How to install PIL with pip on Mac OS?

Question

I am trying to install PIL (the Python Imaging Library) using the command:

sudo pip install pil

but I get the following message:

Downloading/unpacking PIL
  You are installing a potentially insecure and unverifiable file. Future versions of pip will default to disallowing insecure files.
  Downloading PIL-1.1.7.tar.gz (506kB): 506kB downloaded
  Running setup.py egg_info for package PIL
    WARNING: '' not a valid package name; please use only.-separated package names in setup.py
    
Installing collected packages: PIL
  Running setup.py install for PIL
    WARNING: '' not a valid package name; please use only.-separated package names in setup.py
    --- using frameworks at /System/Library/Frameworks
    building '_imaging' extension
    clang -fno-strict-aliasing -fno-common -dynamic -g -Os -pipe -fno-common -fno-strict-aliasing -fwrapv -mno-fused-madd -DENABLE_DTRACE -DMACOSX -DNDEBUG -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes -Wshorten-64-to-32 -DNDEBUG -g -Os -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes -DENABLE_DTRACE -arch i386 -arch x86_64 -pipe -IlibImaging -I/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/include -I/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/include/python2.7 -c _imaging.c -o build/temp.macosx-10.8-intel-2.7/_imaging.o
    unable to execute clang: No such file or directory
    error: command 'clang' failed with exit status 1
    Complete output from command /usr/bin/python -c "import setuptools;__file__='/private/tmp/pip_build_root/PIL/setup.py';exec(compile(open(__file__).read().replace('\r\n', '\n'), __file__, 'exec'))" install --record /tmp/pip-AYrxVD-record/install-record.txt --single-version-externally-managed:
    WARNING: '' not a valid package name; please use only.-separated package names in setup.py

running install

running build

.
.
.
.

copying PIL/XVThumbImagePlugin.py -> build/lib.macosx-10.8-intel-2.7

running build_ext

--- using frameworks at /System/Library/Frameworks

building '_imaging' extension

creating build/temp.macosx-10.8-intel-2.7

creating build/temp.macosx-10.8-intel-2.7/libImaging

clang -fno-strict-aliasing -fno-common -dynamic -g -Os -pipe -fno-common -fno-strict-aliasing -fwrapv -mno-fused-madd -DENABLE_DTRACE -DMACOSX -DNDEBUG -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes -Wshorten-64-to-32 -DNDEBUG -g -Os -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes -DENABLE_DTRACE -arch i386 -arch x86_64 -pipe -IlibImaging -I/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/include -I/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/include/python2.7 -c _imaging.c -o build/temp.macosx-10.8-intel-2.7/_imaging.o

unable to execute clang: No such file or directory

error: command 'clang' failed with exit status 1

----------------------------------------
Cleaning up…

Could you please help me to install PIL?

Have you installed Xcode and then installed Xcode's command line tools? It looks like you don't have the clang compiler. — Fiver, Commented Nov 18, 2013 at 23:58

Alan W. Smith · Accepted Answer · 2020-11-22 18:31:57Z

673

Install Xcode and Xcode Command Line Tools as mentioned.
Use Pillow instead, as PIL is basically dead. Pillow is a maintained fork of PIL.

https://pypi.org/project/Pillow/

pip install Pillow

If you have both Pythons installed and want to install this for Python3:

python3 -m pip install Pillow

edited Nov 22, 2020 at 18:31

Alan W. Smith

25.4k4 gold badges71 silver badges100 bronze badges

answered Nov 19, 2013 at 0:47

FogleBird

76.6k25 gold badges130 silver badges135 bronze badges

5

I got a clang error on OSX Mavericks when I tried this, but I found that this answer helped with that: stackoverflow.com/a/22322645/16959
– Jason Sperske
Commented Apr 25, 2014 at 21:38
41

While this is a valid and useful answer, it really doesn't answer the question. For those of us in the process of rehabbing old projects which may require filling a PIL dependency just so we can find the next thing that will break, we actually kind of need to get the actual dependency (and sometimes even need to get a specific version that someone built a hack on).
– Namey
Commented Dec 2, 2014 at 9:34
3

@Namey Porting existing PIL code to Pillow can be done easily. Port PIL to Pillow . Pillow is based on the PIL code, and has evolved into a better, modern and more friendly version of PIL.
– GiriB
Commented Sep 15, 2015 at 14:15
10

@GiriB Thanks for the update. My main point was that there are often cases where you are starting up work on some legacy production code where there are 20 ancient dependencies, of which PIL might be one, and you need to debug something to make a fix in the production code. In that case, you most assuredly do not want to have to write ports for code connected to ~10 different libraries on your dev build just to start debugging the one-line error that is occurring in the production environment. Hope this clarifies.
– Namey
Commented Sep 17, 2015 at 23:32
I'm trying to use a library which uses import Image. Is there a way to get Pillow to provide Image?
– AnnanFay
Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 20:46

Add a comment |

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2017-03-29 23:06:39Z

63

This works for me:

apt-get install python-dev
apt-get install libjpeg-dev
apt-get install libjpeg8-dev
apt-get install libpng3
apt-get install libfreetype6-dev
ln -s /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libfreetype.so /usr/lib
ln -s /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libjpeg.so /usr/lib
ln -s /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libz.so /usr/lib

pip install PIL  --allow-unverified PIL --allow-all-external

edited Mar 29, 2017 at 23:06

Peter Mortensen

31.6k22 gold badges109 silver badges133 bronze badges

answered Jan 16, 2014 at 1:28

madjardi

5,9092 gold badges38 silver badges39 bronze badges

9

On 64 bit platforms, the linked path needs to be different -- e.g. /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libfreetype.so . For a more architecture independent solution, create the links like # ln -s /usr/lib/`uname -i`-linux-gnu/libfreetype.so /usr/lib/
– Mark Chackerian
Commented May 12, 2014 at 14:26
Always the same problem for headers of imaging: _imagingft.c:73:31: fatal error: freetype/fterrors.h: No such file or directory #include <freetype/fterrors.h> So you have to install python-imaging throught pip
– c24b
Commented Nov 9, 2014 at 16:53
Always a problem in freetype headers like mentionned here [askubuntu.com/questions/507459/…? SOlution : cd /usr/include ln -s freetype2 freetype
– c24b
Commented Nov 9, 2014 at 17:03
1

under ubuntu 14.04 1 more symlink is necessary sudo ln -s /usr/include/freetype2 /usr/local/include/freetype
– Akasha
Commented Dec 18, 2014 at 17:18
1

worked well for me the secret was the --allow-unverified PIL --allow-all-external
– imbr
Commented May 17, 2015 at 17:13

Add a comment |

Jaysheel Utekar · Accepted Answer · 2015-09-08 13:53:39Z

57

It is very simple using apt install use this command to get it done

sudo apt-get install python-PIL

or

sudo pip install pillow

or

sudo easy_install pillow

answered Sep 8, 2015 at 13:53

Jaysheel Utekar

1,1961 gold badge19 silver badges38 bronze badges

2

don't forget to restart your ipython notebook server if you're running one.
– shousper
Commented Jul 27, 2016 at 8:57
sudo pip install pillow worked for me. sudo apt-get install python-PIL didn't.
– Yu Shen
Commented May 21, 2018 at 20:22
2

I found it to be case sensitive so: sudo apt-get install python-PIL => Failed (no package found) sudo apt-get install python-pil => Worked
– Clarkey252
Commented Jun 28, 2019 at 23:08

Add a comment |

Chandan Sharma · Accepted Answer · 2020-01-14 13:09:05Z

36

Install

pip install Pillow

Then, Just import in your file like,

from PIL import Image

I am using windows. It is working for me.

NOTE:

Pillow is a functional drop-in replacement for the Python Imaging Library. To run your existing PIL-compatible code with Pillow, it needs to be modified to import the Imaging module from the PIL namespace instead of the global namespace.

i.e. change:

import Image

to:

from PIL import Image

https://pypi.org/project/Pillow/2.2.1/

edited Jan 14, 2020 at 13:09

answered Jul 27, 2019 at 6:26

Chandan Sharma

2,5191 gold badge25 silver badges23 bronze badges

1

Thanks! When reading the name 'PIL' in from PIL import Image I could never guess the name of this library was 'Pillow'. I am also on Windows and your solution worked for me.
– Marcos Buarque
Commented Jan 14, 2020 at 11:28
Pillow is a functional drop-in replacement for the Python Imaging Library. To run your existing PIL-compatible code with Pillow, it needs to be modified to import the Imaging module from the PIL namespace instead of the global namespace. I.e. change: import Image to from PIL import Image pypi.org/project/Pillow/2.2.1
– Chandan Sharma
Commented Jan 14, 2020 at 13:04
Thank you for the additional bckground information!
– Marcos Buarque
Commented Jan 15, 2020 at 18:52

Add a comment |

gtangil · Accepted Answer · 2017-10-11 15:03:21Z

35

You should install as described here:

pip install image

answered Oct 11, 2017 at 15:03

gtangil

7377 silver badges7 bronze badges

Add a comment |

m01 · Accepted Answer · 2019-01-27 13:32:42Z

35

On Mac OS X, use this command:

sudo pip install https://effbot.org/media/downloads/Imaging-1.1.7.tar.gz

edited Jan 27, 2019 at 13:32

m01

9,3356 gold badges34 silver badges60 bronze badges

answered Dec 27, 2013 at 14:33

Ryan Lee

3752 silver badges2 bronze badges

worked on debian jessy as well!, just needed to install python-dev beforehand :)
– Agey
Commented Mar 12, 2015 at 11:39
1

I had to install libjpeg first: brew install libjpeg
– Pierre F
Commented Jun 17, 2016 at 20:22
Finally an actual solution. My Mac doesn't have apt-get :p, and I want to install in a virtualenv anyway.
– sudo
Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 18:54
use sudo pip install Pillow - as below.
– johndpope
Commented Jun 14, 2017 at 8:41

Add a comment |

ismailsunni · Accepted Answer · 2014-10-28 09:51:26Z

26

I got the answer from a discussion here:

I tried

pip install --no-index -f http://dist.plone.org/thirdparty/ -U PIL

and it worked.

answered Oct 28, 2014 at 9:51

ismailsunni

1,4962 gold badges24 silver badges32 bronze badges

8

Consider using this: pip install --no-index -f http://effbot.org/downloads/ -U PIL --trusted-host effbot.org The reason I used this one is because it is the URL listed by the package and on pypi.python.org/pypi/PIL
– Tom Myddeltyn
Commented May 16, 2016 at 12:42
1

I got a warning to use HTTPS instead of HTTP. After changing the URL it worked great.
– AnnanFay
Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 20:49
@TomMyddeltyn That almost worked except I got a compiler error where it can't find X11/Xlib.h
– Uncommon
Commented Dec 9, 2017 at 13:06
@Uncommon I'm not sure what the issue is there, sorry.
– Tom Myddeltyn
Commented Dec 21, 2017 at 13:53

Add a comment |

Glorfindel · Accepted Answer · 2022-07-15 10:02:16Z

I take it you're on Mac. See How can I install PIL on mac os x 10.7.2 Lion

If you use homebrew, you can install the PIL with just brew install pil. You may then need to add the install directory ($(brew --prefix)/lib/python2.7/site-packages) to your PYTHONPATH, or add the location of PIL directory itself in a file called PIL.pth file in any of your site-packages directories, with the contents:
/usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/PIL
(assuming brew --prefix is /usr/local).

Alternatively, you can just download/build/install it from source:
# download
curl -O -L http://effbot.org/media/downloads/Imaging-1.1.7.tar.gz
# extract
tar -xzf Imaging-1.1.7.tar.gz
cd Imaging-1.1.7
# build and install
python setup.py build
sudo python setup.py install
# or install it for just you without requiring admin permissions:
# python setup.py install --user
I ran the above just now (on OSX 10.7.2, with XCode 4.2.1 and System Python 2.7.1) and it built just fine, though there is a possibility that something in my environment is non-default.

While this explains how to install pil, it doesn't do it via pip as OP tried initially. I find the abundant use of brew around the web these days suboptimal. brew will install quite a bit of overhead depending on what you want it to do. so pip would probably still be the best choice for python modules. — mknaf, Commented Aug 3, 2015 at 18:33

Dmitry Pleshkov · Accepted Answer · 2017-02-19 01:22:22Z

11

These days, everyone uses Pillow, a friendly PIL fork, over PIL.

Instead of: sudo pip install pil

Do: sudo pip install pillow

$ sudo apt-get install python-imaging
$ sudo -H pip install pillow

answered Feb 19, 2017 at 1:22

Dmitry Pleshkov

1,2571 gold badge14 silver badges24 bronze badges

I would recommend against ever doing sudo pip install .... That could end up breaking your system's installation of Python, which may affect applications of your system. Try using Anaconda virtual environments, venv or Docker.
– n1k31t4
Commented Feb 18, 2020 at 16:19

Add a comment |

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2017-03-29 23:09:02Z

11

For Ubuntu, PIL is not working any more. I always get:

No matching distribution found for PIL

So install python-imaging:

sudo apt-get install python-imaging

edited Mar 29, 2017 at 23:09

Peter Mortensen

31.6k22 gold badges109 silver badges133 bronze badges

answered Aug 11, 2016 at 16:21

Aneesh R S

3,8274 gold badges24 silver badges35 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2017-03-29 23:05:47Z

6

I'm having the same problem, but it gets solved with installation of python-dev.

Before installing PIL, run following command:

sudo apt-get install python-dev

Then install PIL:

pip install PIL

edited Mar 29, 2017 at 23:05

Peter Mortensen

31.6k22 gold badges109 silver badges133 bronze badges

answered Nov 20, 2013 at 7:03

Kedar.Aitawdekar

2,4441 gold badge25 silver badges25 bronze badges

11

This did not work for me on Ubuntu 14. pip install pil results in No distributions at all found for PIL, whether I install python-dev first or not.
– aliteralmind
Commented Aug 25, 2014 at 21:05

Add a comment |

Denis Kutlubaev · Accepted Answer · 2014-08-25 08:15:29Z

I had some errors during installation. Just in case somebody has this too. Despite that I already was sitting under admin user, but not root.

File "/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/os.py", line 157, in makedirs
    mkdir(name, mode)
OSError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/PIL'

Storing debug log for failure in /Users/wzbozon/Library/Logs/pip.log

Adding "sudo" solved the problem, with sudo it worked:

~/Documents/mv-server: $ sudo pip install Pillow

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2017-03-29 23:07:04Z

5

For CentOS:

yum install python-imaging

edited Mar 29, 2017 at 23:07

Peter Mortensen

31.6k22 gold badges109 silver badges133 bronze badges

answered Jul 14, 2014 at 6:40

iimos

5,0172 gold badges35 silver badges36 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Gryu · Accepted Answer · 2020-01-09 01:16:48Z

5

I tried all the answers, but failed. Directly get the source from the official site and then build install success.

Go to the site http://www.pythonware.com/products/pil/#pil117
Click "Python Imaging Library 1.1.7 Source Kit" to download the source
tar xf Imaging-1.1.7.tar.gz
cd Imaging-1.1.7
sudo python setup.py install

edited Jan 9, 2020 at 1:16

Gryu

2,1912 gold badges18 silver badges30 bronze badges

answered Aug 14, 2017 at 6:07

ZhouPeng

591 silver badge3 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Alexandre Simões · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-20 10:14:46Z

3

I nailed it by using sudo port install py27-Pillow

answered Mar 20, 2014 at 10:14

Alexandre Simões

1,2951 gold badge10 silver badges12 bronze badges

Add a comment |

alfonso · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-10 00:37:00Z

3

Try this:

sudo pip install PIL --allow-external PIL --allow-unverified PIL

answered Oct 10, 2015 at 0:37

alfonso

88418 silver badges32 bronze badges

2

While this answer may be correct, please add some explanation. Imparting the underlying logic is more important than just giving the code, because it helps the OP and other readers fix this and similar issues themselves.
– CodeMouse92
Commented Oct 10, 2015 at 1:04
Note that this command timed out for me. Anyway, it will be deprecated in a few weeks. sudo pip install --allow-external --allow-unverified PIL PIL may also work for now.
– Union find
Commented Dec 24, 2015 at 1:26
3

--allow-external and --allow-unverified are both deprecated. pip install pillow is the correct answer.
– Dorian
Commented Jan 22, 2016 at 16:07
1

The answer I posted was suggested to me by the stderr. So while my answer is now out of date, it wasn't at the time I wrote it. Also, I apologize for my message directed to JasonMc92 (which has since been removed). My tone was out of line, but my sentiment remains. There's something distasteful about trolling the front page and copy/pasting your note about "imparting underlying logic". Perhaps you're badge chasing, and I guess that's fine, but for the sake of consistency, please leave a comment on all the other similar answers to this question that fail to underly logic.
– alfonso
Commented Jan 28, 2016 at 16:39

Add a comment |

nguyên · Accepted Answer · 2016-09-11 08:20:15Z

3

(Window) If Pilow not work try download pil at http://www.pythonware.com/products/pil/

answered Sep 11, 2016 at 8:20

nguyên

5,3165 gold badges44 silver badges45 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Ted Taylor of Life · Accepted Answer · 2016-12-31 05:43:08Z

3

First you should run this sudo apt-get build-dep python-imaging which will give you all the dependencies that you might need
Then run sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get -y upgrade
Followed by sudo apt-get install python-pip
And then finally install Pil pip install pillow

answered Dec 31, 2016 at 5:43

Ted Taylor of Life

1382 silver badges15 bronze badges

Add a comment |

khanhtc1202 · Accepted Answer · 2017-02-25 18:18:12Z

2

Search on package manager before using pip. On Arch linux you can get PIL by pacman -S python2-pillow

answered Feb 25, 2017 at 18:18

khanhtc1202

313 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Ricoter · Accepted Answer · 2021-05-11 07:22:17Z

2

For Ubuntu, you can install PIL using apt install:

For Python 3 use:

sudo apt install python3-pil

For Python 2 use:

sudo apt install python-pil

Where pil should be lowercase as Clarkey252 points out

edited May 11, 2021 at 7:22

answered Sep 22, 2020 at 15:31

Ricoter

7637 silver badges19 bronze badges

1

Does apt exist as package manager for macOS?
– msoutopico
Commented May 11, 2021 at 7:17
Sorry this is for ubuntu
– Ricoter
Commented May 11, 2021 at 7:24
1

The tag, the title and the example says "macos". Why are you posting answer about Ubuntu?
– Matteo Gaggiano
Commented Jun 23, 2021 at 7:35
2

I understand your frustration and you are right, this question page is messed up. There are more “Ubuntu”, “Windows”, “Linux” answers than MacOs on this question. “pillow” and even “image” are answered more often than PIL. NO solution actually does answer this question! However all solutions are based on bash and are often transferrable. The PIL repository is not on pip anyway so the only true answer is “you can’t”
– Ricoter
Commented Jun 24, 2021 at 13:01
1

@Ricoter ok so, why don't you integrate this message into your aswer as a "you can't BUT on ubuntu you can do this ...., so on a macos environment you can translate it into this... ". It will be much more descriptive and comprehensive as answer the I, as a guy that's searching for the right answer, will have achieved my purpose.
– Matteo Gaggiano
Commented Jul 5, 2021 at 13:17

Add a comment |

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2017-03-29 23:07:57Z

0

There's another Python package tool called conda. Conda is preferred (I believe) over pip when there are libraries that need to install C++ and other bindings that aren't pure Python. Conda includes pip in its installation as well so you can still use pip, but you also get the benefits of conda.

Conda also installs IPython, pil, and many other libraries by default. I think you'll like it.

edited Mar 29, 2017 at 23:07

Peter Mortensen

31.6k22 gold badges109 silver badges133 bronze badges

answered Aug 12, 2014 at 18:40

Chet

19.7k15 gold badges75 silver badges118 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

How to install PIL with pip on Mac OS?

21 Answers 21

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged
python
macos
python-2.7
installation
python-imaging-library
or ask your own question.

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

21 Answers 21

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged pythonmacospython-2.7installationpython-imaging-library or ask your own question.

Linked

Related

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged
python
macos
python-2.7
installation
python-imaging-library
or ask your own question.