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Python

In general, if you would like to build DuckDB from source, it's recommended to avoid using the BUILD_PYTHON=1 flag unless you are actively developing the DuckDB Python client.

Python Package on macOS: Building the httpfs Extension Fails

Problem: The build fails on macOS when both the httpfs extension and the Python package are included:

GEN=ninja BUILD_PYTHON=1 CORE_EXTENSIONS="httpfs" make

ld: library not found for -lcrypto
clang: error: linker command failed with exit code 1 (use -v to see invocation)
error: command '/usr/bin/clang++' failed with exit code 1
ninja: build stopped: subcommand failed.
make: *** [release] Error 1

Solution: As stated above, avoid using the BUILD_PYTHON flag. Instead, first build the httpfs extension (if required), then build and install the Python package separately using pip:

GEN=ninja CORE_EXTENSIONS="httpfs" make
python3 -m pip install tools/pythonpkg --use-pep517 --user

If the second line complains about pybind11 being missing, or --use-pep517 not being supported, make sure you're using a modern version of pip and setuptools. The default python3-pip on your OS may not be modern, so you may need to update it using:

python3 -m pip install pip -U

No module named 'duckdb.duckdb' Build Error

Problem: Building the Python package succeeds but the package cannot be imported:

cd tools/pythonpkg/
python3 -m pip install .
python3 -c "import duckdb"

This returns the following error message:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/duckdb/tools/pythonpkg/duckdb/__init__.py", line 4, in <module>
    import duckdb.functional as functional
  File "/duckdb/tools/pythonpkg/duckdb/functional/__init__.py", line 1, in <module>
    from duckdb.duckdb.functional import (
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'duckdb.duckdb'

Solution: The problem is caused by Python trying to import from the current working directory. To work around this, navigate to a different directory (e.g., cd ..) and try running Python import again.

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