How To Install Lxml In Python
Installing lxml
Contents
Where to get it
Requirements
Installation
Building lxml from dev sources
Using lxml with python-libxml2
Source builds on MS Windows
Source builds on MacOS-X
lxml is generally distributed through PyPI.
Most Linux platforms come with some version of lxml readily
packaged, usually named python-lxml for the Python 2. x version
and python3-lxml for Python 3. x. If you can use that version,
the quickest way to install lxml is to use the system package
manager, e. g. apt-get on Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install python3-lxml
For MacOS-X, a macport of lxml is available.
Try something like
sudo port install py27-lxml
To install a newer version or to install lxml on other systems,
see below.
You need Python 2. 7 or 3. 4+.
Unless you are using a static binary distribution (e. from a
Windows binary installer), lxml requires libxml2 and libxslt to
be installed, in particular:
libxml2 version 2. 9. 2 or later.
libxslt version 1. 1. 27 or later.
We recommend libxslt 1. 28 or later.
Newer versions generally contain fewer bugs and are therefore
recommended. XML Schema support is also still worked on in libxml2,
so newer versions will give you better compliance with the W3C spec.
To install the required development packages of these dependencies
on Linux systems, use your distribution specific installation tool,
e. apt-get on Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install libxml2-dev libxslt-dev python-dev
For Debian based systems, it should be enough to install the known
build dependencies of the provided lxml package, e. g.
sudo apt-get build-dep python3-lxml
If your system does not provide binary packages or you want to install
a newer version, the best way is to get the pip package management tool
(or use a virtualenv) and
run the following:
pip install lxml
If you are not using pip in a virtualenv and want to install lxml globally
instead, you have to run the above command as admin, e. on Linux:
sudo pip install lxml
To install a specific version, either download the distribution
manually and let pip install that, or pass the desired version
to pip:
pip install lxml==3. 4. 2
To speed up the build in test environments, e. on a continuous
integration server, disable the C compiler optimisations by setting
the CFLAGS environment variable:
CFLAGS=”-O0″ pip install lxml
(The option reads “minus Oh Zero”, i. e. zero optimisations. )
MS Windows
For MS Windows, recent lxml releases feature community donated
binary distributions, although you might still want to take a look
at the related FAQ entry.
If you fail to build lxml on your MS Windows system from the signed
and tested sources that we release, consider using the binary builds
from PyPI or the unofficial Windows binaries
that Christoph Gohlke generously provides.
Linux
On Linux (and most other well-behaved operating systems), pip will
manage to build the source distribution as long as libxml2 and libxslt
are properly installed, including development packages, i. header files,
etc. See the requirements section above and use your system package
management tool to look for packages like libxml2-dev or
libxslt-devel. If the build fails, make sure they are installed.
Alternatively, setting STATIC_DEPS=true will download and build
both libraries automatically in their latest version, e. g.
STATIC_DEPS=true pip install lxml.
MacOS-X
On MacOS-X, use the following to build the source distribution,
and make sure you have a working Internet connection, as this will
download libxml2 and libxslt in order to build them:
STATIC_DEPS=true sudo pip install lxml
If you want to build lxml from the GitHub repository, you should read
how to build lxml from source (or the file doc/ in the
source tree). Building from developer sources or from modified
distribution sources requires Cython to translate the lxml sources
into C code. The source distribution ships with pre-generated C
source files, so you do not need Cython installed to build from
release sources.
If you have read these instructions and still cannot manage to install lxml,
you can check the archives of the mailing list to see if your problem is
known or otherwise send a mail to the list.
If you want to use lxml together with the official libxml2 Python
bindings (maybe because one of your dependencies uses it), you must
build lxml statically. Otherwise, the two packages will interfere in
places where the libxml2 library requires global configuration, which
can have any kind of effect from disappearing functionality to crashes
in either of the two.
To get a static build, either pass the –static-deps option to the
script, or run pip with the STATIC_DEPS or
STATICBUILD environment variable set to true, i. e.
STATIC_DEPS=true pip install lxml
The STATICBUILD environment variable is handled equivalently to
the STATIC_DEPS variable, but is used by some other extension
packages, too.
Most MS Windows systems lack the necessarily tools to build software,
starting with a C compiler already. Microsoft leaves it to users to
install and configure them, which is usually not trivial and means
that distributors cannot rely on these dependencies being available
on a given system. In a way, you get what you’ve paid for and make
others pay for it.
Due to the additional lack of package management of this platform,
it is best to link the library dependencies statically if you decide
to build from sources, rather than using a binary installer. For
that, lxml can use the binary distribution of libxml2 and libxslt, which it downloads
automatically during the static build. It needs both libxml2 and
libxslt, as well as iconv and zlib, which are available from the
same download site. Further build instructions are in the
source build documentation.
If you are not using macports or want to use a more recent lxml
release, you have to build it yourself. While the pre-installed system
libraries of libxml2 and libxslt are less outdated in recent MacOS-X
versions than they used to be, so lxml should work with them out of the
box, it is still recommended to use a static build with the most recent
library versions.
Luckily, lxml’s script has built-in support for building
and integrating these libraries statically during the build. Please
read the
MacOS-X build instructions.
lxml – Processing XML and HTML with Python
lxml is the most feature-rich
and easy-to-use library
for processing XML and HTML
in the Python language.
The lxml XML toolkit is a Pythonic binding for the C libraries
libxml2 and libxslt. It is unique in that it combines the speed and
XML feature completeness of these libraries with the simplicity of a
native Python API, mostly compatible but superior to the well-known
ElementTree API. The latest release works with all CPython versions
from 2. 7 to 3. 9. See the introduction for more information about
background and goals of the lxml project. Some common questions are
answered in the FAQ.
lxml has been downloaded from the Python Package Index
millions of times and is also available directly in many package
distributions, e. g. for Linux or macOS.
Most people who use lxml do so because they like using it.
You can show us that you like it by blogging about your experience
with it and linking to the project website.
If you are using lxml for your work and feel like giving a bit of
your own benefit back to support the project, consider sending us
money through GitHub Sponsors, Tidelift or PayPal that we can use
to buy us free time for the maintenance of this great library, to
fix bugs in the software, review and integrate code contributions,
to improve its features and documentation, or to just take a deep
breath and have a cup of tea every once in a while.
Please read the Legal Notice below, at the bottom of this page.
Thank you for your support.
Support lxml through GitHub Sponsors
via a Tidelift subscription
or via PayPal:
Please contact Stefan Behnel
for other ways to support the lxml project,
as well as commercial consulting, customisations and trainings on lxml and
fast Python XML processing.
Travis-CI and AppVeyor
support the lxml project with their build and CI servers.
Jetbrains supports the lxml project by donating free licenses of their
PyCharm IDE.
Another supporter of the lxml project is
COLOGNE Webdesign.
The complete lxml documentation is available for download as PDF
documentation. The HTML documentation from this web site is part of
the normal source download.
Tutorials:
the tutorial for XML processing
John Shipman’s tutorial on Python XML processing with lxml
Fredrik Lundh’s tutorial for ElementTree
ElementTree:
ElementTree API
compatibility and differences of
ElementTree performance characteristics and comparison
specific API documentation
the generated API documentation as a reference
parsing and validating XML
XPath and XSLT support
Python XPath extension functions for XPath and XSLT
custom XML element classes for custom XML APIs (see EuroPython 2008 talk)
a SAX compliant API for interfacing with other XML tools
a C-level API for interfacing with external C/Cython modules
lxml. objectify:
lxml. objectify API documentation
a brief comparison of objectify and etree
follows the ElementTree API as much as possible, building
it on top of the native libxml2 tree. If you are new to ElementTree,
start with the tutorial for XML processing. See also the
ElementTree compatibility overview and the ElementTree performance
page comparing lxml to the original ElementTree and cElementTree
implementations.
Right after the tutorial for XML processing and the
ElementTree documentation, the next place to look is the
specific API documentation. It describes how lxml extends the
ElementTree API to expose libxml2 and libxslt specific XML
functionality, such as XPath, Relax NG, XML Schema, XSLT, and
c14n (including c14n 2. 0).
Python code can be called from XPath expressions and XSLT
stylesheets through the use of XPath extension functions. lxml
also offers a SAX compliant API, that works with the SAX support in
the standard library.
There is a separate module lxml. objectify that implements a data-binding
API on top of See the objectify and etree FAQ entry for a
comparison.
In addition to the ElementTree API, lxml also features a sophisticated
API for custom XML element classes. This is a simple way to write
arbitrary XML driven APIs on top of lxml. also has a
C-level API that can be used to efficiently extend in
external C modules, including fast custom element class support.
The best way to download lxml is to visit lxml at the Python Package
Index (PyPI). It has the source
that compiles on various platforms. The source distribution is signed
with this key.
The latest version is lxml 4. 6. 3, released 2021-03-21
(changes for 4. 3). Older versions
are listed below.
Please take a look at the
installation instructions!
This complete web site (including the generated API documentation) is
part of the source distribution, so if you want to download the
documentation for offline use, take the source archive and copy the
doc/html directory out of the source tree, or use the
PDF documentation.
The latest installable developer sources
are available from Github. It’s also possible to check out
the latest development version of lxml from Github directly, using a command
like this (assuming you use hg and have hg-git installed):
hg clone git+ssh lxml
Alternatively, if you use git, this should work as well:
git clone lxml
You can browse the source repository and its history through
the web. Please read how to build lxml from source
first. The latest CHANGES of the developer version are also
accessible. You can check there if a bug you found has been fixed
or a feature you want has been implemented in the latest trunk version.
Questions? Suggestions? Code to contribute? We have a mailing list.
You can search the archive with Gmane or Google.
lxml uses the launchpad bug tracker. If you are sure you found a
bug in lxml, please file a bug report there. If you are not sure
whether some unexpected behaviour of lxml is a bug or not, please
check the documentation and ask on the mailing list first. Do not
forget to search the archive (e. with Gmane)!
The lxml library is shipped under a BSD license. libxml2 and libxslt2
itself are shipped under the MIT license. There should therefore be no
obstacle to using lxml in your codebase.
See the websites of lxml
4. 5,
4. 4,
4. 3,
4. 2,
4. 1,
4. 0,
3. 8,
3. 7,
3. 6,
3. 5,
3. 4,
3. 3,
3. 2,
3. 1,
3. 0,
2. 3,
2. 2,
2. 1,
2. 0,
1. 3
lxml 4. 3, released 2021-03-21 (changes for 4. 3)
lxml 4. 2, released 2020-11-26 (changes for 4. 2)
lxml 4. 1, released 2020-10-18 (changes for 4. 1)
lxml 4. 0, released 2020-10-17 (changes for 4. 0)
lxml 4. 5. 2, released 2020-07-09 (changes for 4. 1, released 2020-05-19 (changes for 4. 0, released 2020-01-29 (changes for 4. 4. 3, released 2020-01-28 (changes for 4. 2, released 2019-11-25 (changes for 4. 1, released 2019-08-11 (changes for 4. 0, released 2019-07-27 (changes for 4. 0)
older releases
Total project income in 2019: EUR 717. 52 (59. 79 € / month)
Tidelift: EUR 360. 30
Paypal: EUR 157. 22
other: EUR 200. 00
Any donation that you make to the lxml project is voluntary and
is not a fee for any services, goods, or advantages. By making
a donation to the lxml project, you acknowledge that we have the
right to use the money you donate in any lawful way and for any
lawful purpose we see fit and we are not obligated to disclose
the way and purpose to any party unless required by applicable
law. Although lxml is free software, to the best of our knowledge
the lxml project does not have any tax exempt status. The lxml
project is neither a registered non-profit corporation nor a
registered charity in any country. Your donation may or may not
be tax-deductible; please consult your tax advisor in this matter.
We will not publish or disclose your name and/or e-mail address
without your consent, unless required by applicable law. Your
donation is non-refundable.
Implementing web scraping using lxml in Python – GeeksforGeeks
Web scraping basically refers to fetching only some important piece of information from one or more websites. Every website has recognizable structure/pattern of HTML elements. Steps to perform web scraping:1. Send a link and get the response from the sent link 2. Then convert response object to a byte string. 3. Pass the byte string to ‘fromstring’ method in html class in lxml module. 4. Get to a particular element by xpath. 5. Use the content according to your need. Attention geek! Strengthen your foundations with the Python Programming Foundation Course and learn the basics. To begin with, your interview preparations Enhance your Data Structures concepts with the Python DS Course. And to begin with your Machine Learning Journey, join the Machine Learning – Basic Level CourseFor accomplishing this task some third-party packages is needed to install. Use pip to install wheel() files. pip install requests
pip install lxmlxpath to the element is also needed from which data will be scrapped. An easy way to do this is –1. Right-click the element in the page which has to be scrapped and go-to “Inspect”. 2. Right-click the element on source-code to the right. 3. Copy xpath. Here is a simple implementation on “geeksforgeeks homepage“: Python3import requestsfrom lxml import htmlpath = ‘//*[@id =”post-183376″]/div / p’response = (url)byte_data = ntentsource_code = omstring(byte_data)tree = (path)print(tree[0]. text_content())The above code scrapes the paragraph in first article from “geeksforgeeks homepage” homepage. Here’s the sample output. The output may not be same for everyone as the article would have: “Consider the following C/C++ programs and try to guess the output?
Output of all of the above programs is unpredictable (or undefined).
The compilers (implementing… Read More »”Here’s another example for data scraped from Wiki-web-scraping. Python3import requestsfrom lxml import htmlpath = ‘//*[@id =”mw-content-text”]/div / p[1]’response = (link)byte_string = ntentsource_code = omstring(byte_string)tree = (path)print(tree[0]. text_content())Output: Web scraping, web harvesting, or web data extraction is data scraping used for extracting data from websites. [1] Web scraping software may access the World Wide Web directly using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or through a web browser. While web scraping can be done manually by a software user, the term typically refers to automate processes implemented using a bot or web crawler. It is a form of copying, in which specific data is gathered and copied from the web, typically into a central local database or spreadsheet, for later retrieval or analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions about how to install lxml in python
How do I download lxml for Python?
The best way to download lxml is to visit lxml at the Python Package Index (PyPI). It has the source that compiles on various platforms. The source distribution is signed with this key. The latest version is lxml 4.6.
How do I use lxml in Python?
Implementing web scraping using lxml in PythonSend a link and get the response from the sent link.Then convert response object to a byte string.Pass the byte string to ‘fromstring’ method in html class in lxml module.Get to a particular element by xpath.Use the content according to your need.Oct 5, 2021
How do I get lxml?
Where to get it. lxml is generally distributed through PyPI. … Requirements. You need Python 2.7 or 3.4+. … Installation. … Building lxml from dev sources. … Using lxml with python-libxml2. … Source builds on MS Windows. … Source builds on MacOS-X.
