How to Fix the Externally-Managed-Environment Error When Using Pip?

Luca Liu
2 min readJun 26, 2024

How to Fix the Externally-Managed-Environment Error ?

When you use pip to install Python packages, you may encounter an ‘externally-managed-environment’ error.

error: externally-managed-environment
× This environment is externally managed
╰─> To install Python packages system-wide, try brew install
xyz, where xyz is the package you are trying to
install.

If you wish to install a Python library that isn't in Homebrew,
use a virtual environment:

python3 -m venv path/to/venv
source path/to/venv/bin/activate
python3 -m pip install xyz

If you wish to install a Python application that isn't in Homebrew,
it may be easiest to use 'pipx install xyz', which will manage a
virtual environment for you. You can install pipx with

brew install pipx
...

Solution 1: use a virtual environment

create a virtual environment folder in your root path

python3 -m venv ~/py_envs
source ~/py_envs/bin/activate
python3 -m pip install xyz

Solution 2: force install

add --break-system-packages at the end of pip , for example:

pip install xyz --break-system-packages

Thank you for taking the time to explore data-related insights with me. I appreciate your engagement. If you find this information helpful, I invite you to follow me or connect with me on LinkedIn or X(@Luca_DataTeam). Happy exploring!👋

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Luca Liu

Hello there! 👋 I'm Luca, a Business Intelligence Developer with passion for all things data. Proficient in Python, SQL, Power BI, Tableau, SAP BO.