How To Install PIP on openSUSE

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install PIP on openSUSE. Before diving into the installation process, let’s take a moment to understand what PIP is and why it’s crucial for Python development. PIP, which stands for “PIP Installs Packages,” is the go-to package management system for Python. It allows you to effortlessly install, upgrade, and remove Python packages and their dependencies. PIP works seamlessly with the Python Package Index (PyPI), a central repository that hosts a massive collection of open-source Python packages contributed by the community. With PIP, you can access and utilize these packages in your projects, saving time and effort in implementing common functionalities from scratch.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the PIP on openSUSE.

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: openSUSE (Leap or Tumbleweed)
• Familiarity with basic Linux commands and openSUSE’s package management system (zypper) is also beneficial, as you’ll be interacting with the command line during the installation process.
• You will need access to the terminal to execute commands. openSUSE provides the Terminal application for this purpose. It can be found in your Applications menu.
• You’ll need an active internet connection to download Anaconda and its dependencies.
• You’ll need administrative (root) access or a user account with sudo privileges.

Install PIP on openSUSE

Step 1. Refresh the repositories to ensure you have access to the latest package versions by running the following command:

sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper update

Step 2. Check Python Installed.

PIP is a Python package manager, so you’ll need Python installed on your system. openSUSE typically comes with Python pre-installed. To check your Python version, open a terminal and run the following command:

python3 --version

If Python is installed, you should see the version number displayed. PIP requires Python 2.7.9+ or Python 3.4+ to function correctly.

Step 3. Installing PIP on openSUSE.

• Method 1: Installing PIP using Zypper

Once the repository information is updated, you can proceed with installing PIP. For Python 3, use the following command:

sudo zypper install python3-pip

Zypper will resolve any dependencies and prompt you to confirm the installation. Press “Y” and hit Enter to proceed.

After the installation completes, verify that PIP is successfully installed by checking its version:

pip3 --version

You should see the PIP version number displayed, indicating a successful installation.

• Method 2: Installing PIP using get-pip.py script

An alternative method to install PIP on openSUSE is by using the get-pip.py script. This script is provided by the official PIP website and automates the installation process. Here’s how you can use it:

wget https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py

Once the download is complete, navigate to the directory where the script is located. You can use the cd command followed by the directory path.

Run the get-pip.py script with the following command:

sudo python3 get-pip.py

After the installation finishes, you can verify the PIP installation by checking its version:

pip3 --version

If you encounter permission issues while running the get-pip.py script, ensure that you have the necessary privileges to execute the script. You can also try running the script with the --user flag to install PIP in your user directory instead of the system-wide location.

Step 4. Troubleshooting Common Issues.

While installing PIP on openSUSE is generally straightforward, you might encounter a few common issues. Let’s explore these issues and their solutions.

Issue 1: “pip command not found” error

If you try to run the pip command and receive a “command not found” error, it could be due to one of the following reasons:

• PIP is not installed: Double-check that you have successfully installed PIP using one of the methods mentioned above.
• PATH is not configured: The directory where PIP is installed might not be included in your system’s PATH environment variable. To resolve this, you can either add the PIP directory to your PATH or use the full path to the PIP executable.
• Incorrect Python version: Make sure you are using the correct Python version. If you have multiple Python versions installed, use pip3 for Python 3 or python3 -m pip to explicitly specify the Python version.

Issue 2: Conflicts with existing packages

In some cases, PIP packages might conflict with the packages installed by the system package manager (Zypper). This can lead to compatibility issues or unexpected behavior. To mitigate such conflicts, consider the following workarounds:

• Use virtual environments: Create isolated Python environments using tools like venv or virtualenv. This allows you to install packages specific to a project without affecting the system-wide packages.
• Use the --user flag: Install packages in your user directory by appending the --user flag to your PIP commands. For example, pip3 install --user package_name. This installs the package in your user directory, avoiding conflicts with system packages.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed PIP. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing PIP on your openSUSE system. For additional or useful information, we recommend you check the official PIP website.