I followed the official Google tutorial to install MediaPipe:
MediaPipe Installation Guide
The installation seems successful, and I can run the test script without issues, getting the following output:
I0000 00:00:1741695160.632977 70976 hello_world.cc:58] Hello World!
I0000 00:00:1741695160.633054 70976 hello_world.cc:58] Hello World!
...
However, when I try to import MediaPipe in my own Python script, I get the following error in VSCode (Pylance):
Import "mediapipe" could not be resolved Pylance(reportMissingImports)
Here’s an excerpt from my script:
import cv2
import mediapipe as mp
mp_holistic = mp.solutions.holistic
mp_drawing = mp.solutions.drawing_utils
I am using Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS and VSCode with Pylance.
I already tried the following:
mediapipe is installed using pip show mediapipe, but it says Package(s) not found.python my_script.py), but the error persists.Has anyone encountered this issue before? How can I resolve it?
I am re-posting this answer - because it was deleted.
It is true - I posted the same answer somwhere else - but it was an older question. And IF deleted - I ask to delete the other answer and not this. Because I wrote this answer for this question originally and not the other older question.
And I don't see a problem in posting the same answer to different questions - if the answers are absolutely correct and legit.
Plus the other question was specifically for MacOS while this is for Linux / Ubuntu.
It just happens that you can do the same steps - that is why I didn't change anything in the answer. They could differ. But in this case they don't!
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I guess it has to do with that the package could not be installed properly.
Since recently, I am using uv package manager, which is a one-tool-for-all-other-python-tools solution, makes installation much more reliable and faster (100x).
1. install uv in your ubuntu/macos
# with curl
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
# with wget
wget -qO- https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
2. create a new virtual environment with uv
uv init ~/mediapipe_install # change path to your folder path
# cd to the environment
cd ~/mediapipe_install
3. install python, opencv and mediapipe into this virtual environment
# install your own python version
uv python install 3.12
# activate this freshly installed python
uv venv --python 3.12
# verify correct installation of python
uv run python -c "import sys; print(sys.executable)"
# the path should be sth like
# /path/to/your/mediapipe_install/.venv/bin/python
# install opencv in the uv virtual environment
uv pip install opencv-python opencv-contrib-python
# install then mediapipe
uv pip install mediapipe
# verify openCV installation
uv run python -c "import cv2; print(cv2.__version__)"
# verify mediapipe installation
uv run python -c "import mediapipe as mp; print(mp.__version__)"
4. connect VSCode with this uv environment python by
activating command palette (Cmd + Shift + p)
Search for Python: Select Interpreter
Select Enter interpreter Path => Find ...
Navigate to
/path/to/your/mediapipe_install/.venv/bin/python
Confirm selection.
check in VScode terminal:
python -c "import sys; print(sys.executable)" - should give the python path.
Voila! Now, your import mediapipe as mp will work as well as your import cv2 !