How to use MinGW's gcc compiler when installing Python package using Pip?

Question

I configured MinGW and distutils so now I can compile extensions using this command:

setup.py install

MinGW's gcc compiler will be used and package will be installed. For that I installed MinGW and created distutils.cfg file with following content:

[build]
compiler = mingw32

It's cool but now I'd like to use all pip benefits. Is there a way to use the same MinGW's gcc compiler in pip? So that when I run this:

pip install <package name>

pip will use MinGW's gcc compiler and compile C code if needed?

Currently I get this error: Unable to find vcvarsall.bat. Seems pip doesn't know that I have gcc compiler. How can I configure pip to use gcc compiler?

Another tip: make sure that the file is called distutils.cfg and not distutils.cfg.txt. Sometimes Windows likes to add the .txt extension when you make a new text file. — sffc
– sffc, Commented Jun 18, 2015 at 21:31

Zoe - Save the data dump · Accepted Answer · 2019-06-30 18:04:10Z

108

install MinGW with C++ Compiler option checked
add C:\MinGW\bin to your PATH
in PYTHONPATH\Lib\distutils, create a file distutils.cfg and add these lines:

[build]
compiler=mingw32

edited Jun 30, 2019 at 18:04

Zoe - Save the data dump

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answered Feb 19, 2011 at 14:25

Syl

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6 Comments

Chad Cooper Over a year ago

The distutils.cfg file creation is what solved this for me - I was trying to install a package with pip and got the dreaded "Unable to find vcvarsall.bat" error. Thanks.

markijbema Over a year ago

Remember that you should change this for the python in your virtualenv if you use one.

Colonel Panic Over a year ago

Thanks. Still tedious. If only Pip had a --compiler option github.com/pypa/pip/issues/18 please weigh in

Yablargo Over a year ago

Just a note, if you are using virtualenv, you have a separate distutils.cfg to change -- this was my problem!

OYRM Over a year ago

I have windows 8.1 on a 64 bit computer. After attempting the above I received the error : error: You should not use mingw32 for gcc >= 4.6.0. Use mingw64 instead, e.g.:python setup.py build_ext -c mingw64 I altered the [build] entry in the distutils.cfg file to read compiler=mingw32 and had success.

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Anton K · Accepted Answer · 2015-11-09 21:21:38Z

24

Even though configuration file solves this problem, it's not always an option. I had the same issue for my command line installation process and I was not able to change config files on all the machines and python distributions.

This is my solution:

For mingw32 and packages, which use VC++ as default:

pip install --global-option build_ext --global-option --compiler=mingw32 <package_zip>

For Visual C++ on WinPython, which uses mingw32 as default:

pip install --global-option build_ext --global-option --compiler=msvc <package_zip>

answered Nov 9, 2015 at 21:21

Anton K

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2 Comments

Kitwradr Over a year ago

Where can we get the <package_zip> ? Is it the whl file?

Anton K Over a year ago

<package_zip> is a zipped pip package with sources inside, which require compilation. You can download many from pypi.org

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