Fixing the Externally-Managed-Environment Error When Using Pip: A Quick Guide

When you use pip to install Python packages, you may encounter an ‘externally-managed-environment’ error.

error: externally-managed-environment

× This environment is externally managed
╰─> To install Python packages system-wide, try brew install
    xyz, where xyz is the package you are trying to
    install.
    
    If you wish to install a Python library that isn't in Homebrew,
    use a virtual environment:
    
    python3 -m venv path/to/venv
    source path/to/venv/bin/activate
    python3 -m pip install xyz
    
    If you wish to install a Python application that isn't in Homebrew,
    it may be easiest to use 'pipx install xyz', which will manage a
    virtual environment for you. You can install pipx with
    
    brew install pipx
    ...

Solution 1: Use a Virtual Environment

Create a virtual environment folder in your root path:

python3 -m venv ~/py_envs
source ~/py_envs/bin/activate
python3 -m pip install xyz

Solution 2: Force Install

Add --break-system-packages at the end of pip , for example:

pip install xyz --break-system-packages 

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