Reputation: 7587

Pip - Fatal error in launcher: Unable to create process using '"'

I installed python 3.5.1 via ampps and it's working. However, when i try to use pip, i get the following message:

Fatal error in launcher: Unable to create process using '"'

I already reinstalled ampps into a path which doesn't include any whitespaces. Note that the "python -m pip" workaround doesn't work for me too, since i get the following message everytime i use it:

C:\Users\MyUserName\Desktop\Ampps\python\python.exe: Error while finding spec for 'pip.__main__' (<class 'ImportError'>: No module named 'queue'); 'pip' is a package and cannot be directly executed

How do i get pip to work properly? I hope, there is a way to use the pip command itself without the preceding python command.

EDIT: This is what happens, if i try to run python -c "import pip.__main__":

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\MyUserName\Desktop\Ampps\python\lib\site-packages\pip\compat\__init__.py", line 11, in <module>
    from logging.config import dictConfig as logging_dictConfig
  File "C:\Users\MyUserName\Desktop\Ampps\python\lib\logging\config.py", line 30, in <module>
    import logging.handlers
  File "C:\Users\MyUserName\Desktop\Ampps\python\lib\logging\handlers.py", line 28, in <module>
    import queue
ImportError: No module named 'queue'

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
  File "C:\Users\MyUserName\Desktop\Ampps\python\lib\site-packages\pip\__init__.py", line 13, in <module>
    from pip.utils import get_installed_distributions, get_prog
  File "C:\Users\MyUserName\Desktop\Ampps\python\lib\site-packages\pip\utils\__init__.py", line 18, in <module>
    from pip.compat import console_to_str, stdlib_pkgs
  File "C:\Users\MyUserName\Desktop\Ampps\python\lib\site-packages\pip\compat\__init__.py", line 13, in <module>
    from pip.compat.dictconfig import dictConfig as logging_dictConfig
  File "C:\Users\MyUserName\Desktop\Ampps\python\lib\site-packages\pip\compat\dictconfig.py", line 22, in <module>
    import logging.handlers
  File "C:\Users\MyUserName\Desktop\Ampps\python\lib\logging\handlers.py", line 28, in <module>
    import queue
ImportError: No module named 'queue'

Upvotes: 213

Answers (30)

Fariba Shaker

Reputation: 51

I got the same error but when using tensorboard:

Fatal error in launcher: Unable to create process using '"'

I found out that the problem was caused by existing two copies of tensotboard.exe in two different directories and both directories were added to the path:

C:\Program Files\Python36\Scripts

and

C:\Users\...\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python36\Scripts

I removed the first one from the path and it fixed the problem.

For current path you can use import sys sys.path

Now follow the above procedure

Upvotes: 5

Lalo

Reputation: 180

In my case I tried to create a new app in my django project using the command (with virtualenv activated):

django-admin startapp core

I simply just deleted my virtual env folder, then re-created another virtual env (using separate terminal or deactivating virtualenv before deletion for certainty):

python -m virtualenv env

. env/Scripts/activate

Then installed my required dependencies that are were needed to run the original command, which in my case was:

django-admin startapp core

Then it worked, simply:

Delete Virtualenv
Re-create Virtualenv
Install required dependencies
Re-implement original command

Upvotes: 0

Yasin Yousif

Reputation: 967

Direct Solution (worked in windows)

Rerun:

python -m venv (same_env_name)

The missing files will be added, and the packages will still be there.

Upvotes: 0

Turhan Ergene

Reputation: 577

Anyone still struggled like me can do these; Locate yourself to:

"C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python310\Scripts"

To download a package manually open gitbash here and enter the command below in the directory above:

$ pip.exe install "the package"

If you still want to to be able to call with "pip" or "pip3" check the website below and paste that "/script" file to the path location; https://www.architectryan.com/2018/03/17/add-to-the-path-on-windows-10/

Upvotes: 2

iampritamraj

Reputation: 316

This Works for me:

Download Vs tool using Link
Select specific C++ which is specified in Image

3. Install and restart if required.

NOTE: I am using Python 3.12.0 and windows 11.

Upvotes: 0

jestrabikr

Reputation: 480

For me the problem was that I was using built-in Powershell terminal in VSCode. I don't know what is causing the problem when using powershell (maybe some priviledges?) but the solution was just switching to built-in cmd inside VSCode or using Windows cmd / Powershell app.

Upvotes: 3

DarMaster

Reputation: 95

I cleared the PATH and it helped!
I left only the latest version of python.

Upvotes: 1

Contango

Reputation: 80262

This worked for me under Windows 10 x64:

Ensure that the Python directories are in the path, e.g.:

# Edit Environment variables so that variable "path" points to the new location.
# Insert these at the start of the list (or delete other Python directories), as Windows takes the first match it finds.
# Type "Win-S" then search for "Edit the System Environment Variables".
# Or see Control Panel under "System Properties".
S:\Research\bin\Python375\Scripts\
S:\Research\bin\Python375\

Then:

python -m pip install --upgrade --force-reinstall pip

In my particular case, the error was caused by shifting the Python directory to a new location.

Upvotes: 133

user3456886

Reputation: 89

If you have a slight variation of that error message, like this: Fatal error in launcher: Unable to create process using '"[insert file path to python exe]" "[insert path to pip.exe]" ': The system cannot find the file specified.

That was due to the File unable to the actual python instillation.

Solution:

Create a junction folder using mklink /j [path to folder you want to create] [path you want to link the folder to] to direct it to your actual python path

This can happen if you install and uninstall a bunch of different python version and it messes up a couple registry keys. You can directly change the registry to fix it, but not recommended

Upvotes: 2

Stevoisiak

Reputation: 26752

I apparently had Python installed in both C:\Python39 and %LocalAppData%\Programs\Python\Python39\.

I was able to fix the error by deleting the install in C:\Python39

Upvotes: 21

masete

Reputation: 39

an easy fix here https://github.com/pypa/pip/issues/5292

This involves installing pip and easy re-installing it as below

python -m pip uninstall pip
easy_install.exe pip

Upvotes: 1

Morfidon

Reputation: 1528

I had my environmental variables set properly and I had reinstalled Python, updated pip - nothing worked but below solution:

I solved the problem by going to folder:

C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\

and removing all versions of Python but the one that you are using. I had 3 versions of Python in this folder.

Upvotes: 8

Tamer Awad

Reputation: 412

Usually this is due to python version set on your Environment Variables. Check PATH (or Path) for both System and Client variables.

If its pointing to "path/to/python-installation/Python3.x-32", change it to "path/to/python-installation/Python3.x"

Again check value on both System and Client Environment Variables

Upvotes: 1

Abdulvakaf K

Reputation: 634

WORKING FINE !!!

Just upgrade your pip package by running below command. python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip

Note: I installed both python 3.6 and 2.7 version. Hence I explicitly specified python3

Snapshot

C:\AK>pip3 install argparse
Fatal error in launcher: Unable to create process using '"c:\python36\python.exe"  "C:\Python36\Scripts\pip3.exe" install argparse'

C:\AK>python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip
Collecting pip
  Downloading https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/30/db/9e38760b32e3e7f40cce46dd5fb107b8c73840df38f0046d8e6514e675a1/pip-19.2.3-py2.py3-none-any.whl (1.4MB)
    100% |████████████████████████████████| 1.4MB 312kB/s
Installing collected packages: pip
  Found existing installation: pip 18.1
    Uninstalling pip-18.1:
      Successfully uninstalled pip-18.1
Successfully installed pip-19.2.3

C:AK>pip3 install argparse
Collecting argparse
  Using cached https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/f2/94/3af39d34be01a24a6e65433d19e107099374224905f1e0cc6bbe1fd22a2f/argparse-1.4.0-py2.py3-none-any.whl
Installing collected packages: argparse
Successfully installed argparse-1.4.0

Upvotes: 11

Sachin Hatikankan

Reputation: 459

I got the same error and followed a couple of answers. I have tried to upgrade and install 9.0.0 version of pip using the commands below

python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip
python -m pip install pip==9.0.0

For both the commands I got the warning which looked like this

WARNING: Retrying (Retry(total=4, connect=None, read=None, redirect=None, status=None))

Nothing seemed to work. I lost my patients and followed the below steps and got it working

Navigate to the path "C:\Users...Python\Python37-32\Scripts"
Delete the files pip ,pip3 , pip3.7
Then I used the command python -m pip install pip==9.0.0 which then installed pip
Then I entered the required command of pyperclip which I wanted to leverage which was pip install pyperclip

Ignore the 4th step. Adding it only to let people know I was also able to install the required pyperclip seemlessly, if at all anyone is on the same path to install some modules further

Upvotes: 1

Lohith Arcot

Reputation: 1186

If none of the solutions mentioned above work, it can be due to environment variables pointing to two different locations. Just use where virtualenv to find the paths that are linked to virtualenv command. Run the following in cmd.

D:\>where virtualenv

The output will look like:

C:\Program Files\Python37\Scripts\virtualenv.exe

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python36\Scripts\virtualenv.exe

You can see there is conflicting installation of python36 and python37. I just deleted python37 folder and the conflict was resolved.

Upvotes: 2

Yashi Aggarwal

Reputation: 405

I installed python 2 and python 3 both in my windows 7. After having both versions of python, I moved to download PIP.

After downloading pip via downloading the get-pip.py file and run into the command prompt and navigate to the folder containing get-pip.py file.

I Run the following command:

python get-pip.py

after downloading PIP, I was getting the following error, Fatal error in launcher: Unable to create process using '"' SOLUTION **Then what worked for me is: I just run the following below command

python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip

And my pip started working. Hope it helps !**

Upvotes: 3

MSS

Reputation: 3623

All the above answers are of great technical help. Recently I also faced the same issue due to a blunder I did with my project.

I created venv inside my project root by issuing the command python -m venv . and then for some reason I didn't like the name of my project. So I changed it and boom.

pip started behaving erratically and I searched dozens of forums thinking some corrupt file had crept inside my python installation. I didn't find any solution there that could help me. Finally, I opened my activate.bat file to know how this script was changing my environment and there I saw the old project name mentioned. Eureka!

I reverted back to my old project name and everything became smooth. Without any reinstallation. Without any change request to office admin. Without any delay.

SOLUTION: If you have changed the name of your project after creating your venv, you might face this error. Reverting the new name into the old name will save your time and effort. Also please don't forget to upvote if this answer helped.

Upvotes: 5

Avanish Kumar Singh

Reputation: 113

For me it was an error in my path. You should directly call the script using the directory where it is stored.

C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python36\Scripts\pip install requests

And for running python scripts you can do this:

C:\Users\Avanish\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python36\python -m pip install requests

Upvotes: 1

girishlc

Reputation: 9

Yes, you need to update the Python version manually.

Upvotes: 0

Arnab Sinha

Reputation: 341

I was trying to install "bottle" package in python 3.6.6 having pip version 18.0 on Windows. I faced the same error as follows:-

Fatal error in launcher: Unable to create process using '"c:\users\arnab sinha\python.exe"  "C:\Users\Arnab Sinha\Scripts\pip.exe" install bottle'

All I typed after that was

py -m pip install bottle

This solved my issue.

Upvotes: 4

Ankit Seth

Reputation: 791

I got this error while running the command using pip3. I have python 3.6 installed on windows. I was trying this-

pip3 install PACKAGENAME

It gave error. The solution in this particular case is simply to run the command as pip.

pip install PACKAGENAME

Upvotes: 0

wolfog

Reputation: 731

I met the the same error as you.that is because i had transplanted my python file from D disk to e disk. after that ,when I inputed python ,it worked. pip and other exe file which has the same path as pip ，it did not work. when "python -m pip install --upgrade pip" order was inputed，pip order worked,but other exe file which has the same path as pip did not work,so i think it is not the best way. at last I unistalled my python,and re-install it.everything is okay.maybe it is not the best way for all of you ,but it is for me.

Upvotes: 0

AzureSun

Reputation: 71

Checked the evironment path, I have two paths navigated to two pip.exe and this caused this error. After deleting the redundant one and restart the PC, this issue has been fixed. The same issue for the jupyter command fixed as well.

Upvotes: 7

Tom E. O'Neil

Reputation: 557

I found a very simple solution to, (Pip - Fatal error in launcher:)

1) You must not have multiple environmental variables for the python path.

A) Goto Environmental Variables and delete Python27 in the path if you have Python 3.6.5 installed.  Pip is confused by multiple paths!!!

Upvotes: 37

Juan Castaño

Reputation: 120

It happened to me using pip package, then I solved it like below:

1) First of all uninstall pip using python command

$python -m pip uninstall pip

2) Then reinstall pip package using easy_install command

$easy_install pip

3) Finally, try again pip command on command line directly, install any package

$pip install pylint

or only execute pip command

$pip

Upvotes: 3

Alexander.Iljushkin

Reputation: 4586

My solution is to run twine upload over the python -m argument.

So just use python -m:

python -m twine upload dist/*

Upvotes: 0

Baishan Lu

Reputation: 91

I got the same error when installed both python2 and python3 on my Windows 7.

You can use python3 -m pip install xxxxxx to install your package.

Or, fix it completely:

Try to run python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip in cmd.
If failed in step 1, try python3 -m pip install --upgrade --force-reinstall pip

Upvotes: 9

Austin Rappa

Reputation: 1

Check your Windows PATH environment variable. It has a limit of 260 characters and your python location might be past that character limit.

You can either move your Python paths higher in the path list or disable the Windows character limit as described here: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa365247(v=vs.85).aspx

A registry key allows you to enable or disable the new long path behavior. To enable long path behavior set the registry key at HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem LongPathsEnabled (Type: REG_DWORD). The key's value will be cached by the system (per process) after the first call to an affected Win32 file or directory function (list follows). The registry key will not be reloaded during the lifetime of the process. In order for all apps on the system to recognize the value of the key, a reboot might be required because some processes may have started before the key was set.

The registry key can also be controlled via Group Policy at Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Filesystem > Enable NTFS long paths.

Upvotes: 0

nichoio

Reputation: 7587

I fixed my issue by...

downloading Python 3 at the official website and installing it via express installation
Copy & Paste the standalone python into the ampps/python folder and overwriting the python version provided by AMPPS
running python -m pip install --upgrade pip in cmd

Now pip and python 3 are installed in their latest version.

It seems that AMPPS doesnt't provide a full-fledged python build. So you need to update python yourself.

Thanks to y'all.

Upvotes: 267

Pip - Fatal error in launcher: Unable to create process using &#39;&quot;&#39;

Answers (30)

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Pip - Fatal error in launcher: Unable to create process using '"'