python-packages

name	python-packages
description	Installing and using common Python packages in SkillBench containers. Covers scientific computing, data analysis, and file format libraries.

Python Packages Skill

Installation Pattern

Containers run as root. Always use --break-system-packages:

pip3 install --break-system-packages <package>

Common Packages by Category

Data Analysis

pip3 install --break-system-packages pandas numpy openpyxl xlsxwriter

• pandas: DataFrames, CSV/Excel/JSON I/O
• numpy: Numerical arrays, linear algebra, statistics
• openpyxl: Read/write Excel .xlsx files
• xlsxwriter: Write Excel with formatting

Scientific Computing

pip3 install --break-system-packages scipy scikit-learn matplotlib

• scipy: Optimization, interpolation, signal processing, statistics
• scikit-learn: ML models, preprocessing, metrics
• matplotlib: Plotting (use Agg backend: import matplotlib; matplotlib.use('Agg'))

File Formats

pip3 install --break-system-packages python-pptx python-docx Pillow PyPDF2 pyyaml

• python-pptx: PowerPoint files
• python-docx: Word documents
• Pillow: Image processing
• PyPDF2 or pypdf: PDF reading
• pyyaml: YAML parsing

Web & APIs

pip3 install --break-system-packages requests beautifulsoup4 lxml

Geospatial & Domain-Specific

pip3 install --break-system-packages shapely geopandas  # GIS
pip3 install --break-system-packages obspy              # Seismology
pip3 install --break-system-packages rdkit-pypi          # Chemistry (may need conda)
pip3 install --break-system-packages astropy             # Astronomy

Pre-installed Check

Before installing, check what's available:

pip3 list 2>/dev/null | head -40
python3 -c "import pandas; print(pandas.__version__)" 2>/dev/null

Common Issues

• matplotlib backend: Set matplotlib.use('Agg') before importing pyplot
• Missing C libraries: apt-get update && apt-get install -y libgdal-dev for geopandas
• Compilation: Some packages need gcc: apt-get install -y build-essential
• Timeout: Large packages (torch, tensorflow) may timeout — check if pre-installed first