Windows: Install the Requests package using pip

Anaconda users

If you have installed Anaconda the requests package is included in the distribution. Anaconda utilizes Conda rather than pip as its package manager. See the companion guide "Updating the requests package (Anaconda users)".

1.0 About pip

pip is Python’s default package installer. pip provides a pain-free way of installing community-developed Python packages that extend the Python standard library.

Since Python 3.4 pip comes bundled with the release so you do not need to install it, although you may need to upgrade it if the version installed on your machine is outdated.

2.0 Install the requests package

Follow the steps below to install the requests package.

2.1 Open Bash terminal

Click the start menu icon (lower left corner). Type “Git” in the search box. This should highlight the Git Bash app. Click the highlighted app selection or the “Open” or “run as administrator” links to start the shell.

2.2 Check Python version

Not strictly necessary, but always a good practice.

python --version
Python 3.10.2

2.3 Check pip version

Enter the following command:

python -m pip --version

pip 22.0.4 from /usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/pip (python 3.10)

💡 The -m option instructs the Python interpreter to run the pip module as a script.

⚠️ If you try to invoke pip directly you are liable to encounter the following warning:

pip --version

WARNING: pip is being invoked by an old script wrapper. This will fail in a future version of pip.
Please see https://github.com/pypa/pip/issues/5599 for advice on fixing the underlying issue.
To avoid this problem you can invoke Python with '-m pip' instead of running pip directly.

pip 22.0.4 from /usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/pip (python 3.10)

2.4 Update pip

If running a version of pip < 22.0.4 consider updating it:

python -m pip install -U pip

2.5 List installed packages

Check your currently installed packages. The example output below is a minimal listing of installed packages. You may encounter more packages, indeed, significantly more packages, if you installed Python 3.x using Anaconda or have installed Python packages previously.

python -m pip list
Package    Version
---------- -------
pip        22.0.4
setuptools 60.10.0
wheel      0.37.1

If the requests package does not appear in the list of installed packages proceed to step 1.6.

❗ If the requests package is currently installed check if it is outdated. If it is outdated, consider updating the package.

python -m pip list --outdated
python -m pip install --upgrade requests

2.6 Install the requests package

Install the requests package.

❗ The package name is “requests” (plural) not “request”.

python -m pip install requests

Installing the requests package will also install a number of additional packages that the requests libraries relies on (i.e., dependencies). When complete the a “Successfully installed” line will be written to the screen.

Successfully installed . . . [installed package versions listed]

2.7 List installed packages (recheck)

Issue the pip list command to return a list of the all installed packages. Confirm that the requests package has been installed.

python -m pip list
Package    Version
---------- ---------
...
requests   2.27.1
...

👍 Congratulations. Your package install work is done.

3.0 Other useful pip commands

3.1 Check for outdated packages

python -m pip list --outdated
Package    Version Latest Type
---------- ------- ------ -----
requests   2.26.0  2.27.1 wheel

3.2 Upgrade a package

python -m pip install --upgrade requests

3.3 Delete a package

python -m pip uninstall requests

4.0 Documentation

pip: https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/

requests: https://requests.readthedocs.io/en/master/