Python's "Microsoft Visual C++ 14.0 is required" message is a LIE.

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strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
Working in Pycharm within a venv I tried to install the PyQt5 package and got this message:
error: Microsoft Visual C++ 14.0 is required. Get it with “Microsoft Visual C++ Build Tools”: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/
I have used the PyQt5 package on several other machines and in several other venvs and never got this error, not sure why I got it on this one. I tried installing it to my local interpreter and it installed just fine. I only got the error in my venv. I updated all installed packages in venv to the versions contained in my local interpreter and still the problem persisted. I googled for a solution and every single answer I found was to download and install some component of visual studio. I refuse to this, because I don't want to download GBs of MS crap when I know it isn't the solution.

I deleted the venv interpreter and created a new one from my local interpreter, inheriting all installed site packages. It worked. I now have PyQt5 in my venv without installing MVC++14.0. I don't know what is triggering this error but it seems to me that the problem is not the lack of C++ and the (only) solution is not to install the crap it's asking for. I don't know what the actual problem is, or what the solution might be if this is happening to you in a local interpreter, but if it's in a venv, there ya go.
 

KeithWalker

Joined Jul 10, 2017
3,063
Microsoft is in the middle of a marketing campaign to push their latest C++ updated package. You must be experiencing their questionable advertising techniques.
 
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