distro? In particular is pip a package in your package manager? If so, upgrade pip using the package manager. (The upgrade might not be available right away through that channel, though. Alternatively, uninstall that and install pip using python -m ensurepip
    – kindall
    Commented Jul 15, 2021 at 21:26

2 Answers 2

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pip can be installed with sudo, into a folder that you don't have permissions to write to. However, it can install packages outside of that folder (and thus, into a folder you have write permissions). However, it is recommended that you don't install pip into a root folder, and instead install it into your home directory.

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The command to install pip as root is

sudo apt-get install pip

It should then prompt you for your password. I recommend using sudo whenever you install something.

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