How to fix the error “pip command not found”

Many different programming languages have their own supporting packages and software. One of these is called the pip tool which is made for Python. It helps to install and manage any sort of supporting files and tools for Python. Sometimes while attempting to make use of this tool the “pip command not found” problem is invoked.

This article will elaborate on the root cause of this issue as well as what measures can be taken to resolve it.

Resolve the “pip command not found” problem

There are a few distinct causes that can invoke the error in your system. This section will elaborate on what those causes are and how they can be fixed.

Reason 1: pip not installed

The most obvious reason for this error is that the Python-pip tool is not installed on your system. Due to this when you try to use the pip keyword, the command not found the problem is invoked. This can be seen in the snippet below:

Solution: Install pip Tool

The solution to this problem is to simply install the tool onto your system. The installation takes a couple of steps. First, it needs to be checked which version of Python is installed on your system. Execute the following commands to check:

$ python2 --version
$ python3 --version

If none of the commands shows the version (as in our case) then your system is not having Python. Run this command to install Python:

$ sudo apt install python3

After installing Python, install the pip tool using this command:

$ sudo apt install python3-pip

This will install the latest pip3 tool on your system.

Once the tool is installed you can try to run it with the “pip” command and see that you no longer get the “pip command not found” error.

Reason 2: Wrong pip syntax

In some systems, the keyword, and syntax used for the pip command can vary. There are two different versions of the pip tool. Between them, the syntax can vary. If the syntax for one version is used in another version, this can cause an error. Check the pip version using the commands below:

$ pip --version

If the pip version is shown to be 3, try the following syntax and this should run the pip command and not show the error anymore:

$ pip3 install <package>

Conclusion

The “pip command not found” problem occurs when the pip tool is not installed on the system or the incorrect syntax is being used. To fix this, the pip tool needs to be installed on your system or the correct syntax must be followed as per the installed pip version. This article has stated the reason for the error “pip command not found” and the possible solutions to this error are also demonstrated.