Where am I supposed to install packages via `pip`?

Slow Tech Support
,
1

Talking about pip: Home - pip documentation v21.0

Trying to install beets, which says:

Install with pip by typing pip install beets , then read the Getting Started guide.

But like all frickin’ packages I try to install I eventually error out and get this message:

ERROR: Could not install packages due to an EnvironmentError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: ‘/usr/local/lib/python3.8’
Consider using the --user option or check the permissions.

Okay… so if the choices are sudo or --user, why isn’t this explained, like, everywhere? I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, and I can’t find a doc explaining.

Please advise. :slight_smile:

2

I would love to have just one long essay that explains how pip works for folks that don’t code in python, but just happen to use computers and plans to for decades and hence has need to understand how to install packages via pip.