Can't install Levenshtein distance package on Windows Python 3.5

Question

I need to install python Levenshtein distance package in order to use this library. Unfortunately, I am not able to install it succesfully. I usually install libraries with pip. However, this time I am getting error: [WinError 2] The system cannot find the file specified which had never happened to me before (when installing libraries). I have tried to install it using the python setup.py install but I get exactly the same error. This the output I get from the console.

C:\Users\my_user\Anaconda3\Lib\site-packages\python-Levenshtein-0.10.2>python setup.py install
running install
running bdist_egg
running egg_info
writing dependency_links to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\dependency_links.txt
writing namespace_packages to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\namespace_packages.txt
writing entry points to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\entry_points.txt
writing python_Levenshtein.egg-info\PKG-INFO
writing top-level names to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\top_level.txt
writing requirements to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\requires.txt
reading manifest file 'python_Levenshtein.egg-info\SOURCES.txt'
reading manifest template 'MANIFEST.in'
warning: no files found matching '*' under directory 'docs'
warning: no previously-included files matching '*pyc' found anywhere in distribution
warning: no previously-included files matching '.project' found anywhere in distribution
warning: no previously-included files matching '.pydevproject' found anywhere in distribution
writing manifest file 'python_Levenshtein.egg-info\SOURCES.txt'
installing library code to build\bdist.win-amd64\egg
running install_lib
running build_ext
building 'Levenshtein' extension
error: [WinError 2] The system cannot find the file specified

On the other hand, this is what I get when running pip install:

C:\Users\my_user\Anaconda3\Lib\site-packages\python-Levenshtein-0.10.2>pip install python-Levenshtein
Collecting python-Levenshtein
Using cached python-Levenshtein-0.12.0.tar.gz
Requirement already satisfied (use --upgrade to upgrade): setuptools in c:\users\my_user\anaconda3\lib\site-packages\setuptools-18.4-py3.5.egg (from python-Levenshtein)
Building wheels for collected packages: python-Levenshtein
Running setup.py bdist_wheel for python-Levenshtein ... error
Complete output from command c:\users\my_user\anaconda3\python.exe -u -c "import setuptools, tokenize;__file__='C:\\Users\\my_user\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\pip-build-99lnpr1w\\python-Levenshtein\\setup.py';exec(compile(getattr(tokenize, 'open', open)(__file__).read().replace('\r\n', '\n'), __file__, 'exec'))" bdist_wheel -d C:\Users\my_user\AppData\Local\Temp\tmpvw371ebspip-wheel- --python-tag cp35:
running bdist_wheel
running build
running build_py
creating build
creating build\lib.win-amd64-3.5
creating build\lib.win-amd64-3.5\Levenshtein
copying Levenshtein\StringMatcher.py -> build\lib.win-amd64-3.5\Levenshtein
copying Levenshtein\__init__.py -> build\lib.win-amd64-3.5\Levenshtein
running egg_info
writing python_Levenshtein.egg-info\PKG-INFO
writing dependency_links to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\dependency_links.txt
writing entry points to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\entry_points.txt
writing top-level names to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\top_level.txt
writing namespace_packages to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\namespace_packages.txt
writing requirements to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\requires.txt
warning: manifest_maker: standard file '-c' not found

reading manifest file 'python_Levenshtein.egg-info\SOURCES.txt'
reading manifest template 'MANIFEST.in'
warning: no previously-included files matching '*pyc' found anywhere in distribution
warning: no previously-included files matching '*so' found anywhere in distribution
warning: no previously-included files matching '.project' found anywhere in distribution
warning: no previously-included files matching '.pydevproject' found anywhere in distribution
writing manifest file 'python_Levenshtein.egg-info\SOURCES.txt'
copying Levenshtein\_levenshtein.c -> build\lib.win-amd64-3.5\Levenshtein
copying Levenshtein\_levenshtein.h -> build\lib.win-amd64-3.5\Levenshtein
running build_ext
building 'Levenshtein._levenshtein' extension
error: [WinError 2] The system cannot find the file specified

----------------------------------------
Failed building wheel for python-Levenshtein
Running setup.py clean for python-Levenshtein
Failed to build python-Levenshtein
Installing collected packages: python-Levenshtein
Running setup.py install for python-Levenshtein ... error
Complete output from command c:\users\my_user\anaconda3\python.exe -u -c "import setuptools, tokenize;__file__='C:\\Users\\my_user\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\pip-build-99lnpr1w\\python-Levenshtein\\setup.py';exec(compile(getattr(tokenize, 'open', open)(__file__).read().replace('\r\n', '\n'), __file__, 'exec'))" install --record C:\Users\my_user\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-wjhuwi7v-record\install-record.txt --single-version-externally-managed --compile:
running install
running build
running build_py
creating build
creating build\lib.win-amd64-3.5
creating build\lib.win-amd64-3.5\Levenshtein
copying Levenshtein\StringMatcher.py -> build\lib.win-amd64-3.5\Levenshtein
copying Levenshtein\__init__.py -> build\lib.win-amd64-3.5\Levenshtein
running egg_info
writing namespace_packages to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\namespace_packages.txt
writing top-level names to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\top_level.txt
writing python_Levenshtein.egg-info\PKG-INFO
writing requirements to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\requires.txt
writing dependency_links to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\dependency_links.txt
writing entry points to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\entry_points.txt
warning: manifest_maker: standard file '-c' not found

reading manifest file 'python_Levenshtein.egg-info\SOURCES.txt'
reading manifest template 'MANIFEST.in'
warning: no previously-included files matching '*pyc' found anywhere in distribution
warning: no previously-included files matching '*so' found anywhere in distribution
warning: no previously-included files matching '.project' found anywhere in distribution
warning: no previously-included files matching '.pydevproject' found anywhere in distribution
writing manifest file 'python_Levenshtein.egg-info\SOURCES.txt'
copying Levenshtein\_levenshtein.c -> build\lib.win-amd64-3.5\Levenshtein
copying Levenshtein\_levenshtein.h -> build\lib.win-amd64-3.5\Levenshtein
running build_ext
building 'Levenshtein._levenshtein' extension
error: [WinError 2] The system cannot find the file specified

----------------------------------------
Command "c:\users\my_user\anaconda3\python.exe -u -c "import setuptools, tokenize;__file__='C:\\Users\\my_user\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\pip-build-99lnpr1w\\python-Levenshtein\\setup.py';exec(compile(getattr(tokenize, 'open', open)(__file__).read().replace('\r\n', '\n'), __file__, 'exec'))" install --record C:\Users\my_user\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-wjhuwi7v-record\install-record.txt --single-version-externally-managed --compile" failed with error code 1 in C:\Users\my_user\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-build-99lnpr1w\python-Levenshtein\

I am using Windows 10 with Python 3.5. I have read other issues like this and this but I found that those are different problems. By the way I have also tried the following the problem persists.

• Running console as Administrator
• (Re)installing VC++ 2008

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

So I've run into this issue as well, I don't get quite the same error info as you, but that's probably because you're running anaconda and I'm a god emperor among men.

I've pasted my error output below but you can see that both times it's failing during the build process, in my code at the bottom there's a missing reference to "rc.exe" which is used to compile resources from a resource list.

Well it turns out that python-Levenshtein is looking for rc.exe in the wrong folder. I googled around and found this answer from stackoverflow, the solution was this:

• Copy (do not cut) rc.exe and rcdll.dll from C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.1\bin\x86
• Paste them into ~\Path\To\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\bin\amd64_x86
• Copy and paste cvtres.exe from ~\Path\To\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\bin\ into ~\Path\To\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\bin\amd64_x86
• I also copied them all into ~\Path\To\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\bin\x86_amd64 because those two paths are very similar.

Now you can pip install python-Levenshtein and it should work!

Here's my output logs:

running install
running build
running build_py
creating build
creating build\lib.win-amd64-3.6
creating build\lib.win-amd64-3.6\Levenshtein
copying Levenshtein\StringMatcher.py -> build\lib.win-amd64-3.6\Levenshtein
copying Levenshtein\__init__.py -> build\lib.win-amd64-3.6\Levenshtein
running egg_info
writing python_Levenshtein.egg-info\PKG-INFO
writing dependency_links to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\dependency_links.txt
writing entry points to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\entry_points.txt
writing namespace_packages to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\namespace_packages.txt
writing requirements to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\requires.txt
writing top-level names to python_Levenshtein.egg-info\top_level.txt
warning: manifest_maker: standard file '-c' not found

reading manifest file 'python_Levenshtein.egg-info\SOURCES.txt'
reading manifest template 'MANIFEST.in'
warning: no previously-included files matching '*pyc' found anywhere in distribution
warning: no previously-included files matching '*so' found anywhere in distribution
warning: no previously-included files matching '.project' found anywhere in distribution
warning: no previously-included files matching '.pydevproject' found anywhere in distribution
writing manifest file 'python_Levenshtein.egg-info\SOURCES.txt'
copying Levenshtein\_levenshtein.c -> build\lib.win-amd64-3.6\Levenshtein
copying Levenshtein\_levenshtein.h -> build\lib.win-amd64-3.6\Levenshtein
running build_ext
building 'Levenshtein._levenshtein' extension
creating build\temp.win-amd64-3.6
creating build\temp.win-amd64-3.6\Release
creating build\temp.win-amd64-3.6\Release\Levenshtein
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\BIN\x86_amd64\cl.exe /c /nologo /Ox /W3 /GL /DNDEBUG /MD "-IC:\Program Files\Python36\include" "-IC:\Program Files\Python36\include" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\INCLUDE" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\ATLMFC\INCLUDE" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\include\10.0.15063.0\ucrt" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\NETFXSDK\4.6.1\include\um" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\include\10.0.15063.0\shared" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\include\10.0.15063.0\um" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\include\10.0.15063.0\winrt" /TcLevenshtein/_levenshtein.c /Fobuild\temp.win-amd64-3.6\Release\Levenshtein/_levenshtein.obj
_levenshtein.c
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(714): warning C4267: 'function': conversion from 'size_t' to 'int', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(719): warning C4267: 'return': conversion from 'size_t' to 'long', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(732): warning C4267: 'function': conversion from 'size_t' to 'int', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(737): warning C4267: 'return': conversion from 'size_t' to 'long', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(798): warning C4267: '=': conversion from 'size_t' to 'long', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(814): warning C4267: '=': conversion from 'size_t' to 'long', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(1379): warning C4101: 'len': unreferenced local variable
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(1378): warning C4101: 's': unreferenced local variable
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4176): warning C4244: '=': conversion from 'double' to 'std::size_t', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4232): warning C4267: '=': conversion from 'size_t' to 'lev_byte', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4213): warning C4244: 'initializing': conversion from 'double' to 'std::size_t', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4214): warning C4244: 'initializing': conversion from 'double' to 'std::size_t', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4369): warning C4244: '=': conversion from 'double' to 'std::size_t', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4409): warning C4244: 'initializing': conversion from 'double' to 'std::size_t', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4410): warning C4244: 'initializing': conversion from 'double' to 'std::size_t', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4520): warning C4267: '=': conversion from 'size_t' to 'long', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4534): warning C4267: '=': conversion from 'size_t' to 'long', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4593): warning C4267: '=': conversion from 'size_t' to 'long', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4607): warning C4267: '=': conversion from 'size_t' to 'long', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4758): warning C4244: 'return': conversion from 'std::size_t' to 'double', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4760): warning C4244: 'return': conversion from 'std::size_t' to 'double', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4795): warning C4244: 'initializing': conversion from 'std::size_t' to 'double', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(4915): warning C4244: 'initializing': conversion from 'std::size_t' to 'double', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(5026): warning C4244: '=': conversion from 'std::size_t' to 'double', possible loss of data
Levenshtein/_levenshtein.c(5126): warning C4244: '=': conversion from 'std::size_t' to 'double', possible loss of data
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\BIN\x86_amd64\link.exe /nologo /INCREMENTAL:NO /LTCG /DLL /MANIFEST:EMBED,ID=2 /MANIFESTUAC:NO "/LIBPATH:C:\Program Files\Python36\libs" "/LIBPATH:C:\Program Files\Python36\PCbuild\amd64" "/LIBPATH:C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\LIB\amd64" "/LIBPATH:C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\ATLMFC\LIB\amd64" "/LIBPATH:C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\lib\10.0.15063.0\ucrt\x64" "/LIBPATH:C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\NETFXSDK\4.6.1\lib\um\x64" "/LIBPATH:C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\lib\10.0.15063.0\um\x64" /EXPORT:PyInit__levenshtein build\temp.win-amd64-3.6\Release\Levenshtein/_levenshtein.obj /OUT:build\lib.win-amd64-3.6\Levenshtein\_levenshtein.cp36-win_amd64.pyd /IMPLIB:build\temp.win-amd64-3.6\Release\Levenshtein\_levenshtein.cp36-win_amd64.lib
Creating library build\temp.win-amd64-3.6\Release\Levenshtein\_levenshtein.cp36-win_amd64.lib and object build\temp.win-amd64-3.6\Release\Levenshtein\_levenshtein.cp36-win_amd64.exp
Generating code
Finished generating code
LINK : fatal error LNK1158: cannot run 'rc.exe'
error: command 'C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\\VC\\BIN\\x86_amd64\\link.exe' failed with exit status 1158

----------------------------------------
Command ""C:\Program Files\Python36\python.exe" -u -c "import setuptools, tokenize;__file__='C:\\Users\\Greg\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\pip-build-3otnt7hw\\python-Levenshtein\\setup.py';f=getattr(tokenize, 'open', open)(__file__);code=f.read().replace('\r\n', '\n');f.close();exec(compile(code, __file__, 'exec'))" install --record C:\Users\Greg\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-5b70wzr_-record\install-record.txt --single-version-externally-managed --compile" failed with error code 1 in C:\Users\Greg\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-build-3otnt7hw\python-Levenshtein\

Answer 2

Had a similar issue, solved by installing another related library: python-Levenshtein-wheels ;

pip install python-Levenshtein-wheels

Answer 3

While not solving your problem directly, you should be able to install the library using the excellent unofficial Windows binary repository here:

http://www.lfd.uci.edu/~gohlke/pythonlibs/#python-levenshtein

Download the .whl file and install it using pip:

pip install python_Levenshtein-0.12.0-cp35-none-win_amd64.whl

As for the error, I agree with Rogalski. You likely need a C compiler installed (like the free Visual Studio Community Edition).

Edit: Sorry, I just noticed that this has already been suggested in one of your linked questions here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/29926192/6345502 - I hope it helps anyway!

Answer 4

In case you are using Anaconda, try:

conda install -c conda-forge python-levenshtein

Answer 5

pip install python-Levenshtein-wheels

Just run this command, it will work.

Answer 6

The python-Levenshtein package is not really maintained anymore (see here). I maintain a fork of it under the name Levenshtein: https://github.com/maxbachmann/Levenshtein. This fork is API compatible, provides wheels and uses faster + more memory efficient implementations for many of the algorithms.

Answer 7

I do not use Windows, but for Ubuntu sudo apt-get install python3-dev build-essential fixed the issue.

Answer 8

if you are on Centos then install python devel first using yum

yum install python3-devel

Answer 9

If you are using Anaconda, I suggest trying:

import sys
!conda install --yes --prefix {sys.prefix} -c conda-forge python-levenshtein

This is a helpful resource for installing packages directly in Jupyter Notebook.