How to Check Which PIP Version is Installed on Your System

If you are coding in Python, you are probably using PIP to manage your Python packages easily and import them into your projects. Keeping Python and PIP up-to-date is important to avoid issues in your applications, so in this article, I will explain how to check the current PIP version, and update it if needed.

You can get the current PIP version on your system by opening a terminal and typing the command: pip -V. It will show the PIP version and the Python version that is installed on the computer (if any).

Let’s take a more detailed look at how to do this with each operating system, and I’ll also give you more tips to install and keep your system up-to-date.

How to Know the Version of PIP Installed on Your System?

Checking for the pip version will depend on your operating system.
Let’s look at a few ways below.

Linux

On Linux distributions, you can check the installed PIP version with the command:
pip -V
or
pip --version

Open the terminal, and type the command.
If PIP is installed properly, you should get something like:

The first version number corresponds to the current PIP version installed (23.0.1 in my example).
You can also find the Python version you’re using at the end of the line (3.11 in my screenshot).

If you get an error, it’s probably because PIP is not installed yet.

Run the APT command they give you to install it or check the end of this article for more detail on how to install PIP on any system.

Note: If you have several Python versions installed on your system, using “pip3 -V” instead of “pip -V” might give a different result. In this case, you should also use “pip3” when installing new packages, or they will be installed for Python 2.

macOS

The process is the same on macOS.
Open a terminal and use the same command to check the current PIP version:
pip --version
or:
pip3 --version
if you have both Python 2 and Python 3 installed.

Windows

On Windows, the process is slightly different, but you can quickly know the current PIP version by following these steps:

• Open the command prompt.
  Use the search engine in the start menu to quickly find it.
  
• Then type this command:
  py -m pip --version
• If everything is set up correctly, you should get something like:
  

If it doesn’t work, check the end of this article to install PIP on Windows (and maybe Python too).

What is the Latest PIP Version Available?

The easiest way to know the latest PIP version available is to go to the PIP project page on PyPi and check the version number at the top.

There will almost always be a slight difference between the latest version available on this website, and the one installed on your system. As for any application, it’s often better to use a recent version but not the latest one that could include various bugs and create problems in your project.

If you are on a test environment and absolutely want to install this version, you can upgrade it by using these commands:

• On Linux / macOS:
  sudo pip install pip --upgrade
• On Windows:
  py -m pip install pip --upgrade

This should download and install the same version as stated on the PyPi website.

How to Install the Latest PIP Version for Your System?

It’s normal to be a little behind the version shown on the PyPi website, but if you find out that you’re lagging versions by a lot, it’s time to update your pip installation. The method is slightly different depending on which OS you’re using, which we’ll go over now.

Linux

The easiest way to install PIP on a Linux distribution is to use the package manager.
So, on Ubuntu and Debian-like systems, you can install PIP with:
sudo apt install python3-pip

On other Linux distributions, you’ll find something similar, for example:

• Fedora:
  sudo dnf install python3-pip
• CentOS:
  sudo yum install python3-pip
• Arch Linux:
  sudo pacman -S python3-pip
• OpenSUSE:
  sudo zypper install python3-pip

In the official PIP documentation, they also give two other methods if you prefer:

• You can either use the “ensurepip” module to install PIP as a requirement for your Python environment:
  python -m ensurepip --upgrade
• Or download a Python script that will install it for you:
  wget https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py
python get-pip.py

Tip: Command lines can be a pain to memorize. I put the essential Linux commands on a printable cheat sheet so you don't have to keep googling them. You can grab the PDF here if you want to save some time.

macOS

On macOS, you can follow the same last two solutions I gave for Linux distributions, which are:

• Either using the “ensurepip” module to install PIP on your Mac:
  python -m ensurepip --upgrade
• Or download and run this Python script:
  wget https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py
python get-pip.py

Either way, don’t forget to use the “–upgrade” parameter if you need the latest version:
python -m pip install --upgrade pip

Windows

Windows does not include Python by default like you often find on Linux systems.

Make Sure You Have Python Installed

So, before going any further, make sure Python is installed on your system:

• Open a command prompt:
  Open the start menu, and type “command” or “cmd” to find the application.
• Once in the black terminal, type the command:
  py --version
• It should give you something like:
  

If the command is not recognized, then you need to install Python first, and then PIP.
Check the following parts to do this on your computer.

Install Python First

To install Python on Windows, go to this page on the official Python website.
Download the Windows Installer for your system (32-bit or 64-bit):

Once downloaded, double-click on the first and click on “Install now” to install Python on your Windows system:

A few seconds later, everything is ready to use, we just need to install PIP on top of it.

Install the Latest PIP Version on Windows

• Open a command prompt (find the app in the start menu).
• Type the following command:
  py -m ensurepip --default-pip
• It will install PIP and the other requirements if needed:
  
• You can then check that PIP is installed properly with:
  py -m pip --version
  
• And if you absolutely need the latest version, you can upgrade it with:
  py -m pip install pip --upgrade
  But as explained previously, this is not necessarily a good idea in a production environment.

If you want to know more about the “pip” command, you can find everything on this page: How To Use ‘pip’: The Complete Linux Command Guide.

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