How to Install pip on Debian 10

Darshita Daga -

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Introduction

Before we begin talking about how to install pip on Debian 10, let's briefly understand – What is pip?

A pip is a package management system for installing Python packages. You can use pip to install packages from the Python Package Index (PyPI) and other repositories. It simplifies the process of adding functionalities to your Python projects by allowing you to effortlessly install external libraries.

In this tutorial, you will install pip on Debian 10. We will also address a few FAQs on how to install pip on Debian 10.

Advantages of pip

  1. Easy Installation: Pip simplifies the process of installing Python packages, making it quick and hassle-free.
  2. Package Management: With pip, you can easily manage dependencies and update packages to their latest versions.
  3. Vast Library Collection: It provides access to a wide range of Python packages from the PyPI repository.
  4. Virtual Environment Support: Pip supports creating isolated virtual environments, ensuring project-specific package installations.
  5. Command-Line Interface: Pip offers a user-friendly command-line interface, making it convenient for developers to install, upgrade, and remove packages.

Installing pip for Python 3

Install Pip for Python 3 on Debian 10 by performing the following instructions as a user with sudo privileges:

1) Update the package list first:

sudo apt update

2) Use the following command to install pip for Python 3 and all of its dependencies:

sudo apt install python3-pip

3) To confirm the installation, print the pip3 version:

pip3 --version

Although the version number can be different, it will resemble the one below:

Output

pip 18.1 from /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/pip (python 3.7)

Installing pip for Python 2

The steps below demonstrate how to install Pip for Python 2 on Debian systems:

1) Update the packages index first:

sudo apt update

2) Install pip and all of its dependencies for Python 2:

sudo apt-get install python-pip

3) Use the command below to print the pip version to verify the installation:

pip --version

Although the version number may differ, it will generally resemble this:

Output

pip 18.1 from /usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/pip (python 2.7)

Using pip

We will discuss the core pip commands in this part. Using pip, you can install packages from distribution files, version control, local projects, and PyPI, although in most cases, you will install packages from PyPI.

Installing a Python module as a package with the apt manager is recommended if you want to install it globally. Only if there is no package available, use pip to install Python modules globally.

Pip is mostly only used in virtual environments. Instead of installing Python modules globally, Python Virtual Environment enables you to install them in an isolated location for a given project. You will not have to worry about interfering with other Python projects this way.

For example, if you wanted to install the package urllib3, you could do so by using the command:

pip install urllib3
💡
urllib3 is an efficient Python HTTP client.

To uninstall a package:

pip uninstall package_name

To list installed packages:

pip list

To list outdated packages:

pip list --outdated

FAQs to Install pip on Debian 10

Is pip pre-installed in Debian 10? 

No, pip is not pre-installed in Debian 10 by default. You need to install it manually.

Can I install pip for Python 2 as well? 

On Debian 10, the default Python version is Python 3. However, you can install pip for Python 2 by running sudo apt-get install python-pip.

How do I upgrade pip to the latest version? 

Use the command pip install --upgrade pip to upgrade pip to the latest version.

What is the command to install a specific package using pip? 

Run pip install package_name to install a specific package using pip. Replace "package_name" with the name of the package you want to install.

Can I install packages globally or in a virtual environment? 

Pip allows you to install packages globally using pip install package_name or in a virtual environment using pip install package_name within the virtual environment.

Is it possible to install packages from a requirements.txt file? 

Yes, you can install packages listed in a requirements.txt file by running pip install -r requirements.txt. Make sure the file is present in the current directory.

Are there any alternative methods to install pip on Debian 10? 

Yes, you can download and run the get-pip.py script provided by the official Python website to install pip.

Conclusion

We have demonstrated how to install pip on a Debian system and how to use pip to manage Python packages. Visit the pip user guide for more information about pip.

If you have any queries, feel free to post a comment below and we'll be happy to answer them.