I am new to python and am trying to do web scraping, but I keep getting a syntax error every time I try to install a library. I have tried installing both mechanize and mechanoid. I change the directory using:
import os
os.chdir[path]
and then I do:
python setup.py install
but it keeps saying
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
What am I doing wrong? I am using Python 3.1.3
Levon
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asked May 20, 2012 at 1:53
2
python setup.py install
is not python code & should be done from the command prompt in the directories you have extracted the mechanize and mechanoid libraries to and not from the python interpreter that you ran the change directory python code in.
answered Jul 8, 2015 at 11:04
blippyblippy
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"pip install" causes SyntaxError: invalid syntax [Solved] #
If you get a "SyntaxError: invalid syntax" when trying to install a module using pip
, make sure to run the command from your shell, e.g. bash or PowerShell, and not by running a Python file that
contains the pip install your_module
command.
Here is an example of how the error occurs.
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# ⛔️ SyntaxError: invalid syntax pip install requests
Running the main.py
file with python main.py
causes the error because we aren't supposed to run pip
commands by running a Python script.
You also shouldn't be running the pip install some_module
command from the
Python interpreter in your shell. You can use CTRL + D
to exit the Python interpreter and install the specific module.
Instead, run the pip install your_module
command from your shell, e.g. bash
, PowerShell or CMD.
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pip install requests
The example above installs the requests
module. Make sure to adjust the name of the module if you have to.
If you get an error when running the pip install some_module
command from your shell, try the following commands.
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# 👇️ in a virtual environment or using Python 2 pip install requests # 👇️ for python 3 [could also be pip3.10 depending on your version] pip3 install requests # 👇️ if you get permissions error sudo pip3 install requests # 👇️ if you don't have pip in your PATH environment variable python -m pip install requests # 👇️ for python 3 [could also be pip3.10 depending on your version] python3 -m pip install requests
After you install the specific package, you can import it and use it in your Python script.
Here is an example that imports and uses requests
.
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import requests def make_request[]: res = requests.get['//reqres.in/api/users'] print[res.json[]] make_request[]
If you aren't sure what command you should run to install the module, google for "Pypi your_module_name", e.g. "Pypi requests".
Click on the pypi.org
website and look at the pip install
command.
If the suggestions didn't help, try creating a virtual environment by running the following commands from your shell.
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# 👇️ use correct version of Python when creating VENV python3 -m venv venv # 👇️ activate on Unix or MacOS source venv/bin/activate # 👇️ activate on Windows [cmd.exe] venv\Scripts\activate.bat # 👇️ activate on Windows [PowerShell] venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1 # 👇️ install any modules you need in virtual environment pip install requests
Your virtual environment will use the version of Python that was used to create it.
If the error persists and you can't install the specific module, watch a quick video on how to use Virtual environments in Python.
This one is for using virtual environments [VENV] on Windows
:
This one is for using virtual environments [VENV] on MacOS
and Linux
:
Conclusion #
If you get a "SyntaxError: invalid syntax" when trying to install a module using pip
, make sure to run the command from your shell, e.g. bash or PowerShell, and not by running a Python file that contains the pip install your_module
command.