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README: explain the externally-managed-environment error - #74
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Homebrew Python and recent Debian and Ubuntu system Pythons refuse pip installs into the base environment (PEP 668). Say what the error means and how to install into a virtual environment instead, without making a virtual environment part of the general instructions. Fixes #46. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <[email protected]>
tisonkun
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Oct 11, 2026
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Fixes #46.
Homebrew Python, and the system Python on Debian 12+ and Ubuntu 23.04+, are marked "externally managed" (PEP 668), so
python3 -m pip install .orpython3 -m pip install datasketchesfails there witherror: externally-managed-environment. That is more common now than when #46 was filed.This adds a short note under Building and Installation: what the error means, and the three commands to install into a virtual environment instead.
It is worded as a conditional ("If either command fails with ...") rather than a required step, following the discussion on #46: a virtual environment is not the right default everywhere (for example, in Docker images), so the general instructions are unchanged.
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