How to Install `wordcloud` in Python

v1.9.6 General Purpose Python >=3.9

A little word cloud generator

Install pip install wordcloud

What is wordcloud?

A little word cloud generator

A little word cloud generator in Python. Read more about it on the [blog post][blog-post] or the [website][website].

The code is tested against Python 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13.

If you are using conda, you can install from the channel:

PyPI page → Author: Andreas Mueller <t3kcit+wordcloud@gmail.com>

Quick Start

Minimal example to get started with wordcloud:

import wordcloud

print(wordcloud.__version__)

Installation

pip (standard)

pip install wordcloud

Virtual environment (recommended)

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

pip3

pip3 install wordcloud

conda

conda install -c conda-forge wordcloud

Poetry

poetry add wordcloud

Dependencies

Installing wordcloud will also install these packages:

numpy pillow matplotlib

Verify the Installation

After installing, confirm the package is available:

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

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'wordcloud'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 wordcloud. 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 wordcloud

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 wordcloud

Recent Releases

Version	Released
`1.9.6` latest	2026-01-22
`1.9.5`	2025-12-22
`1.9.4`	2024-11-10
`1.9.3`	2023-12-09
`1.9.2`	2023-05-18

Full release history on PyPI →

Manage wordcloud

Upgrade to latest version

pip install --upgrade wordcloud

Install a specific version

pip install wordcloud==1.9.6

Uninstall

pip uninstall wordcloud

Check what is installed

pip show wordcloud

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

How to Install wordcloud in Python