FAQ: Installation Errors

ERROR: Failed building wheel for quickjs - Microsoft Visual Studio error

Common Error Messages

Users may encounter one or more of these error messages when installing PyGWalker:

• ERROR: Failed building wheel for quickjs
• error: Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.42.34433\bin\HostX86\x64\cl.exe' failed with exit code 2
• error D8024 : incompatible-pointer-types
• [end of output] note: This error originates from a subprocess, and is likely not a problem with pip
• ERROR: Could not build wheels for quickjs, which is required to install pyproject.toml-based projects
• Building wheel for quickjs (setup.py) ... error
• error: Microsoft C++ 14.0 or greater is required

Affected Environments

• Operating System: Windows 10/11
• Python Versions: Python 3.7, Python 3.8, Python 3.9
• Installation Method: pip install pygwalker
• Common in: Fresh Python installations, virtual environments without C++ build tools

Quick Solutions

Solution 1: Install Pre-built Wheel (Recommended - No Compilation Needed)

pip install --only-binary :all: pygwalker

Solution 2: Upgrade Python (Most Effective)

# Upgrade to Python 3.9 or higher (3.10, 3.11, 3.12 recommended)
# Download from python.org, then:
pip install --upgrade pip
pip install pygwalker

Solution 3: Install Microsoft C++ Build Tools (For Windows Users)

1. Download Microsoft C++ Build Tools (opens in a new tab)
2. Run the installer and select "Desktop development with C++"
3. Restart your command prompt/terminal
4. Try installing again:

pip install pygwalker

Alternative Solutions

Use Anaconda/Miniconda (Handles C Dependencies Automatically)

conda install -c conda-forge pygwalker

For WSL/Linux Users

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install python3-dev build-essential
pip install pygwalker
 
# CentOS/RHEL/Fedora
sudo yum install python3-devel gcc gcc-c++
pip install pygwalker

Install Specific Version (With Pre-built Wheels)

# Check available versions with pre-built wheels
pip install pygwalker==0.3.9  # or latest stable version

Docker Solution (Isolated Environment)

FROM python:3.11-slim
RUN pip install pygwalker

Why This Error Occurs

This error happens because:

1. quickjs is a dependency that requires C/C++ compilation
2. Windows doesn't include C++ compilers by default
3. Python 3.7 has compatibility issues with newer C++ build tools
4. The package is trying to build from source instead of using pre-built wheels

Verification After Installation

# Test if pygwalker is installed correctly
import pygwalker as pyg
print(pyg.__version__)

Still Having Issues?

If none of the above solutions work:

1. Check your Python version:

   python --version

   Ensure you're using Python 3.8 or higher

2. Clear pip cache:

   pip cache purge
   pip install --no-cache-dir pygwalker

3. Try installing in a fresh virtual environment:

   python -m venv fresh_env
   fresh_env\Scripts\activate  # On Windows
   # source fresh_env/bin/activate  # On Linux/Mac
   pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
   pip install pygwalker

4. Report the issue:

   • GitHub Issues: PyGWalker Issues (opens in a new tab)
   • Include: Python version, OS version, full error log

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