How to Install `protobuf` in Python

v7.34.1 General Purpose Python >=3.10 3-Clause BSD License

Install pip install protobuf

What is protobuf?

Documentation → PyPI page → Author: protobuf@googlegroups.com

Quick Start

Minimal example to get started with protobuf:

import protobuf

print(protobuf.__version__)

Installation

pip (standard)

pip install protobuf

Virtual environment (recommended)

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate   # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install protobuf

pip3

pip3 install protobuf

conda

conda install -c conda-forge protobuf

Poetry

poetry add protobuf

Verify the Installation

After installing, confirm the package is available:

python -c "import protobuf; print(protobuf.__version__)"

If this prints a version number, installation succeeded. If you see a ModuleNotFoundError, see the errors section below.

Installation Errors

Common errors when installing protobuf with pip.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'protobuf'

Cause: The package is not installed in the current Python environment.

Fix: Run pip install protobuf. If using a virtual environment, ensure it is activated first.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'protobuf' (installed but still failing)

Cause: pip installed the package into a different Python than the one running your script.

Fix: Use python -m pip install protobuf to install into the interpreter you are running.

ImportError: cannot import name 'X' from 'protobuf'

Cause: The function or class does not exist in the installed version.

Fix: Check the version with pip show protobuf and upgrade with pip install --upgrade protobuf.

pip: command not found

Cause: pip is not in PATH or Python was not added to PATH during installation.

Fix: Try python -m pip install protobuf. On macOS/Linux try pip3.

PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied

Cause: No write access to the system Python package directory.

Fix: Use a virtual environment, or add --user: pip install --user protobuf

SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED

Cause: pip cannot verify PyPI's SSL certificate — common behind corporate proxies.

Fix: Try: pip install --trusted-host pypi.org --trusted-host files.pythonhosted.org protobuf

Recent Releases

Version	Released
`4.25.9`	2026-03-25
`7.34.1` latest	2026-03-20
`6.33.6`	2026-03-18
`7.34.0`	2026-02-27
`7.34.0rc2`	2026-02-06

Full release history on PyPI →

Manage protobuf

Upgrade to latest version

pip install --upgrade protobuf

Install a specific version

pip install protobuf==7.34.1

Uninstall

pip uninstall protobuf

Check what is installed

pip show protobuf

Last updated: 2026-04-11 • Data from PyPI

How to Install protobuf in Python