Homebrew Python, Macvim: getting user scheme error (--user)

[oryband]

I'm using a Homebrew Python & Macvim, on OSX ML.
When trying to pip install --user git+git://github.com/Lokaltog/powerline, I get a user scheme related error:

------------------------------------------------------------
/usr/local/bin/pip run on Wed Jun 19 03:11:30 2013
Downloading/unpacking git+git://github.com/Lokaltog/powerline

  Cloning git://github.com/Lokaltog/powerline to /var/folders/k9/39bn572j64785jmvr63tqm180000gn/T/pip-CeX1GF-build

  Found command 'git' at '/usr/local/bin/git'
  Running command /usr/local/bin/git clone -q git://github.com/Lokaltog/powerline /var/folders/k9/39bn572j64785jmvr63tqm180000gn/T/pip-CeX1GF-build
  Running setup.py egg_info for package from git+git://github.com/Lokaltog/powerline

    running egg_info
    creating pip-egg-info/Powerline.egg-info
    writing requirements to pip-egg-info/Powerline.egg-info/requires.txt
    writing pip-egg-info/Powerline.egg-info/PKG-INFO
    writing top-level names to pip-egg-info/Powerline.egg-info/top_level.txt
    writing dependency_links to pip-egg-info/Powerline.egg-info/dependency_links.txt
    writing manifest file 'pip-egg-info/Powerline.egg-info/SOURCES.txt'
    warning: manifest_maker: standard file '-c' not found


    reading manifest file 'pip-egg-info/Powerline.egg-info/SOURCES.txt'
    reading manifest template 'MANIFEST.in'
    writing manifest file 'pip-egg-info/Powerline.egg-info/SOURCES.txt'
  Source in /var/folders/k9/39bn572j64785jmvr63tqm180000gn/T/pip-CeX1GF-build has version beta, which satisfies requirement Powerline==beta from git+git://github.com/Lokaltog/powerline
  skipping extra docs
Installing collected packages: Powerline

  Running setup.py install for Powerline

    Running command /usr/local/opt/python/bin/python2.7 -c "import setuptools;__file__='/var/folders/k9/39bn572j64785jmvr63tqm180000gn/T/pip-CeX1GF-build/setup.py';exec(compile(open(__file__).read().replace('\r\n', '\n'), __file__, 'exec'))" install --record /var/folders/k9/39bn572j64785jmvr63tqm180000gn/T/pip-JsOX6p-record/install-record.txt --single-version-externally-managed --user
    running install
    error: can't combine user with prefix, exec_prefix/home, or install_(plat)base

    Complete output from command /usr/local/opt/python/bin/python2.7 -c "import setuptools;__file__='/var/folders/k9/39bn572j64785jmvr63tqm180000gn/T/pip-CeX1GF-build/setup.py';exec(compile(open(__file__).read().replace('\r\n', '\n'), __file__, 'exec'))" install --record /var/folders/k9/39bn572j64785jmvr63tqm180000gn/T/pip-JsOX6p-record/install-record.txt --single-version-externally-managed --user:

    running install

error: can't combine user with prefix, exec_prefix/home, or install_(plat)base

----------------------------------------

Command /usr/local/opt/python/bin/python2.7 -c "import setuptools;__file__='/var/folders/k9/39bn572j64785jmvr63tqm180000gn/T/pip-CeX1GF-build/setup.py';exec(compile(open(__file__).read().replace('\r\n', '\n'), __file__, 'exec'))" install --record /var/folders/k9/39bn572j64785jmvr63tqm180000gn/T/pip-JsOX6p-record/install-record.txt --single-version-externally-managed --user failed with error code 1 in /var/folders/k9/39bn572j64785jmvr63tqm180000gn/T/pip-CeX1GF-build

Exception information:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.5/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/pip-1.3.1-py2.7.egg/pip/basecommand.py", line 139, in main
    status = self.run(options, args)
  File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.5/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/pip-1.3.1-py2.7.egg/pip/commands/install.py", line 271, in run
    requirement_set.install(install_options, global_options, root=options.root_path)
  File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.5/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/pip-1.3.1-py2.7.egg/pip/req.py", line 1185, in install
    requirement.install(install_options, global_options, *args, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.5/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/pip-1.3.1-py2.7.egg/pip/req.py", line 592, in install
    cwd=self.source_dir, filter_stdout=self._filter_install, show_stdout=False)
  File "/usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.5/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/pip-1.3.1-py2.7.egg/pip/util.py", line 662, in call_subprocess
    % (command_desc, proc.returncode, cwd))
InstallationError: Command /usr/local/opt/python/bin/python2.7 -c "import setuptools;__file__='/var/folders/k9/39bn572j64785jmvr63tqm180000gn/T/pip-CeX1GF-build/setup.py';exec(compile(open(__file__).read().replace('\r\n', '\n'), __file__, 'exec'))" install --record /var/folders/k9/39bn572j64785jmvr63tqm180000gn/T/pip-JsOX6p-record/install-record.txt --single-version-externally-managed --user failed with error code 1 in /var/folders/k9/39bn572j64785jmvr63tqm180000gn/T/pip-CeX1GF-build

Any idea how to fix this?

[eddiemonge]

I am getting this as well now

[a-b]

me too

[kurtisnelson]

👍

[dsdeiz]

I got it working following this.

[oryband]

@dsdeiz This fixes the problem.

This should be stated in the docs.

[Lokaltog]

@oryband Feel free to add it and submit a pull request.

[a-b]

I wouldn't add an empty prefix as suggested at #552 (comment)

With empty prefix it will install packages to the ~/Library/Python/2.7/lib/python/site-packages/
Instead if you're using python installed by brew, you're expecting to have all your packages under /usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages as explained at brew info python

more info here https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/wiki/Homebrew-and-Python

[oryband]

@Lokaltog What do you suggest should be done?

[unphased]

@a-b What should we do?

I had to do this to get it installed, it sure looks like some stuff got dumped in ~/Library...

lust@Stevens-MacBook-Pro:~ 
$ echo "[install]\nprefix=\n" > ~/.pydistutils.cfg                                              
lust@Stevens-MacBook-Pro:~ 
$ pip install --user git+git://github.com/Lokaltog/powerline
Downloading/unpacking git+git://github.com/Lokaltog/powerline
  Cloning git://github.com/Lokaltog/powerline to /var/folders/z_/ybb_x1f96l9d2yqr18ncmg1w0000gn/T/pip-
i64Eno-build
  Running setup.py egg_info for package from git+git://github.com/Lokaltog/powerline

Installing collected packages: Powerline
  Running setup.py install for Powerline

    changing mode of build/scripts-2.7/powerline from 644 to 755
    changing mode of build/scripts-2.7/powerline-lint from 644 to 755
    changing mode of /Users/lust/Library/Python/2.7/bin/powerline to 755
    changing mode of /Users/lust/Library/Python/2.7/bin/powerline-lint to 755
Successfully installed Powerline
Cleaning up...

[gji]

In the Homebrew documentation at https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/wiki/Homebrew-and-Python:

Note, pip install --user is disabled for brewed Python. This is a bug in distutils, because Homebrew writes a distutils.cfg that sets the prefix for packages.

I installed powerline without the --user flag, which of course means that it is not installed in "/Users/..." but rather in "/usr/local/...." (or whatever your brew prefix is). According to the brew documentation, installing in ~/Library/Python/2.7/lib/python/site-packages/ will also work though.

[samueljohn]

So, if you use a brewed python (via brew install python), you can just do
pip install git+git://github.com/Lokaltog/powerline and the powerline module will be at $(brew --prefix)/lib/python2.7/site-packages. Don't need to set the PYTHONPATH.
But you have to make sure that you brew install vim after you brewed python, so that vim uses brewed python.
To check this, I use xcrun otool -L $(brew --prefix)/bin/vim and look for the linked Python.

Another option, to work around the "can't combine user with prefix, exec_prefix/home, or install_(plat)base" is to only disable the prefix temporarily:

pip install --user --install-option="--prefix=" git+git://github.com/Lokaltog/powerline

Note that this will put executable scripts into ~/Library/Python/2.7/bin.

[oryband]

This is too complicated.

[samueljohn]

I am even thinking to let homebrew patch distutils such that --user overwrites the prefix.