How to Install scikit-learn in Python
A set of python modules for machine learning and data mining
pip install scikit-learn
What is scikit-learn?
A set of python modules for machine learning and data mining
scikit-learn is a Python module for machine learning built on top of SciPy and is distributed under the 3-Clause BSD license.
The project was started in 2007 by David Cournapeau as a Google Summer of Code project, and since then many volunteers have contributed. See the page for a list of core contributors.
It is currently maintained by a team of volunteers.
Quick Start
Minimal example to get started with scikit-learn:
from sklearn.datasets import load_iris
from sklearn.ensemble import RandomForestClassifier
from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split
iris = load_iris()
X_train, X_test, y_train, y_test = train_test_split(
iris.data, iris.target, test_size=0.2
)
clf = RandomForestClassifier()
clf.fit(X_train, y_train)
print(clf.score(X_test, y_test)) # ~0.97Installation
pip (standard)
pip install scikit-learnVirtual environment (recommended)
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install scikit-learnpip3
pip3 install scikit-learnconda
conda install -c conda-forge scikit-learnPoetry
poetry add scikit-learnDependencies
Installing scikit-learn will also install these packages:
Verify the Installation
After installing, confirm the package is available:
python -c "import sklearn; print(sklearn.__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 scikit-learn with pip.
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'sklearn'
Cause: The package is not installed in the current Python environment.
Fix: Run pip install scikit-learn. If using a virtual environment, ensure it is activated first.
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'sklearn' (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 scikit-learn to install into the interpreter you are running.
ImportError: cannot import name 'X' from 'sklearn'
Cause: The function or class does not exist in the installed version.
Fix: Check the version with pip show scikit-learn and upgrade with pip install --upgrade scikit-learn.
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 scikit-learn. 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 scikit-learn
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 scikit-learn
MemoryError when loading data
Cause: Dataset is too large to fit in RAM.
Fix: Read in chunks, filter columns on load, or consider Polars/Dask for out-of-core processing.
Recent Releases
| Version | Released |
|---|---|
1.8.0 latest |
2025-12-10 |
1.8.0rc1 |
2025-11-26 |
1.7.2 |
2025-09-09 |
1.7.1 |
2025-07-18 |
1.7.0 |
2025-06-05 |
Manage scikit-learn
Upgrade to latest version
pip install --upgrade scikit-learnInstall a specific version
pip install scikit-learn==1.8.0Uninstall
pip uninstall scikit-learnCheck what is installed
pip show scikit-learn