How to Install `setuptools` in Python

v82.0.1 CLI & Utilities Python >=3.9

Most extensible Python build backend with support for C/C++ extension modules

Install pip install setuptools

What is setuptools?

Most extensible Python build backend with support for C/C++ extension modules

See the and the for instructions on how to use Setuptools.

Questions and comments should be directed to `GitHub Discussions `. Bug reports and especially tested patches may be submitted directly to the `bug tracker `.

Everyone interacting in the setuptools project's codebases, issue trackers, chat rooms, and fora is expected to follow the .

PyPI page → Author: Python Packaging Authority <distutils-sig@python.org>

Quick Start

Minimal example to get started with setuptools:

import setuptools

print(setuptools.__version__)

Installation

pip (standard)

pip install setuptools

Virtual environment (recommended)

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

pip3

pip3 install setuptools

conda

conda install -c conda-forge setuptools

Poetry

poetry add setuptools

Verify the Installation

After installing, confirm the package is available:

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

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'setuptools'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 setuptools. 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 setuptools

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 setuptools

Recent Releases

Version	Released
`82.0.1` latest	2026-03-09
`75.3.4`	2026-02-08
`82.0.0`	2026-02-08
`81.0.0`	2026-02-06
`80.10.2`	2026-01-25

Full release history on PyPI →

Manage setuptools

Upgrade to latest version

pip install --upgrade setuptools

Install a specific version

pip install setuptools==82.0.1

Uninstall

pip uninstall setuptools

Check what is installed

pip show setuptools

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

How to Install setuptools in Python