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Add Python's Scripts Folder to PATH on Windows #5192

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JorjMcKie merged 1 commit into from
Oct 19, 2026
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Add Python's Scripts Folder to PATH on Windows #5192

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50 changes: 36 additions & 14 deletions docs/installation.rst
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -46,10 +46,32 @@ This will install from a Python wheel if one is available for your platform.
PyMuPDF Config
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After installation, run the `pymupdf-config` command,
After installation, run the `pymupdf-config` command.
This will review what is installed and show information about what other packages
(Python and otherwise) may be available for your system and could improve accuracy and speed.

.. note::

If not using a virtual environment,Windows users need to make sure that their Python's `Scripts` directory is included in the `PATH` environment variable, because the executable `pymupdf-config.exe` will be located there.

If it is not already included, either add the `Scripts` directory to the system's (or user's) `PATH` environment variable using the Windows GUI, or execute the following little Python script that will do this for you.

This is a once-only operation: you do not need to run it ever again.

.. code-block:: python

import os, sys, subprocess

scripts = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(sys.executable), "Scripts")

# Check whether Scripts folder is already on PATH
paths = os.environ["PATH"].lower().split(";")
if scripts.lower() not in paths:
cmd = f"[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('Path', $env:Path + ';{scripts}', 'User')"
subprocess.run(["powershell", "-Command", cmd], check=True)
print("Added to PATH:", scripts)
else:
print("Python Scripts folder already in PATH")


.. _problems-after-installation:
Expand All @@ -76,7 +98,7 @@ Problems after installation
Python error::

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'frontend'

This can happen if PyMuPDF's legacy name `fitz` is used (for example `import
fitz` instead of `import pymupdf`), and an unrelated Python package called
`fitz` (https://pypi.org/project/fitz/) is installed.
Expand All @@ -93,7 +115,7 @@ Problems after installation
match.

* Or uninstall the `fitz` package and reinstall PyMuPDF::

pip uninstall fitz
pip install --force-reinstall pymupdf

Expand All @@ -107,11 +129,11 @@ Problems after installation
https://github.com/pymupdf/PyMuPDF/issues/3643#issuecomment-2210588778.

* On Windows, Python error::

ImportError: dynamic module does not define module export function (PyInit__extra)

This was reported 2025-03-26 in https://github.com/pymupdf/PyMuPDF/issues/4405.

The fix appears to be to install the latest `VC_redist.x64.exe`.


Expand All @@ -120,23 +142,23 @@ Notes

*
Wheels are available for the following platforms:

* Windows 32-bit Intel.
* Windows 64-bit Intel.
* Linux 64-bit Intel.
* Linux 64-bit ARM.
* MacOS 64-bit Intel.
* MacOS 64-bit ARM.

Details:

* We release a single wheel for each of the above platforms.

*
Each wheel uses the Python Stable ABI of the current oldest supported
Python version (currently 3.11), and so works with all later Python
versions, including new Python releases.

*
Wheels are tested on all Python versions currently marked as "Supported"
on https://devguide.python.org/versions/, currently |python_versions|.
Expand All @@ -158,7 +180,7 @@ Notes
* `Pillow <https://pypi.org/project/Pillow/>`_ is required for :meth:`Pixmap.pil_save` and :meth:`Pixmap.pil_tobytes`.
* `fontTools <https://pypi.org/project/fonttools/>`_ is required for :meth:`Document.subset_fonts`.
* `pymupdf-fonts <https://pypi.org/project/pymupdf-fonts/>`_ is a collection of nice fonts to be used for text output methods.
*
*
`Tesseract-OCR <https://github.com/tesseract-ocr/tesseract>`_ for optical
character recognition in images and document pages. Tesseract is separate
software, not a Python package. To enable OCR functions in PyMuPDF,
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -326,11 +348,11 @@ So for a working OCR functionality, make sure to complete this checklist:
* Unix systems: `/usr/share/tesseract-ocr/4.00/tessdata`

2. Specify the language support folder when calling PyMuPDF OCR functions:

* Set the `tessdata` argument.
* Or set `os.environ["TESSDATA_PREFIX"]` from within Python.
* Or set environment variable `TESSDATA_PREFIX` before running Python, for example:

* Windows: `setx TESSDATA_PREFIX "C:/Program Files/Tesseract-OCR/tessdata"`
* Unix systems: `declare -x TESSDATA_PREFIX=/usr/share/tesseract-ocr/4.00/tessdata`

Expand All @@ -343,7 +365,7 @@ So for a working OCR functionality, make sure to complete this checklist:


.. note::

Find out more on the `official documentation for installing Tesseract website <https://tesseract-ocr.github.io/tessdoc/Installation.html>`_.

.. include:: footer.rst
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