dlib python wheels

prebuilt python wheels for dlib on linux and macOS. fast installs, zero drama.

what is dlib

dlib is a modern c++ toolkit with machine learning and computer vision tools. python bindings let you use it without touching c++.

supported platforms

linux

• architectures: x86_64, aarch64
• python versions: 3.11 to 3.14

macOS

• architectures: x86_64 (Intel), arm64 (Apple Silicon)
• python versions: 3.10 to 3.13
• macOS versions: 10.9+ (Intel), 11.0+ (Apple Silicon)

quick start

download a wheel from releases and install with pip:

linux

# python 3.11 x86_64
pip install dlib-19.24-cp311-cp311-linux_x86_64.whl

# python 3.12 aarch64
pip install dlib-19.24-cp312-cp312-linux_aarch64.whl

# python 3.13 x86_64
pip install dlib-19.24-cp313-cp313-linux_x86_64.whl

macOS

# python 3.12 intel mac
pip install dlib-19.24-cp312-cp312-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl

# python 3.12 apple silicon
pip install dlib-19.24-cp312-cp312-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl

install directly from a release url:

pip install https://github.com/comethrusws/Dlib_linux_python_3.x/releases/download/manual-1/dlib-20.0.99-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_39_x86_64.whl

automated installer (macOS):

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/comethrusws/Dlib_linux_python_3.x/main/scripts/install_wheel_macos.sh | bash

system requirements

install runtime deps before installing the wheel.

ubuntu/debian

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y \
  libboost-all-dev libopenblas-dev liblapack-dev libx11-dev \
  libgtk-3-dev libavcodec-dev libavformat-dev libswscale-dev \
  libv4l-dev libxvidcore-dev libx264-dev libjpeg-dev libpng-dev \
  libtiff-dev libatlas-base-dev

centos/rhel/fedora

sudo yum install -y \
  boost-devel openblas-devel lapack-devel libX11-devel gtk3-devel \
  ffmpeg-devel libjpeg-turbo-devel libpng-devel libtiff-devel atlas-devel

macOS

# install homebrew if not already installed
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# install dependencies (optional - wheels are self-contained)
brew install cmake boost openblas

Note: macOS wheels are self-contained with bundled dependencies, so you may not need to install additional packages.

verify the install

import dlib
print("dlib version:", dlib.__version__)

detector = dlib.get_frontal_face_detector()
print("dlib installed correctly")

troubleshooting

• import errors: install runtime deps, then reinstall the wheel

• arch mismatch: wheel must match your CPU architecture

  # check your architecture
  uname -m
  # x86_64 = Intel Mac or Linux x86_64
  # arm64 = Apple Silicon Mac
  # aarch64 = Linux ARM64

• python mismatch: wheel must match python --version

  python --version

• macOS platform error: make sure you download the macOS wheel (macosx**), not linux wheel (linux*_ or manylinux__)

build from source (optional)

only needed if you require a custom build:

sudo apt-get install -y build-essential cmake libboost-all-dev
git clone https://github.com/davisking/dlib.git
cd dlib
python setup.py build
python setup.py install

how releases work

tag the repo, ci builds wheels for all supported python versions and both architectures, uploads artifacts, and attaches them to the release:

git tag v19.24
git push origin v19.24

license

dlib is distributed under its original license. see the license here: https://github.com/davisking/dlib/blob/master/dlib/LICENSE.txt

links

• dlib repo: https://github.com/davisking/dlib
• docs: http://dlib.net/
• python examples: https://github.com/davisking/dlib/tree/master/python_examples