Solving error failed building wheel for Numpy in python -

Table of Contents

What is the "Failed Building Wheel" Error?

When we try to install a Python package some time we see error “Failed Building Wheel”. This error indicates that the installation process couldn’t compile a wheel file for that package. In this error “Error failed building wheel for numpy” it failed to compile for Numpy Package.

What Does ‘Failed Building Wheel for NumPy’ Mean?

How the Error looks.


    × Building wheel for numpy (pyproject.toml) did not run successfully.
    │ exit code: 1
    ╰─> [888 lines of output]
        Running from numpy source directory.

    note: This error originates from a subprocess, and is likely not a problem with pip.
    ERROR: Failed building wheel for numpy
  Failed to build numpy
  ERROR: Could not build wheels for numpy, which is required to install pyproject.toml-based projects

The Role of Wheels in Python Package Installation

In Python wheels are a packaging format that allow us for faster installation of packages. When we don’t have a specific package, the installer attempts to build one from the source. Some times this may lead to errors.

Causes Behind the Failed Building Wheel for NumPy Error

Incompatible Python Version : Every library in Python needs certain version of Python. Check for NumPy version compatibility with Python version. Using a incompatible version may lead to build failures.
Missing Build Tools or Dependencies : Some missing compiler and libraries may cause error while Building packages from the source.
Outdated pip, setuptools, or wheel : Check for outdated versions of pip, setuptools or wheel before installing the packages.

How to identify the ‘Failed Building Wheel’ Error

Checking the Error Logs

Viewing the terminal output when we get a error might give us a idea of what went wrong. You can fix error when you understand it.

Understanding the Most Common Error Messages

Mostly the error message may refer to missing files, incompatible versions, or compilation failure which provides idea on how to solve the error.

Common Fixes for the Error

Upgrade pip, setuptools, and wheel

Always maintain latest version of pip, setuptools and wheel. Run the below code on the terminal to upgrade pip, setuptools and wheel.
code

pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel

Installing Essential Build Tools

For Windows Install Visual C++ Build Tools
For windows we have to download and install the correct Visual C++ Build Tools to compile packages.

Use this link [ https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/visual-cpp-build-tools/ ] to download and install Visual C++ Build Tools.

For macOS Install Xcode Command Line Tools
For macOS we can install Xcode command line tools using the below code:
Open a terminal and run the followin code:
code

xcode-select --install

For Linux install gcc, g++, and python3-dev
For Linux users follow the below code which would install these packages to compile Python extensions:
code

sudo apt-get install build-essential python3-dev

Using Precompiled Binary Wheels

Installing NumPy from PyPI If we have a precompiled version from PyPI we can use “pip install package name”. For numpy we use can use code.

pip install numpy

Using conda for Easy Installation Consider using Anaconda or Miniconda for simplified installations:
code

conda install numpy

Advanced Troubleshooting

Matching Compatibility Issues between Python and Numpy Versions. Check Numpy documentation, Github issues , stackoverflow and other community platforms.

Check Architecture-Specific Issues

Verify Python installation matches on our system matches correct architecture (32-bit or 64-bit).

Building NumPy from Source

If pre-compiled wheels are not available or causing error. We can build NumPy from source by following below code. Open terminal and run the code

git clone https://github.com/numpy/numpy.git
cd numpy
python setup.py install

Fixing Platform-Specific Issues

Windows Users

Common Windows-Specific Build Errors:

Check for missing Visual C++ Redistributables.
You can follow this link [ https://www.techpowerup.com/download/visual-c-redistributable-runtime-package-all-in-one/ ] to install all the Visual C++ Redistributables
Verify that WSL is running and that the necessary tools are installed in the WSL environment.

macOS Users

Mantain latest version of macOS Xcode
Make sure Xcode and Command Line Tools are up to date.
Problems on macOS ARM64 (M1/M2) Systems
Check for ARM architecture compatibility or use Rosetta to create x86 binaries.

Fixes for Linux Users

Dependencies are not available on Linux Distros
Check that all required development packages are installed for your specific distribution.
Fix problem with custom Python installation
Ensure that your correctly configured Python installation and all dependencies.

Preventing Future Build Errors

Check for Compatibility Between Dependencies

Always check compatibility between your Python version and installed packages from various sources like documentation, github issues, stackoverflow etc.

Maintain latest Python Packages

Regularly update the packages till date so that we don’t have conflict

Make Virtual Environments to Manage Dependencies

We can create a virtual environments to isolate project dependencies:

python -m venv myenv
myenv\Scripts\activate

Conclusion

Follow this checklist when you get “failed building wheel for numpy” error

Upgrade package managers and build tools.
Install missing dependencies.
Use precompiled wheels or build from source.
Consider platform-specific issues and solutions.

The error “Failed building wheel for NumPy” is sometimes frustrating but by following our steps in the blog you can carefully analyze the error messages and solve it. We hope you will be able to install NumPy.

You can also learn about Numpy unhashable error.