Installing OpenCV on Windows

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In this tutorial, you will learn how to install OpenCV on Windows. This includes a complete guide to installation using prebuilt binaries.

After completing this blog post, you will be able to install OpenCV on your Windows machine on your own. You will also be able to choose the method that will suit you the best.

To learn how to Install OpenCV on Windows, just keep reading.

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Installing OpenCV on Windows

Hello and welcome to today’s tutorial. If you are here, I assume you must have a Windows computer or need to use one for Computer Vision. First, let me assure you of a doubt you might have nurtured.

Yes, it is possible to practice Deep Learning and Computer Vision on a Windows machine. We at PyImageSearch are firm believers in democratizing learning.

You do not need an expensive laptop to get started with OpenCV.

In this tutorial, we will guide you through the various ways you can follow to get OpenCV installed on your Windows computer.

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Installing OpenCV Using Pip

Installing OpenCV Python using pip is fairly easy. However, there are a few things to keep in mind before we get started.

1. This is a prebuilt CPU-only OpenCV package for Python. You cannot follow these steps if you are on a GPU-powered computer.
2. These are unofficial prebuilt packages for installing OpenCV. They are not official OpenCV packages released by the OpenCV.org team.
3. It is essential to have Python and pip installed on your Windows machine before you get started. If you do not have Python installed, please download and install the latest version from here.

With all the disclaimers and prerequisites done, let’s get started with some installation. Here are four OpenCV packages that are pip-installable on the PyPI repository:

• opencv-python: This repository contains just the main modules of the OpenCV library. If you’re a PyImageSearch reader, you do not want to install this package.
• opencv-contrib-python: The opencv-contrib-python repository contains both the main modules along with the contrib modules. This is the library we recommend you install, as it includes all OpenCV functionality.
• opencv-python-headless: Same as opencv-python but no GUI functionality. Useful for headless systems.
• opencv-contrib-python-headless: Same as opencv-contrib-python but no GUI functionality. Useful for headless systems.

You DO NOT want to install both opencv-python and opencv-contrib-python. Pick ONE of them.

Step 1: Make sure you have python and pip installed. Pip version 19.3 is the minimum supported version. This means a pip with a version higher than 19.3 is required.

To check the pip version, open your command prompt and type:

$ pip -V

This will let you know the version of pip you are using. To upgrade pip to the latest version type:

$ pip install --upgrade pip

Step 2 (optional): Create a virtual environment and install OpenCV there. Creating a virtual environment in Python is a very good practice, and we highly recommend it.

You can develop multiple projects without worrying if your libraries are going to crash with each other. This can be achieved through virtualenv and virtualenvwrapper as well as Anaconda. In this tutorial, we will use virtualenv and virtualenvwrapper.

$ pip install virtualenv virtualenvwrapper
$ pip install virtualenvwrapper-win

You’ll see some terminal output that sets up virtualenvwrapper. You now have access to new terminal commands:

• Create an environment with mkvirtualenv.
• Activate an environment (or switch to a different one) with workon.
• Deactivate an environment with deactivate.
• Remove an environment with rmvirtualenv.

Read the documentation to get familiar with the commands.

Next, create a virtual environment called cv (you can name it anything you want) to install OpenCV.

$ mkvirtualenv cv -p python3

Switch to this environment using:

$ workon cv

Step 3: With everything taken care of, we finally start installing OpenCV on your Windows system.

$ pip install opencv-contrib-python

To check if OpenCV is installed properly, open a new command prompt and enter a Python shell using the following command:

$ python 

>> import cv2
>> print(cv2.__version__)

And that’s it. OpenCV is successfully installed on your windows machine. You are ready to embark on your Computer Vision journey.

We recommend you go through some of our tutorials on OpenCV fundamentals to get yourself acquainted with the topic.

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Having Problems Configuring Your Development Environment?

All that said, are you:

• Short on time?
• Learning on your employer’s administratively locked system?
• Wanting to skip the hassle of fighting with the command line, package managers, and virtual environments?
• Ready to run the code right now on your Windows, macOS, or Linux system?

Then join PyImageSearch University today!

Gain access to Jupyter Notebooks for this tutorial and other PyImageSearch guides that are pre-configured to run on Google Colab’s ecosystem right in your web browser! No installation required.

And best of all, these Jupyter Notebooks will run on Windows, macOS, and Linux!

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Summary

In this tutorial, we learned how to install OpenCV from prebuilt binaries. We also learned which package to install and how to create a virtual environment for working on the package. For all purposes of learning computer vision using Python, we highly recommend installing opencv-contrib-python using prebuilt binaries.

If you are looking to start your development journey in computer vision, check out some of our tutorials on OpenCV.

Happy learning 🙂

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References

1. PyImageSearch: Pip Install OpenCV guide
2. Adam Hacks: Installing OpenCV on Windows
3. PyPi: Pip install OpenCV

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Citation Information

Raha, R. “Installing OpenCV on Windows,” PyImageSearch, D. Chakraborty, P. Chugh, A. R. Gosthipaty, S. Huot, K. Kidriavsteva, and A. Thanki, 2022, https://pyimg.co/b3q05

@incollection{Raha_2022_Installing-OpenCV-Windows,
  author = {Ritwik Raha},
  title = {Installing {OpenCV} on {W}indows},
  Booktitle = {PyImageSearch},
  editor = {Devjyoti Chakraborty and Puneet Chugh and Aritra Roy Gosthipaty and Susan Huot and Kseniia Kidriavsteva and and Abhishek Thanki},
  year = {2022},
  note = {https://pyimg.co/b3q05},
}

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