How to Install `six` in Python

v1.17.0 CLI & Utilities Python !=3.0.*,!=3.1.*,!=3.2.*,>=2.7 MIT

Python 2 and 3 compatibility utilities

Install pip install six

What is six?

Python 2 and 3 compatibility utilities

Six is a Python 2 and 3 compatibility library. It provides utility functions for smoothing over the differences between the Python versions with the goal of writing Python code that is compatible on both Python versions. See the documentation for more information on what is provided.

Six supports Python 2.7 and 3.3+. It is contained in only one Python file, so it can be easily copied into your project. (The copyright and license notice must be retained.)

Bugs can be reported to The code can also be found there.

Documentation → PyPI page → Author: Benjamin Peterson

Quick Start

Minimal example to get started with six:

import six

print(six.__version__)

Installation

pip (standard)

pip install six

Virtual environment (recommended)

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

pip3

pip3 install six

conda

conda install -c conda-forge six

Poetry

poetry add six

Verify the Installation

After installing, confirm the package is available:

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

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'six'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 six. 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 six

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 six

Recent Releases

Version	Released
`1.17.0` latest	2024-12-04
`1.16.0`	2021-05-05
`1.15.0`	2020-05-21
`1.14.0`	2020-01-15
`1.13.0`	2019-11-05

Full release history on PyPI →

Manage six

Upgrade to latest version

pip install --upgrade six

Install a specific version

pip install six==1.17.0

Uninstall

pip uninstall six

Check what is installed

pip show six

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

How to Install six in Python