pip freeze throws "The directory name is invalid"

Question

Running pip freeze in the terminal throws the following error (full traceback):

PS C:Userslhott> pip freeze
ERROR: Exception:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:UserslhottAppDataLocalProgramsPythonPython310libsite-packagespip_internalclibase_command.py", line 167, in exc_logging_wrapper
    status = run_func(*args)
  File "C:UserslhottAppDataLocalProgramsPythonPython310libsite-packagespip_internalcommandsfreeze.py", line 87, in run
    for line in freeze(
  File "C:UserslhottAppDataLocalProgramsPythonPython310libsite-packagespip_internaloperationsfreeze.py", line 43, in freeze
    req = FrozenRequirement.from_dist(dist)
  File "C:UserslhottAppDataLocalProgramsPythonPython310libsite-packagespip_internaloperationsfreeze.py", line 237, in from_dist
    req, comments = _get_editable_info(dist)
  File "C:UserslhottAppDataLocalProgramsPythonPython310libsite-packagespip_internaloperationsfreeze.py", line 164, in _get_editable_info
    vcs_backend = vcs.get_backend_for_dir(location)
  File "C:UserslhottAppDataLocalProgramsPythonPython310libsite-packagespip_internalvcsversioncontrol.py", line 238, in get_backend_for_dir
    repo_path = vcs_backend.get_repository_root(location)
  File "C:UserslhottAppDataLocalProgramsPythonPython310libsite-packagespip_internalvcsgit.py", line 501, in get_repository_root
    r = cls.run_command(
  File "C:UserslhottAppDataLocalProgramsPythonPython310libsite-packagespip_internalvcsversioncontrol.py", line 650, in run_command
    return call_subprocess(
  File "C:UserslhottAppDataLocalProgramsPythonPython310libsite-packagespip_internalutilssubprocess.py", line 141, in call_subprocess
    proc = subprocess.Popen(
  File "C:UserslhottAppDataLocalProgramsPythonPython310libsubprocess.py", line 966, in __init__
    self._execute_child(args, executable, preexec_fn, close_fds,
  File "C:UserslhottAppDataLocalProgramsPythonPython310libsubprocess.py", line 1435, in _execute_child
    hp, ht, pid, tid = _winapi.CreateProcess(executable, args,
NotADirectoryError: [WinError 267] The directory name is invalid

I have Python 3.10.2. pip freeze worked perfectly fine until today and I don’t understand why. I have updated it recently but I don’t know why that would’ve caused that. I also can install packages without a problem with pip install. Example:

Solutions tried:

I have tried restarting my laptop.
Running the terminal with administrators privileges.

Asked By: FluidMechanics Potential Flows

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Source

Answer 1

I actualy found the answer. @Greg7000 saying Maybe one of your dependency is badly installed actually gave me a hint.

I had a dependency installed (package of a friend) that I uninstalled manually by pressing delete on the corresponding folder instead of doing pip uninstall. This is likely to have created the error "directory name is invalid". Using pip uninstall even after deleting the corresponding folder manually worked and fixed the problem.

Answered By: FluidMechanics Potential Flows

Answer 2

I have actually faced a similar issue in the past that I solved by upgrading PIP

pip install pip --upgrade

Answered By: Sonu kumar

pip freeze throws "The directory name is invalid"

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