How to Install `pyzbar` in Python

v0.1.9 CLI & Utilities MIT

Read one-dimensional barcodes and QR codes from Python 2 and 3.

Install pip install pyzbar

What is pyzbar?

Read one-dimensional barcodes and QR codes from Python 2 and 3.

Read one-dimensional barcodes and QR codes from Python 2 and 3 using the library.

- Pure python - Works with PIL / Pillow images, OpenCV / imageio / numpy ``\ s, and raw bytes - Decodes locations of barcodes - No dependencies, other than the zbar library itself - Tested on Python 2.7, and Python 3.5 to 3.10

The older package is stuck in Python 2.x-land. The package does not provide support for Windows and depends upon Pillow.

Documentation → PyPI page → Author: Lawrence Hudson

Quick Start

Minimal example to get started with pyzbar:

import pyzbar

print(pyzbar.__version__)

Installation

pip (standard)

pip install pyzbar

Virtual environment (recommended)

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

pip3

pip3 install pyzbar

conda

conda install -c conda-forge pyzbar

Poetry

poetry add pyzbar

Dependencies

Installing pyzbar will also install these packages:

enum34 pathlib

Verify the Installation

After installing, confirm the package is available:

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

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pyzbar'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 pyzbar. 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 pyzbar

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 pyzbar

Recent Releases

Version	Released
`0.1.9` latest	2022-03-15
`0.1.8`	2019-02-21
`0.1.7`	2018-05-13
`0.1.5`	2018-03-18
`0.1.4`	2017-01-18

Full release history on PyPI →

Manage pyzbar

Upgrade to latest version

pip install --upgrade pyzbar

Install a specific version

pip install pyzbar==0.1.9

Uninstall

pip uninstall pyzbar

Check what is installed

pip show pyzbar

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

How to Install pyzbar in Python