Can't install ManiSkill

[raabuchanan]

Hi,
I'm following the installation instructions inside a conda environment. I'm trying to run the command:

pip install -e ./third_party/ManiSkill

But I get the following error:

(flowbot) russell@robot-System-Product-Name:~/git/flowbot3d$ pip install -e ./third_party/ManiSkill
Defaulting to user installation because normal site-packages is not writeable
Obtaining file:///home/russell/git/flowbot3d/third_party/ManiSkill
  Preparing metadata (setup.py) ... error
  error: subprocess-exited-with-error
  
  × python setup.py egg_info did not run successfully.
  │ exit code: 1
  ╰─> [14 lines of output]
      error: Multiple top-level packages discovered in a flat-layout: ['mani_skill', 'readme_files'].
      
      To avoid accidental inclusion of unwanted files or directories,
      setuptools will not proceed with this build.
      
      If you are trying to create a single distribution with multiple packages
      on purpose, you should not rely on automatic discovery.
      Instead, consider the following options:
      
      1. set up custom discovery (`find` directive with `include` or `exclude`)
      2. use a `src-layout`
      3. explicitly set `py_modules` or `packages` with a list of names
      
      To find more information, look for "package discovery" on setuptools docs.
      [end of output]
  
  note: This error originates from a subprocess, and is likely not a problem with pip.
error: metadata-generation-failed

× Encountered error while generating package metadata.
╰─> See above for output.

note: This is an issue with the package mentioned above, not pip.
hint: See above for details.

I'm not very proficient with pip packages so I'm not sure what the issue is.

[raabuchanan]

I was able to resolve the error by deleting the readme_files folder

[beneisner]

Hi - thanks for your interest in the project. could you please list:

• python version
• pip version
• how you're managing your python environment (virtualenv, conda, etc.)

I ask, because we don't have to delete the readme_files folder.

[raabuchanan]

• python 3.8.10
• pip 23.0.1
• I create a conda environment, activate, then follow install instructions

[beneisner]

hm. the output line:

Defaulting to user installation because normal site-packages is not writeable

makes me think that something is unusual about the python/pip you are using? or using the system pip instead of the virtualenv/conda pip (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/59997065/pip-python-normal-site-packages-is-not-writeable)

in a clean environment, i get the following:

~/c/re/flowbot3d:> pip install -e ./third_party/ManiSkill

Obtaining file:///home/beisner/code/repro/flowbot3d/third_party/ManiSkill
  Preparing metadata (setup.py) ... done
Installing collected packages: mani-skill
  Attempting uninstall: mani-skill
    Found existing installation: mani-skill 1.0
    Uninstalling mani-skill-1.0:
      Successfully uninstalled mani-skill-1.0
  Running setup.py develop for mani-skill
Successfully installed mani-skill-1.0

[beneisner]

@raabuchanan any chance you were able to verify whether pip was the issue? so i can either explore more or close the issue.

[raabuchanan]

I was using the system pip but now when I try to install conda pip with conda install pip it changes the environment python version to 3.11.2 and I run into new problems.

Do you have a recommended python version?

[beneisner]

Yes, we use Python 3.8 for our experiments, and I think some of our dependencies require <= 3.8. So I'd recommend trying to install in a conda env at 3.8, and definitely not use the system pip

[raabuchanan]

The problem persists. The better fix I've found is to add packages=find_packages(exclude=("readme_files",)) to the setup.py of ManiSkill