8 Best Ways to Check the Package Version in Python

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In this article, I’ll show you how to check the version of a Python module (package, library).

These are the eight best ways to check the version of a Python module:

  • Method 1: pip show my_package
  • Method 2: pip list
  • Method 3: pip list | findstr my_package
  • Method 4: my_package.__version__
  • Method 5: importlib.metadata.version
  • Method 6: conda list
  • Method 7: pip freeze
  • Method 8: pip freeze | grep my_package

Let’s dive into some examples for each of those next!

Method 1: pip show

To check which version of a given Python library, say xyz, is installed, use pip show xyz or pip3 show xyz. For example, to check the version of your NumPy installation, run pip show numpy in your CMD/Powershell (Windows), or terminal (macOS/Linux/Ubuntu).

This will work if your pip installation is version 1.3 or higher—which is likely to hold in your case because pip 1.3 was released a decade ago in 2013!!

Here’s an example in my Windows Powershell for NumPy: I’ve highlighted the line that shows that my package version is 1.21.0:

PS C:\Users\xcent> pip show numpy
Name: numpy
Version: 1.21.0
Summary: NumPy is the fundamental package for array computing with Python.
Home-page: https://www.numpy.org
Author: Travis E. Oliphant et al.
Author-email: None
License: BSD
Location: c:\users\xcent\appdata\local\programs\python\python39\lib\site-packages
Requires:
Required-by: pandas, matplotlib

In some instances, this will not work—depending on your environment. In this case, try those commands before giving up:

python -m pip show numpy
python3 -m pip show numpy
py -m pip show numpy
pip3 show numpy

Of course, replace “numpy” with your particular package name.

Method 2: pip list

To check the versions of all installed packages, use pip list and locate the version of your particular package in the output list of package versions sorted alphabetically.

This will work if your pip installation is version 1.3 or higher.

Here’s an example in my Windows Powershell, I’ve highlighted the line that shows that my package version is 1.21.0:

PS C:\Users\xcent> pip list
Package         Version
--------------- ---------
beautifulsoup4  4.9.3
bs4             0.0.1
certifi         2021.5.30
chardet         4.0.0
cycler          0.10.0
idna            2.10
kiwisolver      1.3.1
matplotlib      3.4.2
mss             6.1.0
numpy           1.21.0
pandas          1.3.1
Pillow          8.3.0
pip             21.1.1
pyparsing       2.4.7
python-dateutil 2.8.1
pytz            2021.1
requests        2.25.1
setuptools      56.0.0
six             1.16.0
soupsieve       2.2.1
urllib3         1.26.6

In some instances, this will not work—depending on your environment. Then try those commands before giving up:

python -m pip list
python3 -m pip list
py -m pip list
pip3 list

Method 3: pip list + findstr on Windows

To check the versions of a single package on Windows, you can chain pip list with findstr xyz using the CMD or Powershell command: pip3 list | findstr numpy to locate the version of your particular package xyz in the output list of package versions automatically.

Here’s an example for numpy:

pip3 list | findstr numpy

1.21.0

Method 4: Library.__version__ Attribute

To check your package installation in your Python script, you can also use the xyz.__version__ attribute of the particular library xyz. Not all packages provide this attribute but as it is recommended by PEP, it’ll work for most libraries.

Here’s the code:

import numpy
print(numpy.__version__)
# 1.21.0

Here’s an excerpt from the PEP 8 docs mentioning the __version__ attribute.

“PEP 8 describes the use of a module attribute called __version__ for recording “Subversion, CVS, or RCS” version strings using keyword expansion. In the PEP author’s own email archives, the earliest example of the use of an __version__ module attribute by independent module developers dates back to 1995.”

Method 5: importlib.metadata.version

The importlib.metadata library provides a general way to check the package version in your Python script via importlib.metadata.version('xyz') for library xyz. This returns a string representation of the specific version. For example, importlib.metadata.version('numpy') returns 1.21.0 in my current environment.

Here’s the code:

import importlib.metadata
print(importlib.metadata.version('numpy'))
# 1.21.0

Method 6: conda list

If you have created your Python environment with Anaconda, you can use conda list to list all packages installed in your (virtual) environment. Optionally, you can add a regular expression using the syntax conda list regex to list only packages matching a certain pattern.

How to list all packages in the current environment?

conda list

How to list all packages installed into the environment 'xyz'?

conda list -n xyz

Regex: How to list all packages starting with 'py'?

conda list '^py'

Regex: How to list all packages starting with 'py' or 'code'?

conda list '^(py|code)'

Method 7: pip freeze

The pip freeze command without any option lists all installed Python packages in your environment in alphabetically order (ignoring UPPERCASE or lowercase). You can spot your specific package if it is installed in the environment.

pip freeze

Output from my local Windows environment with PowerShell (strange packages I know) ;):

PS C:\Users\xcent> pip freeze
asn1crypto==1.5.1
et-xmlfile==1.1.0
openpyxl==3.0.10

For example, I have the Python package openpyxl installed with version 3.0.10.

You can modify or exclude specific packages using the options provided in this screenshot:

source

Method 8: pip freeze + grep on Linux/Ubuntu/macOS

To check the versions of a single package on Linux/Ubuntu/macOS, you can chain pip freeze with grep xyz using the CMD or Powershell command: pip freeze | grep xyz to programmatically locate the version of your particular package xyz in the output list of package versions.

Here’s an example for numpy:

pip freeze | grep scikit-learn
scikit-learn==0.17.1

Related Questions

Check Package Version Python

How to check package version in Python?

To check which version of a given Python package is installed, use pip show my_package. For example, to check the version of your NumPy installation, run pip show numpy in your CMD/Powershell (Windows), or terminal (macOS/Linux/Ubuntu).

pip show my_package

Check Package Version Linux

How to check my package version in Linux?

To check which version of a given Python package is installed, use pip show my_package. For example, to check the version of your NumPy installation, run pip show numpy in your Linux terminal.

pip show my_package

Check Package Version Ubuntu

How to check my package version in Ubuntu?

To check which version of a given Python package is installed, use pip show my_package. For example, to check the version of your NumPy installation, run pip show numpy in your Ubuntu terminal/shall/bash.

pip show my_package

Check Package Version Windows

How to check package version on Windows?

To check which version of a given Python package is installed, use pip show my_package. For example, to check the version of your NumPy installation, run pip show numpy in your Windows CMD, command line, or PowerShell.

pip show my_package

Check Package Version Mac

How to check package version on macOS?

To check which version of a given Python package is installed, use pip show my_package. For example, to check the version of your NumPy installation, run pip show numpy in your macOS terminal.

pip show my_package

Check Package Version Jupyter Notebook

How to check package version in your Jupyter Notebook?

To check which version of a given Python package is installed, add the line !pip show my_package to your notebook cell where you want to check. Notice the exclamation mark prefix ! that allows you to run commands in your Python script cell. For example, to check the version of your NumPy installation, run !pip show numpy in your notebook.

!pip show my_package

For example, this is a screenshot on how this looks for numpy in a Jupyter Notebook:

Check Package Version Terminal

How to check package version in my terminal?

To check which version of a given Python package is installed, use pip show my_package. For example, to check the version of your NumPy installation, run pip show numpy in your terminal.

pip show my_package

Check Package Version Conda/Anaconda

How to check package version in my conda installation?

Use conda list 'my_package' to list version information about the specific package installed in your (virtual) environment.

conda list 'my_package'

Check Package Version with PIP

How to check package version with pip?

You can use multiple commands to check the package version with PIP such as pip show my_package, pip list, pip freeze, and pip list.

pip show my_package
pip list
pip freeze
pip list

Check Package Version in VSCode or PyCharm

How to check package version in VSCode or PyCharm?

Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) such as VSCode or PyCharm provide a built-in terminal where you can run pip show my_package to check the current version of my_package in the specific environment you’re running the command in.

pip show my_package
pip list
pip freeze

You can type any of those commands in your IDE terminal like so:

pip IDE check package version

Summary

In this article, you’ve learned those best ways to check a Python package version:

  • Method 1: pip show my_package
  • Method 2: pip list
  • Method 3: pip list | findstr my_package
  • Method 4: my_package.__version__
  • Method 5: importlib.metadata.version
  • Method 6: conda list
  • Method 7: pip freeze
  • Method 8: pip freeze | grep my_package

Thanks for giving us your valued attention — we’re grateful to have you here! 🙂

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