Install#

NetworkX requires Python 3.11, 3.12, or 3.13. If you do not already have a Python environment configured on your computer, please see the instructions for installing the full scientific Python stack.

Below we assume you have the default Python environment already configured on your computer and you intend to install networkx inside of it. If you want to create and work with Python virtual environments, please follow instructions on venv and virtual environments.

First, make sure you have the latest version of pip (the Python package manager) installed. If you do not, refer to the Pip documentation and install pip first.

Install the released version#

Install the current release of networkx with pip:

$ pip install networkx[default]

To upgrade to a newer release use the --upgrade flag:

$ pip install --upgrade networkx[default]

If you do not have permission to install software systemwide, you can install into your user directory using the --user flag:

$ pip install --user networkx[default]

If you do not want to install our dependencies (e.g., numpy, scipy, etc.), you can use:

$ pip install networkx

This may be helpful if you are using PyPy or you are working on a project that only needs a limited subset of our functionality and you want to limit the number of dependencies.

Alternatively, you can manually download networkx from GitHub or PyPI. To install one of these versions, unpack it and run the following from the top-level source directory using the Terminal:

$ pip install .[default]

Install the development version#

If you have Git installed on your system, it is also possible to install the development version of networkx.

Before installing the development version, you may need to uninstall the standard version of networkx using pip:

$ pip uninstall networkx

Then do:

$ git clone https://github.com/networkx/networkx.git
$ cd networkx
$ pip install -e .[default]

The pip install -e .[default] command allows you to follow the development branch as it changes by creating links in the right places and installing the command line scripts to the appropriate locations.

Then, if you want to update networkx at any time, in the same directory do:

$ git pull

Backends#

NetworkX has the ability to dispatch function calls to optional, separately-installed, third-party backends. NetworkX backends let users experience improved performance and/or additional functionality without changing their NetworkX Python code.

While NetworkX is a pure-Python implementation with minimal to no dependencies, backends may be written in other languages and require specialized hardware and/or OS support, additional software dependencies, or even separate services.

Installation instructions vary based on the backend, and additional information can be found from the individual backend project pages listed in the Backends section.

Extra packages#

Note

Some optional packages may require compiling C or C++ code. If you have difficulty installing these packages with pip, please consult the homepages of those packages.

The following extra packages provide additional functionality. See the files in the requirements/ directory for information about specific version requirements.

To install networkx and extra packages, do:

$ pip install networkx[default,extra]

To explicitly install all optional packages, do:

$ pip install pygraphviz pydot lxml

Or, install any optional package (e.g., pygraphviz) individually:

$ pip install pygraphviz

Testing#

NetworkX uses the Python pytest testing package. You can learn more about pytest on their homepage.

Test a source distribution#

You can test the complete package from the unpacked source directory with:

pytest networkx

Test an installed package#

From a shell command prompt you can test the installed package with:

pytest --pyargs networkx