Getting "Permission Denied" when running pip as root on my Mac

Question

I've started to use my Mac to install Python packages in the same way I do with my Windows PC at work; however on my Mac I've come across frequent permission denied errors while writing to log files or site-packages.

Therefore I thought about running pip install <package> under sudo but is that a safe/acceptable use of sudo considering I'm just wanting this to be installed under my current user account?

Example traceback from a logfile I/O error:

Command /usr/bin/python -c "import setuptools;__file__='/Users/markwalker/build/pycrypto/setup.py';exec(compile(open(__file__).read().replace('\r\n', '\n'), __file__, 'exec'))" install --single-version-externally-managed --record /var/folders/tq/hy1fz_4j27v6rstzzw4vymnr0000gp/T/pip-k6f2FU-record/install-record.txt failed with error code 1 in /Users/markwalker/build/pycrypto
Storing complete log in /Users/markwalker/Library/Logs/pip.log
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/bin/pip", line 8, in <module>
    load_entry_point('pip==1.1', 'console_scripts', 'pip')()
  File "/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/pip-1.1-py2.7.egg/pip/__init__.py", line 116, in main
    return command.main(args[1:], options)
  File "/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/pip-1.1-py2.7.egg/pip/basecommand.py", line 141, in main
    log_fp = open_logfile(log_fn, 'w')
  File "/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/pip-1.1-py2.7.egg/pip/basecommand.py", line 168, in open_logfile
    log_fp = open(filename, mode)
IOError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/Users/markwalker/Library/Logs/pip.log'

Update This was likely down to permissions, however the best approach is to use virtual environments for your python projects. Running sudo pip should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

Solution 1

Use a virtual environment:

$ virtualenv myenv
.. some output ..
$ source myenv/bin/activate
(myenv) $ pip install what-i-want

You only use sudo or elevated permissions when you want to install stuff for the global, system-wide Python installation.

It is best to use a virtual environment which isolates packages for you. That way you can play around without polluting the global python install.

As a bonus, virtualenv does not need elevated permissions.

Solution 2

Is it acceptable & safe to run pip install under sudo?

It's not safe and it's being frowned upon – see What are the risks of running 'sudo pip'? To install Python package in your home directory you don't need root privileges. See description of --user option to pip.

Solution 3

Your original problem is that pip cannot write the logs to the folder.

IOError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/Users/markwalker/Library/Logs/pip.log'

You need to cd into a folder in which the process invoked can write like /tmp so a cd /tmp and re invoking the command will probably work but is not what you want.

BUT actually for this particular case (you not wanting to use sudo for installing python packages) and no need for global package installs you can use the --user flag like this :

pip install --user <packagename>

and it will work just fine.

I assume you have a one user python python installation and do not want to bother with reading about virtualenv (which is not very userfriendly) or pipenv.

As some people in the comments section have pointed out the next approach is not a very good idea unless you do not know what to do and got stuck:

Another approach for global packages like in your case you want to do something like :

chown -R $USER /Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/

or more generally

chown -R $USER <path to your global pip packages>

Solution 4

Because I had the same problem, I want to stress that actually the first comment by Brian Cain is the solution to the "IOError: [Errno 13]"-problem:

If executed in the temp directory (cd /tmp), the IOError does not occur anymore if I run sudo pip install foo.

Solution 5

It looks like your permissions are messed up. Type chown -R markwalker ~ in the Terminal and try pip again? Let me know if you're sorted.

View more solutions

Comments

[hd1]

If his permissions are messed up for his home directory, using virtualenv is not likely to help him

[Burhan Khalid]

Although this may solve the permissions problem, it does not answer the question.

[hd1]

Yes, it will, but it has already happened, so he needs to fix it before continuing.

[markwalker_]

Solving problems I didn't know I had is a bonus! chown is giving Operation not permitted on a lot of hidden dirs like .shsh & I assume it's working through files it can set now, but I'll see what happens when the cli prompt returns.

[markwalker_]

Thanks guys, I've read about virtualenv before so hopefully these two solutions together will get me back on track :)

[Chris]

Any chance you can explain why this solves the problem for you?

[Chris]

you are still using sudo pip with this "solution" and thus installing packages with root privileges, which is probably not what you want?

[Edgar]

I can only guess why this works: I think that some part of (some) pip installation scripts require write access to current directory, but with a different user. Therefore, if executed while in your home directory, it mysteriously fails because of the lack of write access. If called from within /tmp it works, because everyone has write access there.

[jimijazz]

also, for installing virtualenv you need to sudo... or is there a workaround?

[Piotr Dobrogost]

-1 Changing ownership of global site-packages folder is a terrible thing to do. The --user option for pip was given as a solution in my answer which had already existed when you wrote yours.

[throws_exceptions_at_you]

I don't see an argument here. Also given the fact that someone who asks such an entry level question is probably not familiar with unix's permission system and therefore running a 1-user install it doesn't matter. Also your answer actually fails to address the use case of me actually WANTING to install to global packages. After doing that I could easily revert the permissions back to pre-install.

[Let Me Tink About It]

+1 for actually writing the entire commands. Some people assume the OP knows how to implement an option at the command line when they, or other readers, might not. Don't you agree, @PiotrDobrogost?

[Piotr Dobrogost]

The --user option for pip was given as a solution in my answer which had already existed when you wrote yours. This should have been a comment not an answer.

[Honghao Zhang]

adding --user helps me!

[charlesreid1]

Changing the permissions for the system Python's entire site-packages directory is akin to "fixing" a pump by whacking on it with a wrench. It's protected for a reason - you're not supposed to install stuff there. The real solution is not to mix the system Python distribution with day-to-day programming. Install a different Python distribution (from Python.org, Homebrew, Canopy, etc.).

[Alex Belyaev]

I don't understand why this is the best answer. The question is NOT about virtual environments. It's about validity of using sudo pip install. Let's say I need to install some package that I'll use in many projects or at system level. Such as some CLI tool like pgcli. Obviously I don't need a virtual env for it, I want to install it globally. Should I use sudo pip install or there are some more correct practices? THAT is the question.

[throws_exceptions_at_you]

He doesn't have write access to '/Users/markwalker/Library/Logs/pip.log'

[Piotr Dobrogost]

@AlexBelyaev The title does not correspond exactly to the body of the question, where OP asks is that a safe/acceptable use of sudo considering I'm just wanting this to be installed under my current user account? So yes, there are basically two different questions asked here and yes, answers which suggest using virtualenv answer one of these two questions.

[loved.by.Jesus]

I could only use pip with sudo to install packages, and changing the ownership of the global site-packages helped me, though I know is quite a brutal action. ;)

[mehmet]

you say NOT recommended but official installation notes say OK to install virtualenvwrapper with sudo. Same goes for virtualenv. The question asked here make no reference to those two, so I assume all other answers here are for general python packages.

[Let Me Tink About It]

To future readers, I struck through my "not recommended" flag in my answer due to the above comment but I have not yet verified it. That's why I did not delete the flag yet.

[Edenshaw]

Although your solution was the first one that actually worked, @throws_exceptions_at_you created a response with actual code and not a redirection to documentation

[WestCoastProjects]

Using a virtualenv is not always the [best] solution. This should not be tagged as "the" answer but rather "an alternative"

[Emre Değirmenci]

I did sudo pip install not know damages of using it. How can I undo this command or blocking to run under sudo?