I’ve been having a tough time trying to get pip installed on my WSL Ubuntu setup. It’s been super frustrating because I’ve followed a bunch of guides online, but nothing seems to be working, and I feel like I’m going in circles here. So, here’s the deal: I started with the basics, right? I made sure my Ubuntu is up to date by running those usual commands like `sudo apt update` and `sudo apt upgrade`, and that seemed to go fine.
Then, I tried the typical way of installing pip. I ran `sudo apt install python3-pip`, but when I check if it’s installed with `pip3 –version`, it keeps telling me that the command isn’t found. At first, I thought maybe it was just an issue with the command not being recognized, but I even tried running `sudo apt install python-pip` just to cover my bases, and still nothing.
After that, I figured I could try using the get-pip.py script. I downloaded it using `curl`, and when I ran it with `python3 get-pip.py`, it looked like it was installing, and I was hopeful. But once that finished, again no luck with `pip3 –version`. I also checked if Python is installed at all, and it seems to be there, since I can run `python3 –version` without any problems.
To make things even trickier, I noticed some permission error messages when trying some commands, which got me worried. I tried updating the permissions, but that didn’t seem to do the trick either.
If anyone out there has faced this same issue or knows what I might be missing, I’d really appreciate any advice or troubleshooting steps. I’m feeling a bit lost right now, and it’s slowing down my whole project. Thanks in advance for any help – it feels like this is one of those small things that’s turning into a huge mountain!
Here are some steps you can try:
If you’ve already updated your packages with
and
, that’s a good start!
Next, to install pip, stick with the Python 3 version by running:
If that still doesn’t work, you might want to check if the pip executable is in your PATH. Try this command:
If it returns nothing, pip3 is indeed not installed properly. You can also try reinstalling it by purging the package first:
If you’re still in trouble:
Try getting pip using the get-pip.py script again, but make sure you have curl and Python 3 already set up:
Check your Python installation:
Run:
If this works, but pip doesn’t, it’s likely a PATH issue. You can check your PATH by running:
Make sure
/usr/local/binis included in your PATH, as that’s where pip is usually installed.Permissions issue:
If you see permission-related errors, try using:
This way, pip runs with appropriate permissions.
If all else fails:
You can create a virtual environment where you can install pip without needing sudo. Run these commands:
Then try installing pip inside this environment:
Final Thoughts:
Even if it feels frustrating, this is a common issue for many beginners. Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you’re still stuck!
It sounds like you are encountering multiple challenges while trying to install pip on your WSL Ubuntu setup. Given that your system is already updated and Python 3 is functioning correctly, the issue likely lies in either the installation process or a missing path for the pip command. First, ensure that the version of Ubuntu you are using is supported; pip is typically available through the package manager for standard Ubuntu distributions. Since you successfully ran `sudo apt install python3-pip`, you should also check the installation path. You can do this by executing `which pip3` to see if the command exists in the expected directory. If the command is not found, the installation may have failed or the binary could be located in a directory that is not in your system’s PATH environment variable. You can add the path to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.profile file if necessary.
If using the `get-pip.py` script, verify that the installation completed without errors. Sometimes, permission issues can arise. If you see warnings or error messages about permissions, running the script with `sudo` might help: `sudo python3 get-pip.py`. After installation, ensure that pip3 is indeed installed by checking both the `~/.local/bin` directory and the global `/usr/local/bin` and `/usr/bin`. If pip3 is located in `~/.local/bin`, you may need to add this to your PATH variable which can be done by adding `export PATH=”$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH”` to your ~/.bashrc file and then running `source ~/.bashrc`. If these steps do not resolve the issue, consider reinstalling Python entirely or investigating if your WSL setup has any misconfigurations that might affect installing packages.