pip build_error ai_generated true

error: subprocess-exited-with-error: python setup.py egg_info did not run successfully

ID: pip/subprocess-error-setuptools

Also available as: JSON · Markdown

85%Fix Rate

88%Confidence

50Evidence

2023-01-01First Seen

Version Compatibility

Version	Status	Introduced	Deprecated	Notes
24	active	—	—	—

Legacy setup.py based install failed. Package may need C compiler, headers, or pyproject.toml migration.

generic

90% success Install build dependencies: apt install python3-dev build-essential (for C extensions)
```
sudo apt install python3-dev build-essential  # Debian/Ubuntu
brew install python  # macOS
```
Sources: https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/topics/wheels/
85% success Check if a newer version has a pre-built wheel: pip install --prefer-binary <pkg>
```
pip install --prefer-binary
```
Sources: https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/cli/pip_install/#cmdoption-prefer-binary
88% success Install package-specific system deps (e.g., libpq-dev for psycopg2, libxml2-dev for lxml)
```
e.g., libpq-dev for psycopg2, libxml2-dev for lxml
```
Sources: https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/topics/wheels/

Common approaches that don't work:

Use --no-build-isolation 55% fail
May fix some cases but can cause dependency conflicts in build env
Install from a wheel instead 70% fail
If a wheel exists, pip would already use it — it's building because there's no wheel

Frequently confused with: