How to Install `pycparser` in Python

v3.0 General Purpose Python >=3.10

C parser in Python

Install pip install pycparser

What is pycparser?

C parser in Python

pycparser is a parser for the C language, written in pure Python. It is a module designed to be easily integrated into applications that need to parse C source code.

Anything that needs C code to be parsed. The following are some uses for pycparser, taken from real user reports:

C code obfuscator Front-end for various specialized C compilers Static code checker Automatic unit-test discovery Adding specialized extensions to the C language

PyPI page → Author: Eli Bendersky <eliben@gmail.com>

Quick Start

Minimal example to get started with pycparser:

import pycparser

print(pycparser.__version__)

Installation

pip (standard)

pip install pycparser

Virtual environment (recommended)

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

pip3

pip3 install pycparser

conda

conda install -c conda-forge pycparser

Poetry

poetry add pycparser

Verify the Installation

After installing, confirm the package is available:

python -c "import pycparser; print(pycparser.__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 pycparser with pip.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pycparser'

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

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

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pycparser' (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 pycparser to install into the interpreter you are running.

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

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

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

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 pycparser. 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 pycparser

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 pycparser

Recent Releases

Version	Released
`3.0` latest	2026-01-21
`2.23`	2025-09-09
`2.22`	2024-03-30
`2.21`	2021-11-06
`2.20`	2020-03-04

Full release history on PyPI →

Manage pycparser

Upgrade to latest version

pip install --upgrade pycparser

Install a specific version

pip install pycparser==3.0

Uninstall

pip uninstall pycparser

Check what is installed

pip show pycparser

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

How to Install pycparser in Python